Elementary Particles and Plasma in the First Hour of the Early Universe

Cheng Tao Yang

Published 2024-01-17Version 1

This dissertation aims to deepen the understanding of the primordial composition of the Universe in the temperature range 300 MeV>T>0.02 MeV. I exploit known properties of elementary particles and apply methods of kinetic theory and statistical physics to advance the understanding of the cosmic plasma. Within the Big Bang model, we begin by considering the Universe being a highly energetic fireball, an ultra-relativistic plasma exhibiting distinct properties. Fundamental particles such as quarks, leptons, and even heavier gauge bosons play a crucial role in the understanding of the early Universe. Our research focuses on the investigation of these fundamental particles as constituents of the dense Universe plasma during the epoch which transits from primordial quark-gluon plasma to the era of normal hadron matter, passing through the decoupling of neutrinos and addressing in detail the electron-positron antimatter plasma.