Conventional Superconductivity in Fe-Based Pnictides: the Relevance of Intra-Band Electron-Boson Scattering

Various recent experimental data and especially the large Fe-isotope effect point against unconventional pairings, since the large intra-band impurity scattering is strongly pair-breaking for them. The strength of the inter-band impurity scattering in some single crystals may be strong and probably beyond the Born scattering limit. In that case the proposed s(+-) pairing (hole(h)- and electron(el)-gaps are of opposite signs) is suppressed but possibly not completely destroyed. The data imply that the intra-band pairing in the h- and in the el-band, which are inevitably due to some nonmagnetic el-boson interaction (EBI), must be taken into account. EBI is either due to phonons (EPI) or possibly due to excitons (EEI), or both are simultaneously operative. We discuss their interplay briefly. The large Fe-isotope effect favors the EPI and the s(+) pairing (the h- and el-gaps are in-phase).Comment: 7 pages, no figures, explanations and argumentations improved, references adde

Shape of the inflaton potential and the efficiency of the universe heating

It is shown that the efficiency of the universe heating by an inflaton field depends not only on the possible presence of parametric resonance in the production of scalar particles but also strongly depends on the character of the inflaton approach to its mechanical equilibrium point. In particular, when the inflaton oscillations deviate from pure harmonic ones toward a succession of step functions, the production probability rises by several orders of magnitude. This in turn leads to a much higher temperature of the universe after the inflaton decay, in comparison to the harmonic case. An example of the inflaton potential is presented which creates a proper modification of the evolution of the inflaton toward equilibrium and does not destroy the nice features of inflation.Comment: 14 pages, 12 figures; final version published in EPJ

Baryogenesis from Gravitational Decay of TeV-Particles in Theories with Low Scale Gravity

In models with the fundamental gravity scale in the TeV range, early cosmology is quite different from the standard picture, because the universe must have arisen at a much lower temperature and the electroweak symmetry was probably never restored. In this context, baryogenesis appears to be problematic: if the involved physics is essentially that of the Standard Model, ``conventional'' non-conserving baryon number processes are completely negligible at such low temperatures. In this paper we show that the observed matter-antimatter asymmetry of the universe may be generated by gravitational decay of TeV-mass particles: such objects can be out of equilibrium after inflation and, if their mass is of the same order of magnitude as the true quantum gravity scale, they can quickly decay through a black hole intermediate state, violating global symmetries, in particular, baryon number. In this context, we take advantage of the fact that the ``Sakharov conditions'' for baryogenesis can be more easily satisfied with a low fundamental scale of gravity.Comment: 18 pages, added reference

Baryogenesis, 30 Years after

A review of the basic principles of baryogenesis is given. Baryogenesis in heavy particle decays as well as electroweak, SUSY-condensate, and spontaneous baryogenesis are discussed. The models of abundant creation of antimatter in the universe are briefly reviewed.Comment: 30 pages, latex twic

Cosmology and New Physics

A comparison of the standard models in particle physics and in cosmology demonstrates that they are not compatible, though both are well established. Basics of modern cosmology are briefly reviewed. It is argued that the measurements of the main cosmological parameters are achieved through many independent physical phenomena and this minimizes possible interpretation errors. It is shown that astronomy demands new physics beyond the frameworks of the (minimal) standard model in particle physics. More revolutionary modifications of the basic principles of the theory are also discussed.Comment: 37 pages, 5 figures; lectures presented at 9th International Moscow School of Physics (34th ITEP Winter School

Cosmology and Neutrino Properties

This is a brief review for particle physicists on cosmological impact of neutrinos and on restrictions on neutrino properties from cosmology. The paper includes discussion of upper bounds on neutrino mass and possible ways to relax them, methods to observe the cosmic neutrino background, bounds on the cosmological lepton asymmetry which are strongly improved by neutrino oscillations, cosmological effects of breaking of spin-statistics theorem for neutrinos, bounds on mixing parameters of active and possible sterile neutrinos with the account of active neutrino oscillations, bounds on right-handed currents and neutrino magnetic moments, and some more.Comment: Talk presented at the meeting of Nuclear Physics Division of Russian Academy of Sci., November, 2007, Moscow. 21 pages, 3 figures. One reference is added and some numbers are slightly correcte