Neutrino helicity asymmetries in leptogenesis

Abstract

It is pointed out that the heavy singlet neutrinos characteristic of leptogenesis develop asymmetries in the abundances of the two helicity states as a result of the same mechanism that generates asymmetries in the standard lepton sector. Neutrinos and standard leptons interchange asymmetries in collisions with each other. It is shown that an appropriate quantum number, B-L', combining baryon, lepton and neutrino asymmetries, is not violated as fast as the standard B-L. This suppresses the washout effects relevant for the derivation of the final baryon asymmetry. One presents detailed calculations for the period of neutrino thermal production in the framework of the singlet seesaw mechanism.