Sphaleron

Abstract: In models of fermions coupled to gauge fields certain current-conservation laws are violated by Bell-Jackiw anomalies. In perturbation theory the total charge corresponding to such currents seems to be still conserved, but here it is shown that nonperturbative effects can give rise to interactions that violate the charge conservation. One consequence is baryon and lepton number nonconservation in $V\ensuremath{-}A$ gauge theories with charm. Another is the nonvanishing mass squared of the $\ensuremath{\eta}$.

Abstract: Although the origin of matter-antimatter asymmetry remains unknown, continuing advances in theory and improved experimental limits have ruled out some scenarios for baryogenesis, for example, sphaleron baryogenesis at the electroweak phase transition in the Standard Model. At the same time, the success of cosmological inflation and the prospects for discovering supersymmetry at the Large Hadron Collider have put some other models in sharper focus. We review the current state of our understanding of baryogenesis with emphasis on those scenarios that we consider most plausible.

Abstract: ▪ Abstract We explore in some detail the hypothesis that the generation of a primordial lepton-antilepton asymmetry (Leptogenesis) early on in the history of the Universe is the root cause for the origin of matter. After explaining the theoretical conditions for producing a matter-antimatter asymmetry in the Universe we detail how, through sphaleron processes, it is possible to transmute a lepton asymmetry—or, more precisely, a (B – L)-asymmetry—into a baryon asymmetry. Because Leptogenesis depends in detail on properties of the neutrino spectrum, we review briefly existing experimental information on neutrinos as well as the seesaw mechanism, which offers a theoretical understanding of why neutrinos are so light. The bulk of the review is devoted to a discussion of thermal Leptogenesis, and we show that for the neutrino spectrum suggested by oscillation experiments, one obtains the observed value for the baryon to photon density ratio in the Universe, independently of any initial boundary conditions. In ...