Random-walk baryogenesis via primordial black holes

Abstract

Gravitation violates baryon number $B$: A star has a huge amount of it, while a black hole forming from the star has none. Consider primordial black holes before the hadronic annihiliation in the early universe, encountering and absorbing baryons and antibaryons: Each such absorption changes $B$ of the universe by one unit, up or down. But the absorption events are $uncorrelated$ $and$ $random$, hence they amount to a random walk in $B$-space, leading to the expectation of a net $|B|$ at the end. While the scale of this effect is most uncertain, it must exist. We explore some ramifications, including the change of net $|B|$ with expansion, connection with universe topology, and possible observational signatures.

Comments: Essay written for the Gravity Research Foundation 2016 Awards for Essays on Gravitation. No figures