Supersymmetric Electroweak Baryogenesis in the WKB approximation

We calculate the baryon asymmetry generated at the electroweak phase transition in the minimal supersymmetric standard model, treating the particles in a WKB approximation in the bubble wall background. A set of diffusion equations for the particle species relevant to baryon generation, including source terms arising from the CP violation associated with the complex phase $\delta$ of the $\mu$ parameter, are derived from Boltzmann equations, and solved. The conclusion is that $\delta$ must be \gsim 0.1 to generate a baryon asymmetry consistent with nucleosynthesis. We compare our results to several other recent computations of the effect, arguing that some are overestimates.Comment: 12 pages, 1 figure, corrected some criticisms of hep-ph/9702409; to appear in Phys. Lett.

Electroweak Baryogenesis in a Supersymmetric U(1)' Model

We construct an anomaly free supersymmetric U(1)' model with a secluded U(1)'-breaking sector. We study the one-loop effective potential at finite temperature, and show that there exists a strong enough first order electroweak phase transition for electroweak baryogenesis (EWBG) because of the large trilinear term $A_h h S H_d H_u$ in the tree-level Higgs potential. Unlike in the MSSM, the lightest stop can be very heavy. We consider the non-local EWBG mechanism in the thin wall regime, and find that within uncertainties the observed baryon number can be generated from the $\tau$ lepton contribution, with the secluded sector playing an essential role. The chargino and neutralino contributions and the implications for the Z' mass and electric dipole moments are briefly discussed.Comment: RevTex, 4 pages, 2 figures, references added, version to appear in PR

Inhomogeneous Big-Bang Nucleosynthesis in Light of Recent Observations

We consider inhomogeneous big bang nucleosynthesis in light of the present observational situation. Different observations of He-4 and D disagree with each other, and depending on which set of observations one uses, the estimated primordial He-4 corresponds to a lower baryon density in standard big bang nucleosynthesis than what one gets from deuterium. Recent Kamiokande results rule out a favorite particle physics solution to this tension between He-4 and D. Inhomogeneous nucleosynthesis can alleviate this tension, but the more likely solution is systematics in the observations. The upper limit to Omega_b from inhomogeneous nucleosynthesis is higher than in standard nucleosynthesis, given that the distance scale of the inhomogeneity is near the optimal value, which maximizes effects of neutron diffusion. Possible sources of baryon inhomogeneity include the QCD and electroweak phase transitions. The distance scale of the inhomogeneities arising from the electroweak transition is too small for them to have a large effect on nucleosynthesis, but the effect may still be larger than some of the other small corrections recently incorporated to SBBN codes.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figures, REVTe

Kinetic theory for scalar fields with nonlocal quantum coherence

We derive quantum kinetic equations for scalar fields undergoing coherent evolution either in time (coherent particle production) or in space (quantum reflection). Our central finding is that in systems with certain space-time symmetries, quantum coherence manifests itself in the form of new spectral solutions for the dynamical 2-point correlation function. This spectral structure leads to a consistent approximation for dynamical equations that describe coherent evolution in presence of decohering collisions. We illustrate the method by solving the bosonic Klein problem and the bound states for the nonrelativistic square well potential. We then compare our spectral phase space definition of particle number to other definitions in the nonequilibrium field theory. Finally we will explicitly compute the effects of interactions to coherent particle production in the case of an unstable field coupled to an oscillating background.Comment: 33 pages, 7 figures, replaced with the version published in JHE

Supersymmetric electroweak phase transition: beyond perturbation theory

We compute the three-dimensional effective action for the minimal supersymmetric standard model, which describes the light modes of the theory near the finite-temperature electroweak phase transition, keeping the one-loop corrections from the third generation quarks and squarks. Using the lattice results of Kajantie et al. for the phase transition in the same class of 3-D models, we find that the strength of the phase transition is sufficient for electroweak baryogenesis, in much broader regions of parameter space than have been indicated by purely perturbative analyses. In particular we find that, while small values of \tan\beta are favored, positive results persist even for arbitrarily large values of \tan\beta if the mass of the A^0 boson is between 40 and 100 GeV, a region of parameters which has not been previously identified as being favorable for electroweak baryogenesis

Systematics of Western Indian Ocean Octotropideae

The tribe Octotropideae remains one ofthe leastknown groups of Paleotropical Rubiaceae. The Western Indian Ocean and Madagascar, in particular, represents a center of diversity with a high degree o f endemism. Canephora, Chapelieria, Flagenium, Gallienia, Jovetia, and Lemyrea are some of the genera that are only found on Madagascar. Most o f the Malagasy genera are in need of taxonomic revisión and there are several species that are as o f yet undescribed. However, the generic delimitations are still not fully resolved, and molecular phylogenetic studies also indícate that not all genera are monophyletic as presently circumscribed. The aims of this study are to infer the phylogeny of Octotropideae sensu strictu using plastid and nuclear DNA data, and to clarify generic delimitations of the Malagasy members. Results will be presented and discussed