2001/01/29 by Joseph I. Kapusta, Joseph I Kapusta, Kapusta, Joseph I
Physics and Astronomy · #Astrophysics (astro-ph) #Cosmology and Gravitation Theories #FOS: Physical sciences #High-Energy Particle Collisions Research #Quantum Chromodynamics and Particle Interactions #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.astro-ph/0101516
19 pages, 9 figures. To appear in the proceedings of the International School of Astrophysics D. Chalonge, 8th Course, "Phase Transitions in the Early Universe: Theory and Observations", Erice, Sicily, 6-17 December 2000, ed. H.J. de Vega, I. Khalatnikov, N. Sanchez (Kluwer Academic Pub.)
arxiv created 2001/01/29 · openalex publication_date 2001/01/29 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
A QCD phase transition in the early universe could have left inhomogeneities in the baryon to photon ratio and in isospin that might have affected nucleosynthesis later on. At very high temperature QCD plasma can be described by perturbation theory because of asymptotic freedom, but a possible phase transition requires a nonperturbative approach like lattice gauge theory. Assuming that a first order transition did occur, a dynamical set of equations can be solved to evolve the universe through it and to quantify the scale of inhomogeneity. Unfortunately this scale appears to be too small by two orders of magnitude to affect nucleosynthesis.