Classical issues in electroweak baryogenesis

In one scenario of baryogenesis, the matter-antimatter asymmetry was generated in the early universe during a cold electroweak transition. We model this transition by changing the sign of the effective mass-squared parameter of the Higgs field from positive to negative. The resulting `tachyonic' instability leads to a rapid growth of occupation numbers, such that a classical approximation can be made in computing subsequent developments in real time. We solve the classical equations of motion in the SU(2)-Higgs model under the influence of effective CP-violation. The resulting baryon asymmetry follows from the generated Chern-Simons number using the anomaly equation. The `classical' difficulties with lattice implementations of these observables are avoided here because the fields are smooth on the lattice scale.Comment: Proceedings Lattice 2003 (Higgs), 3 pages; added reference

Branched chain aldehydes: production and breakdown pathways and relevance for flavour in foods

Branched aldehydes, such as 2-methyl propanal and 2- and 3-methyl butanal, are important flavour compounds in many food products, both fermented and non-fermented (heat-treated) products. The production and degradation of these aldehydes from amino acids is described and reviewed extensively in literature. This paper reviews aspects influencing the formation of these aldehydes at the level of metabolic conversions, microbial and food composition. Special emphasis was on 3-methyl butanal and its presence in various food products. Knowledge gained about the generation pathways of these flavour compounds is essential for being able to control the formation of desired levels of these aldehydes

Manifestly Gauge Invariant Models of Chiral Lattice Fermions

A manifestly gauge invariant lattice action for nonanomalous chiral models is proposed which leads in the continuum limit to the theory free of doublers.Comment: 9 pages, LaTeX. Revised version with an extended discussion of the role of higher derivative regulators. Submitted to Phys.Lett.B. Preprint SMI-9-9

Reverse flow catalytic membrane reactors for energy efficient syngas production

To improve the recuperative heat exchange, a Reverse Flow Catalytic Membrane Reactor (RFCMR) with porous membranes is proposed in this thesis, in which very efficient heat exchange between the feed and product streams is achieved by using the reverse flow concept (i.e. periodic alternation of the flow direction of the gas through a fixed catalyst bed)

Staggered fermions for chiral gauge theories: Test on a two-dimensional axial-vector model

As a first step towards constructing chiral models on the lattice with staggered fermions, we study a U(1) model with axial-vector coupling to an external gauge field in two dimensions. In our approach gauge invariance is broken, but it is restored in the classical continuum limit. We find that the continuum divergence relations for the vector and axial-vector currents are reproduced, up to contact terms, which we determine analytically. The current divergence relations are also studied numerically for smooth external gauge fields with topological charge zero. We furthermore investigate the effect of fluctuating gauge transformations and of gauge configurations with non-trivial topological charge.Comment: 17 pages, 5 postscript figures (appended), ITFA 93-13, UCSD/PTH 93-1

No strong coupling regime in the fermion-Higgs sector of the standard model

We present results for the renormalized quartic self-coupling \lm_R and the renormalized Yukawa coupling $y_R$ in a fermion-Higgs model with two SU(2) doublets, indicating that these couplings are not very strong.Comment: 4 pages, 4 postscript figures (appended), ITFA-92-32, HLRZ-92-92, UCSD/PTH 92-43, Contribution to the Conference Lattice'9

Cold Electroweak Baryogenesis

We present arguments that the CKM CP-violation in the standard model may be sufficient for the generation of the baryon asymmetry, if the electroweak transition in the early universe was of the cold, tachyonic, type after electroweak-scale inflation. A model implementing this is described which complies with the CMB constraints and which is falsifiable with the LHC. Numerical simulations of the tachyonic transition with an effective CP-bias indicate that the observed baryon asymmetry can be generated this way.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, presented at Strong and ElectroWeak Matter 200

Real time simulations and the electroweak phase transition

We review recent developments in real-time simulations of SU(2)-Higgs theory near the electroweak transition and related topics.Comment: 6 pages, latex, 4 figures; to appear in the proceedings of LATTICE '9