Electroweak Baryogenesis: Advances in Sphaleron Rate Calculations and Implications of Thermal Phase Transitions

Yanda Wu

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arXiv · 2607.24026

Electroweak Baryogenesis: Advances in Sphaleron Rate Calculations and Implications of Thermal Phase Transitions

Yanda Wu

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Abstract

This thesis reviews recent advances in calculating the sphaleron rate, with particular emphasis on electroweak baryogenesis. It also provides pedagogical introductions to sphaleron- and instanton-induced baryon-number violation, the vacuum structure of non-Abelian gauge theories, and other topological field configurations, and suggests "an zi" as a possible Chinese term for "sphaleron" (see p. 3). Broader implications of first-order phase transitions for collider searches and primordial black hole formation are also discussed.

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Yanda Wu. 2026-07-27. Electroweak Baryogenesis: Advances in Sphaleron Rate Calculations and Implications of Thermal Phase Transitions. https://arxiv.org/abs/2607.24026

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