TASI Lectures on Early Universe Cosmology: Inflation, Baryogenesis and Dark Matter

TL;DR

This paper provides an accessible overview of key topics in early universe cosmology, including inflation, baryogenesis, and dark matter, emphasizing model constraints and mechanisms for relic density.

Contribution

It offers a concise, pedagogical introduction to inflation, baryogenesis, and dark matter, focusing on intuitive understanding and recent model developments.

Findings

Techniques for constraining inflationary models

Analysis of leptogenesis and electroweak baryogenesis

Review of diverse dark matter production mechanisms

Abstract

These lectures, presented at TASI 2018, provide a concise introduction to inflation, baryogenesis, and aspects of dark matter not covered by the other lectures. The emphasis for inflation is an intuitive understanding and techniques for constraining inflationary models. For baryogenesis we focus on two examples, leptogenesis and electroweak baryogenesis, with attention to singlet-assisted two-step phase transitions. Concerning dark matter, we review different classes of models distinguished by their mechanisms for obtaining the observed relic density, including thermal freeze-out, asymmetric dark matter, freeze-in, SIMP dark matter, the misalignment mechanism for ultralight scalars and axions, and production of primordial black holes during inflation. Problem sets are provided.