Quantum chromodynamics phase transition in the early Universe and quark nuggets

摘要

A first-order quark hadron phase transition in the early Universe may lead to the formation of quark nuggets. The baryon number distribution of these quark nuggets have been calculated and it has been found that there are sizeable number of quark nuggets in the stable sector. The nuggets can clump and form bigger objects in the mass range of 0.0003M⊙ to 0.12M⊙. It has been discussed that these bigger objects can be possible candidates for cold dark matter. Keywords Quark nuggets - dark matter - massive astrophysical compact halo objects PACS Nos 98.80.Cq - 12.38.Mh - 95.35.+d