Evolution of the order parameter after bubble collisions

If a first-order phase transition is terminated by percolation and collisions of new-phase bubbles, there will exist a period of nonequilibrium between the time bubbles collide and the time thermal equilibrium is established. We study the behavior of the order parameter during this phase. We find that large nonthermal fluctuations at this stage reduce the order parameter below its eventual thermal equilibrium value. We comment on possible consequences for electroweak baryogenesis.