BARYOGENESIS IN EXTENDED INFLATION .1. BARYOGENESIS VIA PRODUCTION AND DECAY OF SUPERMASSIVE BOSONS

We consider baryogenesis occurring during the thermalization stage at the end of extended inflation. In extended inflation, the Universe passes through a first-order phase transition via bubble nucleation; inflation comes to an end when bubbles collide and their collisions convert energy stored in the bubble walls into particles. This naturally provides conditions well out of thermal equilibrium in which baryon-number-violating processes may proceed; we estimate the amount of baryon asymmetry which may be produced this way. The avoidance of a monopole or domain-wall problem can also be ensured and isothermal density perturbations may arise as a remnant of spatial variation in the baryon asymmetry.