BARYOGENESIS FROM BLACK-HOLE EVAPORATION

The possibility of baryogenesis through the evaporation of black holes formed during extended inflation is explored. These black holes are produced due to the collapse of trapped regions of false vacuum during the inflationary phase transition. Immediately after formation, the accretion of mass from the surrounding hot radiation bath in the universe is shown to be an important effect. This causes the lifetime of the black holes to be considerably elongated before they evaporate out through the process of Hawking radiation. It is shown that a sufficient number of black holes last up to well past the electroweak era and hence contribute to the surviving baryon asymmetry in the universe.