The quark-hadron transition and hot hadronic matter in the early universe

Includes bibliographical references. === Various calculations· of the evolution of the hadron gas in the early universe are carried out. To determine the starting point for the evolution equations a phase transition between the quark-gluon plasma phase and the hadron gas phase is constructed. A simp...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Von Oertzen, Detlof Wilhelm
Other Authors: Rafelski, Johann
Format: Dissertation
Language:English
Published: University of Cape Town 2015
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/11427/15904
Description
Summary:Includes bibliographical references. === Various calculations· of the evolution of the hadron gas in the early universe are carried out. To determine the starting point for the evolution equations a phase transition between the quark-gluon plasma phase and the hadron gas phase is constructed. A simple calculation leads to an estimate of the chemical potential of baryons at the quark-hadron phase transition in the early universe. We investigate how the transition temperature depends on the equations of state for the bagged quark and the hadron phase. A particle density evolution model is introduced which predicts the temperature at which particle species drop out of equilibrium (freeze-out) in an expanding universe. We then construct dynamical evolution equations to describe the reactions of interacting pions and photons. In order to model a more realistic hadron gas, we include kaons and finally nucleons and hyperons into the model universe. The results indicate that this type of model should be extended to include more interacting particle species and that a more realistic evolution model is dependent on obtaining accurate reaction cross-sections.