We present a novel scenario for baryogenesis in a hybrid inflation model at the electroweak scale , in which the Standard Model Higgs field triggers the end of inflation .
One of the conditions for a successful baryogenesis , the departure from thermal equilibrium , is naturally achieved at the stage of preheating after inflation .
The inflaton oscillations induce large occupation numbers for long-wavelength configurations of the Higgs and the gauge fields , which leads to a large rate of sphaleron transitions .
We estimate this rate during the first stages of reheating and evaluate the amount of baryons produced due to a particular type of higher-dimensional CP violating operator .
The universe thermalizes through fermion interactions , at a temperature below critical , T _ { rh } \lesssim 100 GeV , preventing the wash-out of the produced baryon asymmetry .
Numerical simulations in ( 1+1 ) dimensions support our theoretical analyses .