An analytical and nonperturbative approach to SU(2) and SU(3) Yang-Mills thermodynamics is developed and applied. Each theory comes in three phases: A deconfining, a preconfining, and a confining one. We show how macroscopic and inert scalar fields emerge in each phase and how they determine the ground-state physics and the properties of the excitations. While the excitations in the deconfining and preconfining phase are massless or massive gauge modes of spin 1 the excitations in the confining phase are massless or massive spin-1/2 fermions. The nature of the two phase transitions is investigated for each theory. We compute the temperature evolution of thermodynamical quantities in the deconfining and preconfining phase, and we estimate the density of states in the confining phase. Some implications for particle physics and cosmology are discussed.

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We compute the one-loop polarization tensor Π for the on-shell, massless mode in a thermalized SU(2) Yang-Mills theory being in its deconfining phase. Postulating that SU(2) CMB today = U(1) Y , we discuss Π's effect on the lowmomentum part of the black-body spectrum at temperatures ∼ 2 · · · 4 T CMB where T CMB ∼ 2.73 K. A table-top experiment is proposed to test the above postulate. As an application, we point out a possible connection with the stability of dilute, cold, and old innergalactic atomic hydrogen clouds. We also compute the two-loop correction to the pressure arising from the instantaneous massless mode in unitary-Coulomb gauge, which formerly was neglected, and present improved estimates for subdominant corrections.

Driven by the CMB temperature-redshift (T -z) relation as demanded by deconfining SU(2) Yang-Mills thermodynamics, an according cosmological model is proposed and analysed. This model -SU(2) cmb -exhibits a dark sector, representing ΛCDM with a certain late-time dark-matter density which transitions to a reduced (present-day) density parameter at high z. We statistically analyse constraints on cosmological parameters directly imposed by the values of the standard co-moving ruler r d and the angular size of the sound horizon θ * . Compared to the ΛCDM best fit to 2015 Planck data, we require an increased (present-day) dark matter density when r d · H 0 = const and a value H 0 ∼ 73.5 km s −1 Mpc −1 -typical for local extractions -are used. The ratio between the density parameters of primordial and late-time dark matter ranges between 0.5 and 0.7. We confirm this trend by fitting the predictions of SU(2) cmb , obtained from a modified CLASS code, to the angular power spectra TT, TE, and EE. We consider adiabatic, scalar primordial curvature perturbations and distinguish two treatments of thermal quasi-particles in the perturbation equations. Best fits predict a red-tilted primordial power spectrum. Moreover, a low baryon density is obtained compared with the coincidence value of BBN, the ΛCDM best fit of the 2015 Planck data, and the observed deuterium abundance. Our derived values of H 0 support the results of local cosmological observations. Also, there is a tendency for late reionisation. Pdflatex could not properly compile abstracts with less than