Boltzmann equation and its cosmological applications

Abstract

We review the derivation of the Boltzmann equation and its cosmological applications in this paper. The derivation of the Boltzmann equation, especially the collision term, is discussed in detail in the language of the quantum field theory without any assumption of the finite temperature system. We also discuss the integrated Boltzmann equation with the deal of the temperature parameter as an extension of the standard equation. Among a number of its cosmological applications, we mainly target two familiar examples, the dynamics of the dark matter abundance through the freeze-out/in process and a baryogenesis scenario. The formulations in those systems are briefly discussed with techniques in their calculations.