HEP Seminar: Raghavan Rangarajan (Physical Research Laboratory, India)

August 15, 2016 - 7:30pm

Title: Gravitinos, Reheating and the Matter-Antimatter Asymmetry of the
Universe

Abstract:

Astrophysical observations indicate that the Universe is made up primarily of matter rather than both matter and antimatter. This matter-antimatter asymmetry of the Universe can be explained by the asymmetric decay of some heavy particles if the early Universe is sufficiently hot after a phase called reheating. But these high temperatures also lead to an over-abundance of particles called gravitinos whose presence has very adverse cosmological consequences, which is referred to as the `gravitino problem'.  
We shall discuss the matter-antimatter asymmetry of the Universe and the gravitino problem, and then examine whether or not the gravitino abundance can be suppressed in some new scenarios of gravitino production.

Location and Address

321 Allen Hall