3:30–4:30 pm Maria Geoppert-Mayer Lecture Hall
Baryogenesis of the Early Universe
Marcela Carena, University of Chicago
One of the main open questions in modern physics is how the imbalance between matter and antimatter that governs our universe came into existence. One possibility is that the early universe electroweak phase transition was the source of the observed asymmetry. Such a process, known as electroweak baryogenesis, requires the existence of new particles related to the Higgs boson, new sources of CP violation, and possibly new forces, all manifesting during the phase transition. I will highlight simple examples focused on the problem of preserving an asymmetry once created and exhibiting a new mechanism where the source of both CP violation and the resulting asymmetry comes from the dark matter sector. I will discuss experimental opportunities, including direct dark matter detection, new long-lived particle searches and gravitational wave signatures.