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Antonio Riotto

Publications and source records attributed to Antonio Riotto.

At least 199 records · Page 11Linked to original sources
arXiv2000

What if Dark matter is Bosonic and self-interacting

Recently the problem of singular galactic cores and over-abundant formation of dwarf galaxies, inherent to the standard cold dark matter model, had attracted a great deal of attention. One scenario which may be free of these problems invokes a self-interacting Bose-field. We find the limiting core density in this model due to the self-annihilation of the scalar field into its own relativistic quanta. The limiting density may correspond to the observable one if there is only one dark matter component. Alternatively, there may be more than one dark matter species and the annihilation of one species may be very efficient with subsequent expansion of the other, thus avoiding the problem of singular cores.

astro-ph↗
arXiv2000

Baryogenesis at Low Reheating Temperatures

We note that the maximum temperature during reheating can be much greater than the reheating temperature $T_r$ at which the Universe becomes radiation dominated. We show that the Standard Model anomalous $(B+L)$-violating processes can therefore be in thermal equilibrium for 1 GeV $\simlt T_{r}\ll 100$ GeV. Electroweak baryogenesis could work and the traditional upper bound on the Higgs mass coming from the requirement of the preservation of the baryon asymmetry may be relaxed. Alternatively, the baryon asymmetry may be reprocessed by sphaleron transitions either from a $(B-L) $ asymmetry generated by the Affleck-Dine mechanism or from a chiral asymmetry between $e_R$ and $e_L$ in a $B-L = 0$ Universe. Our findings are also relevant to the production of the baryon asymmetry in large extra dimension models.

hep-ph↗
arXiv1999

Probing Planckian physics: resonant production of particles during inflation and features in the primordial power spectrum

The phenomenon of resonant production of particles {\it after} inflation has received much attention in the past few years. In a new application of resonant production of particles, we consider the effect of a resonance {\em during} inflation. We show that if the inflaton is coupled to a massive particle, resonant production of the particle during inflation modifies the evolution of the inflaton, and may leave an imprint in the form of sharp features in the primordial power spectrum. Precision measurements of microwave background anisotropies and large-scale structure surveys could be sensitive to the features, and probe the spectrum of particles as massive as the Planck scale.

hep-ph↗
arXiv1999

D-branes, String Cosmology and Large Extra Dimensions

D-branes are fundamental in all scenarios where there are large extra dimensions and the string scale is much smaller than the four-dimensional Planck mass. We show that this current picture leads to a new approach to string cosmology where inflation on our brane is driven by the large extra dimensions and the issue of the graceful exit becomes inextricably linked to the problem of the stabilization of the extra dimensions, suggesting the possibility of a common solution. We also show that branes may violently fluctuate along their transverse directions in curved spacetime, possibly leading to a period of brane-driven inflation. This phenomenon plays also a crucial role in many other cosmological issues, such as the smoothing out of the cosmological singularities and the generation of the baryon asymmetry on our three brane.

hep-ph↗
arXiv1999

Measuring the cosmological lepton asymmetry through the CMB anisotropy

A large lepton asymmetry in the Universe is still a viable possibility and leads to many interesting phenomena such as gauge symmetry nonrestoration at high temperature. We show that a large lepton asymmetry changes the predicted cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropy and that any degeneracy in the relic neutrino sea will be measured to a precision of 1% or better when the CMB anisotropy is measured at the accuracy expected to result from the planned satellite missions MAP and Planck. In fact, the current measurements already put an upper limit on the lepton asymmetry of the Universe which is stronger than the one coming from considerations of primordial nucleosynthesis and structure formation.

hep-ph↗
arXiv1999

Particle Physics Models of Inflation and the Cosmological Density Perturbation

This is a review of particle-theory models of inflation, and of their predictions for the primordial density perturbation that is thought to be the origin of structure in the Universe. It contains mini-reviews of the relevant observational cosmology, of elementary field theory and of supersymmetry, that may be of interest in their own right. The spectral index $n(k)$, specifying the scale-dependence of the spectrum of the curvature perturbation, will be a powerful discriminator between models, when it is measured by Planck with accuracy $Δn\sim 0.01$. The usual formula for $n$ is derived, as well as its less familiar extension to the case of a multi-component inflaton; in both cases the key ingredient is the separate evolution of causally disconnected regions of the Universe. Primordial gravitational waves will be an even more powerful discriminator if they are observed, since most models of inflation predict that they are completely negligible. We treat in detail the new wave of models, which are firmly rooted in modern particle theory and have supersymmetry as a crucial ingredient. The review is addressed to both astrophysicists and particle physicists, and each section is fairly homogeneous regarding the assumed background knowledge.

