Towards reviving electroweak baryogenesis with a fourth generation (Q903868)

Summary: Electroweak baryogenesis is an attractive scenario for explaining the baryon asymmetry of the universe. However, it does not work within the standard model due to two reasons: (1) the strength of CP violation from the Kobayashi-Maskawa mechanism with three generations is too small; (2) the electroweak phase transition is not first order for the experimentally allowed Higgs boson mass. We discuss possibilities to solve these problems by introducing a fourth generation of fermions and how electroweak baryogenesis might be revived. We also discuss briefly the recent observation of a Higgs-like boson with mass around 125 GeV, which puts the fourth generation in a difficult situation, and the possible way out.