PRIMORDIAL NUCLEOSYNTHESIS CONSTRAINTS ON NEUTRINO DEGENERACY

1993 ◽  
Vol 02 (04) ◽  
pp. 381-400
Author(s):  
HO-SHIK KANG

Based on the work by Kang and Steigman, I review the effects of neutrino degeneracy on big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN). Since the electron-neutrino degeneracy and the non-electron-neutrino degeneracy play a different role in the synthesis of the light elements ( D , 3 He , 4 He , 7 Li ), besides the baryon asymmetry (the nucleon-to-photon ratio; η ≡ nB/nγ) there are two additional free parameters in our scenario of degenerate BBN. An extended range of these parameters has been explored. It is shown that at a given η value, the agreement of the predicted primordial abundances of the light elements with those observationally inferred abundances restricts the permitted range of neutrino degeneracies, particularly the electron-neutrino degeneracy. Furthermore, we find that a large baryon density, even baryon-dominated, critical density (ΩB=1) Universe successfully provides the consistency between the predicted and observed abundances of all the light elements if neutrinos are degenerate enough. For an ΩB=1 Universe, for example, η10=80 is permitted if the electron-neutrino degeneracy and the expansion rate due to the non-electron-neutrino degeneracies fall in the ranges 1.2 ≲ ξνe ≲ 1.5, 17 ≲ S (ξνμ,τ) ≲ 33, respectively.

1999 ◽  
Vol 183 ◽  
pp. 312-312
Author(s):  
K. Kohri ◽  
M. Kawasaki ◽  
Katsuhiko Sato

Recently it has been reported that there may be a discrepancy between big bang nucleosynthesis theory and observations (BBN crisis) (Hata et al., 1995). One way to solve the discrepancy might be to adopt some modifications of standard physics used in SBBN (Kawasaki et al, 1997). We show that BBN predictions agree with the primordial abundances of light elements, 4He, D, 3He and 7Li inferred from the observational data if the electron neutrino has a net chemical potential ξve due to lepton asymmetry (Kohri et al., 1997). We study BBN with the effects of the neutrino degeneracy in details using Monte Carlo simulation and make a likelihood analysis using the most recent data. We estimate that (95% C.L.) and (95% C.L.) adopting the presolar Deuterium abundance as the primordial values. If we adopted the low D abundance which is obtained by the observation of the high redshift QSO absorption systems, (95% C.L.) and The estimated chemical potential of ve is about 10−5 eV which is much smaller than experiments can detect (≃ 1 eV). In other words, BBN gives the most stringent constraint on the chemical potential of ve.


1986 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 377-382
Author(s):  
Jean Audouze

AbstractThe determinations of the primordial abundances of D, 3He, 4He and 7Li play a major role in building up models of Big Bang nucleosynthesis. Much progress has been made recently in that respect but there are still large uncertainties on these determinations. Although canonical Big Bang models predicting a cosmological baryonic parameter ΩB ~ 0.10 consistent with the dynamics of small groups of galaxies and three different families of neutrinos seem to be the most appropriate in accounting for these abundances, the simplest models of galactic evolution lead to discrepant comparisons concerning D and 4He. The relatively small abundance of 4He might challenge the canonical Big Bang models unless specific models of galactic evolution are invoked.


1987 ◽  
Vol 117 ◽  
pp. 499-523
Author(s):  
Jean Audouze

Primordial nucleosynthesis which is responsible for the formation of the lightest elements (D, 3He, 4He and 7Li) provides a unique way to determine the present baryon density pB in the Universe and therefore the corresponding cosmological parameter ΩB. After a brief summary of the relevant abundance determinations and of the consequences of the Standard Big Bang nucleosynthesis, it is argued that one needs to call for specific models of chemical evolution of the Galaxy in order to reconcile the observations with the predictions of this model. In this context the predicted values for ΩB should range from 4 10−3 to 6 10−2. These values are significantly lower than those deduced from current M/L determinations.


2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (08) ◽  
pp. 1950065 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tahani R. Makki ◽  
Mounib F. El Eid ◽  
Grant J. Mathews

The light elements and their isotopes were produced during standard big bang nucleosynthesis (SBBN) during the first minutes after the creation of the universe. Comparing the calculated abundances of these light species with observed abundances, it appears that all species match very well except for lithium (7Li) which is overproduced by the SBBN. This discrepancy is rather challenging for several reasons to be considered on astrophysical and on nuclear physics ground, or by invoking nonstandard assumptions which are the focus of this paper. In particular, we consider a variation of the chemical potentials of the neutrinos and their temperature. In addition, we investigated the effect of dark matter on 7Li production. We argue that including nonstandard assumptions can lead to a significant reduction of the 7Li abundance compared to that of SBBN. This aspect of lithium production in the early universe may help to resolve the outstanding cosmological lithium problem.


2004 ◽  
Vol 13 (05) ◽  
pp. 831-841 ◽  
Author(s):  
DANIELA KIRILOVA

We study the distortion of electron neutrino energy spectrum due to oscillations with the sterile neutrino νe↔νs, for different initial populations of the sterile state δNs at the onset of oscillations. The influence of this spectrum distortion on Big Bang Nucleosynthesis is analyzed. Only the case of an initially empty sterile state was studied in previous publications. The primordial abundance of 4He is calculated for all possible δNs:0≤δNs≤1 in the model of oscillations, effective after electron neutrino decoupling, for which the spectrum distortion effects on the neutron–proton transitions are the strongest. It is found that the spectrum distortion effect may be dominant, not only in the case of small δNs, but also in the case of large initial population of νs. For example, in the resonant case it may play a considerable role even for very large δNs~0.8. Cosmological constraints on neutrino mixing for small δNs are discussed.


2014 ◽  
Vol 23 (03) ◽  
pp. 1450014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mercedes Elisa Mosquera ◽  
Osvaldo Civitarese

We study the effects of adding a sterile neutrino to three active neutrinos (3 + 1 scheme) in the calculation of primordial abundances. Taking the normalization constant (a) of the occupation factor of the sterile neutrino and the active-sterile mixing angle (ϕ) as free parameters, we calculate the neutrino distribution function and primordial abundances of light nuclei. We set constrains on these parameters by using the available data on the abundances of D, 4 He and 7 Li . Results are consistent with small values of a and ϕ. The extracted value of the baryon-to-photon ratio (ηB), which is constrained by the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) value [Formula: see text], and Planck observations, depends strongly on the inclusion of the lithium data in the fit.


2021 ◽  
Vol 502 (2) ◽  
pp. 2474-2481
Author(s):  
Cyril Pitrou ◽  
Alain Coc ◽  
Jean-Philippe Uzan ◽  
Elisabeth Vangioni

ABSTRACT Recent measurements of the D(p,γ)3He nuclear reaction cross-section and of the neutron lifetime, along with the reevaluation of the cosmological baryon abundance from cosmic microwave background (CMB) analysis, call for an update of abundance predictions for light elements produced during the big-bang nucleosynthesis (BBN). While considered as a pillar of the hot big-bang model in its early days, BBN constraining power mostly rests on deuterium abundance. We point out a new ≃1.8σ tension on the baryonic density, or equivalently on the D/H abundance, between the value inferred on one hand from the analysis of the primordial abundances of light elements and, on the other hand, from the combination of CMB and baryonic oscillation data. This draws the attention on this sector of the theory and gives us the opportunity to reevaluate the status of BBN in the context of precision cosmology. Finally, this paper presents an upgrade of the BBN code primat.


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