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Thermal leptogenesis explains the observed matter-antimatter asymmetry of the universe in terms of neutrino masses, consistent with neutrino oscillation experiments. We present a full quantum mechanical calculation of the generated lepton asymmetry based on Kadanoff-Baym equations. Origin of the asymmetry is the departure from equilibrium of the statistical propagator of the heavy Majorana neutrino, together with CP violating couplings. The lepton asymmetry is calculated directly in terms of Green's functions without referring to "number densities". Compared to Boltzmann and quantum Boltzmann equations, the crucial difference are memory effects, rapid oscillations much faster than the heavy neutrino equilibration time. These oscillations strongly suppress the generated lepton asymmetry, unless the standard model gauge interactions, which cause thermal damping, are properly taken into account. We find that these damping effects essentially compensate the enhancement due to quantum statistical factors, so that finally the conventional Boltzmann equations again provide rather accurate predictions for the lepton asymmetry., Comment: 57 pages, 11 figures; published version including erratum concerning Boltzmann limit for zero thermal widths

Thermal leptogenesis explains the observed matter-antimatter asymmetry of the universe in terms of neutrino masses, consistent with neutrino oscillation experiments. We present a full quantum mechanical calculation of the generated lepton asymmetry based on Kadanoff-Baym equations. Origin of the asymmetry is the departure of the statistical propagator of the heavy Majorana neutrino from the equilibrium propagator, together with CP violating couplings. The lepton asymmetry is calculated directly in terms of Green's functions without referring to `number densities'. A detailed comparison with Boltzmann equations shows that conventional leptogenesis calculations have an uncertainty of at least one order of magnitude. Particularly important is the inclusion of thermal damping rates in the full quantum mechanical calculation., Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures; minor corrections, matches published version

We study the approach to equilibrium for a scalar field which is coupled to a large thermal bath. Our analysis of the initial value problem is based on Kadanoff-Baym equations which are shown to be equivalent to a stochastic Langevin equation. The interaction with the thermal bath generates a temperature-dependent spectral density, either through decay and inverse decay processes or via Landau damping. In equilibrium, energy density and pressure are determined by the Bose-Einstein distribution function evaluated at a complex quasi-particle pole. The time evolution of the statistical propagator is compared with solutions of the Boltzmann equations for particles as well as quasi-particles. The dependence on initial conditions and the range of validity of the Boltzmann approximation are determined., Comment: 37 pages, 14 figures; references added

In this letter we explore the dependence on the gauge fixing condition of several quantities in the U(1) Higgs model at finite temperature and chemical potential. We compute the effective potential at the one loop level, using a gauge fixing condition that depends on $\mu$ and which allows to decouple the contributions of the different fields in the model. In this way we get the mass spectrum and the characterization of the phase transition, pointing out in each case how these quantities depend on the gauge fixing parameter $\xi$. When $\mu$ vanishes, we agree with previous results if $\xi=0$. The gauge dependence problem is also analyzed from the perspective of the Nielsen identities., Comment: fourteen pages, we add an analysis of the problem from the perspective of Nielsen identities, to be published in Modern Letters Physics A

The stability of the Skyrmion solution in the presence of finite isospin chemical potential $\mu $ is considered, showing the existence of a critical value $\mu_{c} = 222.8$ MeV where the Skyrmion mass vanishes. Using the Hamiltonian formulation, in terms of collective variables, we discuss the behavior of different skyrmionic parameters as function of the isospin chemical potential ($\mu$), such as the energy density, the isoscalar radius and the isoscalar magnetic radius. We found that the radii start to grow very fast for $\mu \geq 140$ MeV, suggesting the occurrence of a phase transition., Comment: Contribution to the QCD-06 Conference, Montpellier, July 2006

A discussion of the stability of self gravitating Skyrmions, with a large winding number N, in a Schwarzschild type of metric, is presented for the case where an isospin chemical potential is introduced. It turns out that the chemical potential stabilizes the behavior of the Skyrmion discussed previously in the literature. This analysis is carried on in the framework of a variational approach using different ansaetze for the radial profile of the Skyrmion. We found a divergent behavior for the size of the Skyrmion, associated to a certain critical value $\mu_c$ of the chemical potential. At this point, the mass of the Skyrmion vanishes. $\mu_c$ is essentialy independent of gravitating effects. The stability of a large N skyrmion against decays into single particles is also discussed., Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures Small changes to the previous version and a new reference

Using the Hamiltonian formulation, in terms of collective variables, we explore the evolution of different skyrmionic parameters as function of the isospin chemical potential ($\mu$), such as the energy density, the charge density, the isoscalar radius and the isoscalar magnetic radius. We found that the radii start to grow very fast for $\mu \gtrsim 140$ MeV, suggesting the occurrence of a phase transition., Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures

In this letter we make use of the Background Field Method (BFM) to compute the effective potential of an SU(2) gauge field theory, in the presence of chemical potential and temperature. The main idea is to consider the chemical potential as the background field. The gauge fixing condition required by the BFM turns out to be exactly the one we found in a previous article in a different context., Comment: 6 pages, no figures

We discuss the stability of the Skyrmion solution in the presence of a finite isospin chemical potential $\mu$. Solving numerically the mass of the Skyrmion as function of $\mu$, we find a critical value $\mu_c=222.8$ MeV where the Skyrmion mass vanishes. We compare the exact numerical treatment with an analytical discussion based on a special shape for the profile of the Skyrmion due to Atiyah and Manton. The extension of this ansatz for finite $\mu$ works quite well for $\mu<121$ MeV. Then, for small values of $\mu$, where the analytical approach is valid, we consider the possibility of having an angular deformation for the Skyrmionic profile, which is possible for finite values of $\mu$. This is however, a small effect. Finally we introduce finite temperature corrections, which strength the instability induced by the chemical potential, finding the dependence of the critical temperature on $\mu$., Comment: 13 pages, 7 figures

We analyze the stability of different topological solutions in Quantum Field Theory when an isospin chemical potential $\mu $ is included. We work in the limit when temperature vanishes. We find that static vortex solutions in $2+1D$ do exist. However, the 't Hooft-Polyakov monopole in $3+1D$ is no longer stable, as soon as the chemical potential acquires a finite value. In the case of the Skyrmion, this topological solution still exists for finite $\mu$, up to a certain critical value., Comment: 4 pages, no figures

We present a new gauge fixing condition for the Weinberg-Salam electro-weak theory at finite temperature and density. After spontaneous symmetry breaking occurs, every unphysical term in the Lagrangian is eliminated with our gauge fixing condition. A new and simple Lagrangian can be obtained where we can identify the propagators and vertices. Some consequences are discussed, as the new gauge dependent masses of the gauge fields and the new Faddeev-Popov Lagrangian. After obtaining the quadratic terms, we calculate exactly the 1-loop effective potential identifying the contribution of every particular field., Comment: 4 pages, no figures. New references added. Typo corrected

An elementary treatment of the Dirac equation in the presence of a three dimensional spherically symmetric delta potential is presented. We show how to calculate the cross section using the relativistic wave expansion method for a one delta potential and two concentric delta potentials. We compare our results with the cross section calculated in the Born approximation., Comment: 14 pages, 4 figures