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Affleck-Dine condensate, late thermalization and the gravitino problem

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Article number043511
<mark>Journal publication date</mark>29/02/2008
<mark>Journal</mark>Physical Review D
Issue number4
Volume78
Publication StatusPublished
<mark>Original language</mark>English

Abstract

In this clarifying note we discuss the late decay of an Affleck-Dine condensate by providing a no-go theorem that attributes to conserved global charges which are identified by the net particle number in fields which are included in the flat direction(s). For a rotating condensate, this implies that: (1) the net baryon/lepton number density stored in the condensate is always conserved, and (2) the total particle number density in the condensate cannot decrease. This reiterates that, irrespective of possible non-perturbative particle production due to $D$-terms in a multiple flat direction case, the prime decay mode of an Affleck-Dine condensate will be perturbative as originally envisaged. As a result, cosmological consequences of flat directions such as delayed thermalization as a novel solution to the gravitino overproduction problem will remain virtually intact.

Bibliographic note

10 pages. Clarifying comments added, final version accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. D