Finite density aspects of leptogenesis

Leptogenesis takes place in the early universe at high temperatures and densities and a deviation from equilibrium in the decay of heavy Majorana neutrinos is a fundamental requirement for the generation of the asymmetry. The equations, commonly used for its description, are largely based on classical Boltzmann equations (BEs) while the source of CP-violation is a quantum interference phenomenon. In view of this clash, it is desirable to study such processes in terms of non-equilibrium quantum field theory. On the other hand, it is simpler to solve BEs rather than the corresponding quantum field theoretical ones. Therefore, we derive modified BEs from first principles in the Kadanoff-Baym (KB) formalism. The results, found for a simple toy model, can be applied to popular phenomenological scenarios by analogy. This approach uncovers structural differences of the corrected equations and leads to different results for the form of the finite density contributions to the CP-violating parameter. In the case of degenerate heavy neutrino masses, corresponding to the popular scenario of resonant leptogenesis, it allows to explicitly distinguish between regimes where BEs are applicable or inapplicable.