hep-ph↗
arXiv1999

Recent Progress in Baryogenesis

We provide an up to date account of progress in understanding the origin of the observed baryon asymmetry of the universe. While our primary goal is to be current, we have attempted to give a pedagogical introduction to the primary areas of research in this field, giving a detailed description of the different scenarios. The very recent developments in GUT baryogenesis, leptogenesis, electroweak baryogenesis and the Affleck-Dine mechanism are presented. In particular, we focus on specific particle physics implementations, mostly in the context of supersymmetry, which lead to specific testable predictions.

hep-ph↗
arXiv1998

D-branes and Cosmology

D-branes, topological defects in string theory on which string endpoints can live, may give new insight into the understanding of the cosmological evolution of the Universe at early epochs. We analyze the dynamics of D-branes in curved backgrounds and discuss the parameter space of M-theory as a function of the coupling constant and of the curvature of the Universe. We show that D-branes may be efficiently produced by gravitational effects. Furthermore, in curved spacetimes the transverse fluctuations of the D-branes develop a tachyonic mode and when the fluctuations grow larger than the horizon the branes become tensionless and break up. This signals a transition to a new regime. We discuss the implications of our findings for the singularity problem present in string cosmology, suggesting the existence of a limiting value for the curvature which is in agreement with the value suggested by the cosmological version of the holography principle. We also comment on possible implications for the so-called brane world scenario, where the Standard Model gauge and matter fields live inside some branes while gravitons live in the bulk.

hep-th↗
arXiv1998

WIMPZILLAS!

There are many reasons to believe the present mass density of the universe is dominated by a weakly interacting massive particle (WIMP), a fossil relic of the early universe. Theoretical ideas and experimental efforts have focused mostly on production and detection of thermal relics, with mass typically in the range a few GeV to a hundred GeV. Here, I will review scenarios for production of nonthermal dark matter. Since the masses of the nonthermal WIMPS are in the range 10^{12} to 10^{16} GeV, much larger than the mass of thermal wimpy WIMPS, they may be referred to as WIMPZILLAS. In searches for dark matter it may be well to remember that ``size does matter.''

hep-ph↗
arXiv1998

String-mediated electroweak baryogenesis: a critical analysis

We study the scenario of electroweak baryogenesis mediated by nonsuperconducting cosmic strings. This idea relies upon electroweak symmetry being restored in a region around the core of the topological defect so that, within this region, the rate of baryon number violation is enhanced. We compute numerically how effectively baryon number is violated along a cosmic string, at an epoch when the baryon number violation rate elsewhere is negligible. We show that B-violation along nonsuperconducting strings is quite inefficient. When proper accounting is taken of the velocity dependence of the baryon number production by strings, it proves too small to explain the observed abundance by at least ten orders of magnitude, whether the strings are in the friction dominated or the scaling regime.

hep-ph↗
arXiv1998

Damping rates in the MSSM and electroweak baryogenesis

We present an analysis of the thermalization rate of Higgsinos and winos based on the imaginary part of the two-point Green function in the {\it unbroken} phase of the MSSM. We use improved propagators including resummation of hard thermal loops and the thermalization rate is computed at the one-loop level in the high temperature approximation. We find that the damping is typically dominated by scattering with gauge bosons, resulting in a damping rate of about $γ_{\Ht}\simeq 0.025T$, $γ_{\Wt}\simeq 0.065T$. The contribution from scattering with scalars is relatively small. Implications for baryogenesis are also discussed.

