Baryon number transport in a cosmic QCD-phase transition Original Research Article

We investigate the transport of baryon number across phase boundaries in a putative first order cosmic QCD-phase transition. Two independent phenomenological models are employed to estimate the baryon penetrability at the phase boundary: chromoelectric flux tube models; and an analogy to baryon-baryon coalescence in nuclear physics. We find that neither one of these techniques can yield truly definitive estimates for baryon penetrability in the context of vacuum phase transitions in the early universe. Our estimates range from very small values for penetrability consistent with previous estimates, to larger values that could be consistent with maximal penetrability. We discuss the substantial uncertainties involved in any estimate of baryon penetrability at phase boundaries in the context of phenomenological models.