Work

Affleck-Dine curvaton

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: The Standard Model of particle physics does not explain the origin of the universe’s baryon asymmetry or its primordial fluctuations. The Affleck-Dine mechanism is a well motivated scenario for generating the baryon asymmetry through the postinflationary dynamics of a complex scalar field with baryon number. The curvaton mechanism is a popular approach for producing curvature perturbations through the dynamics of a light spectator field that decays after inflation. We demonstrate that the same complex field can viably perform both roles without any modifications to the minimal realization of Affleck-Dine baryogenesis. This scenario can also accommodate appreciable levels of primordial non-Gaussianity, beyond those achievable with only a real-valued curvaton field, and may be observable with future cosmic microwave background experiments.

Source: Physical review. D/Physical review. D.

DOI: 10.1103/7hr7-rtvh

Authors: Aurora Ireland, Gordan Krnjaic, Takuya Okawa

Institutions: Stanford University, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, University of Chicago, Washington University in St. Louis

Language: English

Topic: Cosmology and Gravitation Theories

Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics

Field: Physics and Astronomy

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid