Affleck-Dine condensate, late thermalization, and the gravitino problem

In this clarifying paper we discuss the late decay of an Affleck-Dine condensate by providing a no-go theorem that attributes to conserved global charges which are identified by the net particle number in fields which are included in the flat direction(s). For a rotating condensate, this implies that (I) the net baryon/lepton number density stored in the condensate is always conserved, and (2) the total particle number density in the condensate cannot decrease. This reiterates that, irrespective of possible non-perturbative particle production due to D terms in a multiple flat direction case, the prime decay mode of an Affleck-Dine condensate will be perturbative as originally envisaged. As a result, cosmological consequences of flat directions such as delayed thermalization as a novel solution to the gravitino overproduction problem will remain virtually intact.