The energy states of the vacuum

[Ludwik Kowalski <kowalskil@MAIL.MONTCLAIR.EDU>]

On Tuesday, Oct 19, 2004, David Bowman wrote (in part):

> > If not, where did the matter and antimatter come from?
>
> From the vacuum (as it transitioned to a lower potential energy
> value and as it acquired a spontaneous nonzero background
> value of the Higgs field).

I would like to see an comprehensive  explanation of the concept of the
"energy of the vacuum."
Ludwik Kowalski