Astrophysical Observations of Early Universe Phase Transitions

Abstract

After a review of CMBR correlations and recent observations, a study of possible CMBR observations of the QCD early universe phase transition is discussed. A model for the QCD bubble walls gives the surface tension found in lattice calculations, and a 1+1 dimensional treatment in this model for bubble collisions shows an interior gluonic wall, a disk with the thickness of a nucleon and horizon size radius. This could lead to a similar magnetic wall, which would produce B-B type CMBR polarization correlations distinct from very early universe models. The study of magnetic fields produced in bubble collisions in MSSM models with a first order Electroweak Phase Transition is also discussed.

Comments: 8 pages with 2 figures. Contribution to the CosPA 2003 Cosmology and Particle Astrophysics Symposium