hep-ph↗
arXiv1998

Nonthermal Supermassive Dark Matter

We discuss several cosmological production mechanisms for nonthermal supermassive dark matter and argue that dark matter may be elementary particles of mass much greater than the weak scale. Searches for dark matter should not be limited to weakly interacting particles with mass of the order of the weak scale, but should extend into the supermassive range as well.

hep-ph↗
arXiv1998

Production of massive particles during reheating

What is commonly called the reheat temperature, $T_{RH}$, is not the maximum temperature obtained after inflation. The maximum temperature is, in fact, much larger than $T_{RH}$. As an application of this we consider the production of massive stable dark-matter particles of mass $M_X$ during reheating, and show that their abundance is suppressed as a power of $T_{RH}/M_X$ rather than $\exp(-M_X/T_{RH})$. We find that particles of mass as large as $2\times 10^3$ times the reheat temperature may be produced in interesting abundance. In addition to dark matter, our analysis is relevant for baryogenesis if the baryon asymmetry is produced by the baryon (or lepton) number violating decays of superheavy bosons, and also for relic ultra-high energy cosmic rays if decays of superheavy particles are responsible for the highest energy cosmic rays.

hep-ph↗
arXiv1998

Cosmological Phase Transitions and Radius Stabilization in Higher Dimensions

Recently there has been considerable interest in field theories and string theories with large extra spacetime dimensions. In this paper, we explore the role of such extra dimensions for cosmology, focusing on cosmological phase transitions in field theory and the Hagedorn transition and radius stabilization in string theory. In each case, we find that significant distinctions emerge from the usual case in which such large extra dimensions are absent. For example, for temperatures larger than the scale of the compactification radii, we show that the critical temperature above which symmetry restoration occurs is reduced relative to the usual four-dimensional case, and consequently cosmological phase transitions in extra dimensions are delayed. Furthermore, we argue that if phase transitions do occur at temperatures larger than the compactification scale, then they cannot be of first-order type. Extending our analysis to string theories with large internal dimensions, we focus on the Hagedorn transition and the new features that arise due to the presence of large internal dimensions. We also consider the role of thermal effects in establishing a potential for the radius of the compactified dimension, and we use this to propose a thermal mechanism for generating and stabilizing a large radius of compactification.

hep-ph↗
arXiv1998

The Supersymmetric Flavour and CP Problems From a Cosmological Perspective

The supersymmetric flavour and CP problems can be avoided if the first two generations of sfermions are heavier than a few TeV and approximately degenerate in mass. However using flavour and CP-violating constraints on the third sfermion generation, together with the decoupling of the first two generations, can dramatically affect cosmological predictions such as the relic abundance of stable particles. In particular, we show that if the lightest supersymmetric particle is essentially bino-like then requiring that all flavour changing neutral current and CP-violating processes are adequately suppressed, imposes severe limits on the bino mass, where typically m_bino>(200-300) GeV. This leads to difficulties for models implementing the scenario of heavy sfermion masses.

hep-ph↗
arXiv1998

Theories of Baryogenesis

These lectures provide a pedagogical review of the present status of theories explaining the observed baryon asymmetry of the Universe. Particular emphasis is given on GUT baryogenesis and electroweak baryogenesis. The key issues, the unresolved problems and the very recent developments, such as GUT baryogenesis during preheating, are explained. Some exercises (and their solution) are also provided.

hep-ph↗
arXiv1998

Fermion Masses and Gauge Mediated Supersymmetry Breaking from a Single U(1)

We present a supersymmetric model of flavor. A single U(1) gauge group is responsible for both generating the flavor spectrum and communicating supersymmetry breaking to the visible sector. The problem of Flavor Changing Neutral Currents is overcome, in part using an `Effective Supersymmetry' spectrum among the squarks, with the first two generations very heavy. All masses are generated dynamically and the theory is completely renormalizable. The model contains a simple Froggatt-Nielsen sector and communicates supersymmetry breaking via gauge mediation without requiring a separate messenger sector. By forcing the theory to be consistent with SU(5) Grand Unification, the model predicts a large tan beta and a massless up quark. While respecting the experimental bounds on CP violation in the K-system, the model leads to a large enhancement of CP violation in B-(B bar) mixing as well as in B decay amplitudes.

hep-ph↗