CP violation at finite temperature

Abstract

We present a comprehensive study of the finite temperature CP-asymmetry factor needed in the semi-classical treatment of leptogenesis originating from Majorana fermion decays into a lepton and a scalar particle. The imaginary part of the relevant one-loop integrals are evaluated using both the real time and the imaginary time formalisms of thermal quantum field theory. In the former we consider the retarded-advanced approach as well as the original thermal cutting method developed by Kobes and Semenoff. Specific care is directed towards showing the consistency between the various approaches. We show that the final physical result of the calculation is linear in the statistical factors and is consistent with what is obtained in the Kadanoff-Baym approach. We also present analytic expressions for the full CP-asymmetry factor in the form of well-behaved triple-integrals, and provide numerical benchmark predictions in a specific particle physics model.