Theory and Phenomenology of Electroweak Phase Transitions
Author | : |
Publisher | : |
Total Pages | : 123 |
Release | : 2013 |
ISBN-10 | : OCLC:856582220 |
ISBN-13 | : |
Rating | : 4/5 (20 Downloads) |
Book excerpt: An open problem in cosmology is to explain the origin of baryon abundance implied by observational cosmology. Among the many proposed explanations, electroweak baryogenesis is particularly attractive in that its ingredients is discoverable by modern experiments. The analysis of the electroweak phase transition in the early universe comprises an integral component within the larger study of electroweak baryogenesis. In this work, I make a detailed investigation of the conventional analysis of the electroweak phase transition commonly found in literature, and explicitly demonstrate that results are not independent of the choice of gauge. In its place, I provide a manifestly gauge-independent method for the analysis, review sources of theoretical and numerical uncertainties, and explore avenues for further development. Next, I explore the dynamics of the electroweak phase transition in two minimal extensions of the Standard Model of particle physics. Within these simple models, I describe a novel pattern of electroweak symmetry breaking favorable for baryogenesis that can serve as a paradigm for phase transition analysis in more complicated models.