Effective Field Theories for Heavy Majorana Neutrinos in a Thermal Bath / by Simone Biondini.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Biondini, Simone., Author.

Series:

Springer Theses, Recognizing Outstanding Ph.D. Research, 2190-5053

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Particles (Nuclear physics).

Quantum field theory.

Cosmology.

String models.

Elementary Particles, Quantum Field Theory.

Quantum Field Theories, String Theory.

Local Subjects:

Elementary Particles, Quantum Field Theory.

Cosmology.

Quantum Field Theories, String Theory.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (221 pages)

Edition:

1st ed. 2017.

Place of Publication:

Cham : Springer International Publishing : Imprint: Springer, 2017.

Summary:

This thesis discusses the construction of an effective field theory (EFT) for non-relativistic Majorana fermions, shows how to use it to calculate observables in a thermal medium, and derives the effects of these thermal particles on the CP asymmetry. The methods described in this thesis are the only ones to date that allow a systematic and effective description of the non-relativistic dynamics of a heavy Majorana fermion at finite temperature. The CP asymmetry is studied for hierarchical and nearly degenerate heavy-neutrino masses and the analysis includes the treatment of lepton-flavor effects. Heavy Majorana neutrinos are involved in many scenarios of physics beyond the standard model and, in the leptogenesis framework, they are at the root of the baryon asymmetry in the Universe. Besides simplifying existing results, the EFT approach provides useful tools for addressing even more involved observables. Indeed, taken together, the approach and the material pres ented here represent an important step toward a systematic improvement of our knowledge of the CP asymmetry in heavy-neutrino decays at finite temperature.

Contents:

Baryon Asymmetry in the Early Universe

Baryogenesis via Leptogenesis

Effective Field Theories

Thermal Field Theory in a Nutshell

EFT Approach for Right-handed Neutrinos in a Thermal Bath

CP Asymmetries at Finite Temperature: the Nearly Degenerate Case

CP Asymmetries at Finite Temperature: the Hierarchical Case

Flavoured CP Asymmetries.

Notes:

"Doctoral Thesis accepted by the Technical University of Munich, Germany."

Includes bibliographical references at the end of each chapters and index.

ISBN:

3-319-63901-3