2015/08/31 by Peter Adshead, Evangelos I. Sfakianakis · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · #astro-ph.CO #hep-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevlett.116.091301
published as Phys. Rev. Lett. 116, 091301 (2016) · 5 pages, v2: accepted for publication in PRL, manuscript updated to match printed version
arxiv created 2016/02/22 · arxiv updated 2016/03/09
We propose that the observed matter-antimatter asymmetry can be naturally produced as a byproduct of axion-driven slow-roll inflation by coupling the axion to standard-model neutrinos. We assume that GUT scale right-handed neutrinos are responsible for the masses of the standard model neutrinos and that the Higgs field is light during inflation and develops a Hubble scale vacuum expectation value (VEV). In this set up, the rolling axion generates a helicity asymmetry in standard-model neutrinos. Following inflation, this helicity asymmetry becomes equal to a net lepton number as the Higgs VEV decays and is partially re-processed by the SU(2)L sphaleron into a net baryon number.