Baryon Asymmetry of the Universe in the Standard Model

Abstract

We study the interactions of quarks and antiquarks with the changing Higgs field during the electroweak phase transition, including quantum mechanical and some thermal effects, with the only source of CP violation being the known CKM phase. The magnitude and sign of the predicted BAU agrees with the observed value, with moderately optimistic assumptions about the dynamics of the phase transition. At present uncertainties related to the dynamics of the ew phase transition and the oversimplifications of our treatment are too great to decide whether or not this is the correct explanation for the presence of remnant matter in our universe, however the present work makes it clear that the minimal standard model cannot be discounted as a contender for explaining this phenomenon.