Project Details
Projekt
Strong-interaction matter in the early Universe (B07)
Subject Area
Nuclear and Elementary Particle Physics, Quantum Mechanics, Relativity, Fields
Term
since 2017
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 315477589
This project investigates strong interaction matter in the early Universe, particularly during the first ten microseconds, when it followed a cosmic trajectory through the QCD phase diagram. Our study explores the full range of allowed lepton (flavor) asymmetries, which may lead to QCD phase transitions, and influence dark matter candidates. We study the formation of primordial black holes (PBHs) and how they are affected by the details of the cosmic trajectory during the QCD epoch. We improve the limits on thermal axion production and on their contribution to the effective number of massless degrees of freedom and study the impact of QCD interactions on electroweak processes in the early Universe. Furthermore, we investigate how physics beyond the Standard Model (SM) modifies the cosmic trajectory, focusing on classically conformal SM extensions and their gravitational wave and PBH signatures.
DFG Programme
CRC/Transregios
Applicant Institution
Universität Bielefeld
Project Heads
Professor Dr. Dietrich Bödeker; Professorin Dr. Laura Sagunski, since 7/2021; Professor Dr. Jürgen Schaffner-Bielich, Ph.D., until 12/2025; Professor Dominik Schwarz, Ph.D.; Professorin Dr. Cora Uhlemann, since 1/2026
