The B−L Phase Transition

Implications for Cosmology and Neutrinos

Nonfiction, Science & Nature, Science, Physics, Nuclear Physics, Cosmology
Cover of the book The B−L Phase Transition by Kai Schmitz, Springer International Publishing
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Kai Schmitz ISBN: 9783319009636
Publisher: Springer International Publishing Publication: October 30, 2013
Imprint: Springer Language: English
Author: Kai Schmitz
ISBN: 9783319009636
Publisher: Springer International Publishing
Publication: October 30, 2013
Imprint: Springer
Language: English

Several of the very foundations of the cosmological standard model — the baryon asymmetry of the universe, dark matter, and the origin of the hot big bang itself — still call for an explanation from the perspective of fundamental physics. This work advocates one intriguing possibility for a consistent cosmology that fills in the theoretical gaps while being fully in accordance with the observational data. At very high energies, the universe might have been in a false vacuum state that preserved B-L, the difference between the baryon number B and the lepton number L as a local symmetry. In this state, the universe experienced a stage of hybrid inflation that only ended when the false vacuum became unstable and decayed, in the course of a waterfall transition, into a phase with spontaneously broken B-L symmetry. This B-L Phase Transition was accompanied by tachyonic preheating that transferred almost the entire energy of the false vacuum into a gas of B-L Higgs bosons, which in turn decayed into heavy Majorana neutrinos. Eventually, these neutrinos decayed into massless radiation, thereby producing the entropy of the hot big bang, generating the baryon asymmetry of the universe via the leptogenesis mechanism and setting the stage for the production of dark matter. Next to a variety of conceptual novelties and phenomenological predictions, the main achievement of the thesis is hence the fascinating notion that the leading role in the first act of our universe might have actually been played by neutrinos.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Several of the very foundations of the cosmological standard model — the baryon asymmetry of the universe, dark matter, and the origin of the hot big bang itself — still call for an explanation from the perspective of fundamental physics. This work advocates one intriguing possibility for a consistent cosmology that fills in the theoretical gaps while being fully in accordance with the observational data. At very high energies, the universe might have been in a false vacuum state that preserved B-L, the difference between the baryon number B and the lepton number L as a local symmetry. In this state, the universe experienced a stage of hybrid inflation that only ended when the false vacuum became unstable and decayed, in the course of a waterfall transition, into a phase with spontaneously broken B-L symmetry. This B-L Phase Transition was accompanied by tachyonic preheating that transferred almost the entire energy of the false vacuum into a gas of B-L Higgs bosons, which in turn decayed into heavy Majorana neutrinos. Eventually, these neutrinos decayed into massless radiation, thereby producing the entropy of the hot big bang, generating the baryon asymmetry of the universe via the leptogenesis mechanism and setting the stage for the production of dark matter. Next to a variety of conceptual novelties and phenomenological predictions, the main achievement of the thesis is hence the fascinating notion that the leading role in the first act of our universe might have actually been played by neutrinos.

More books from Springer International Publishing

Cover of the book Towards a New International Monetary Order by Kai Schmitz
Cover of the book Modeling Approaches to Natural Convection in Porous Media by Kai Schmitz
Cover of the book Right-to-Work Laws and the Crumbling of American Public Health by Kai Schmitz
Cover of the book Uncertainty Quantification in Computational Fluid Dynamics by Kai Schmitz
Cover of the book Amorphous Drugs by Kai Schmitz
Cover of the book Optically Active Charge Traps and Chemical Defects in Semiconducting Nanocrystals Probed by Pulsed Optically Detected Magnetic Resonance by Kai Schmitz
Cover of the book Coalbed Methane in India by Kai Schmitz
Cover of the book Botrytis – the Fungus, the Pathogen and its Management in Agricultural Systems by Kai Schmitz
Cover of the book The Euro Crisis and European Identities by Kai Schmitz
Cover of the book Perennial Biomass Crops for a Resource-Constrained World by Kai Schmitz
Cover of the book Engineering of Biomaterials by Kai Schmitz
Cover of the book Climate Change Adaptation in Pacific Countries by Kai Schmitz
Cover of the book English Language Education Policy in the Middle East and North Africa by Kai Schmitz
Cover of the book Archimedes in the 21st Century by Kai Schmitz
Cover of the book Logical Foundations of Mathematics and Computational Complexity by Kai Schmitz
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy