Related papers: Using BBN in cosmological parameter extraction fro…
We place constraints on the number of relativistic degrees of freedom and on the baryon asymmetry at the epoch of Big Bang Nucleosynthesis (BBN) and at recombination, using cosmic background radiation (CBR) data from the Wilkinson Microwave…
Observations of metal-poor extragalactic H II regions allow the determination of the primordial helium abundance, Y_p. The He I emissivities are the foundation of the model of the H II region's emission. Porter, Ferland, Storey, & Detisch…
The conventional approach to search for departures from the standard model of physics during Big Bang Nucleosynthesis involves a careful, and subtle measurement of the mass fraction of baryons consisting of helium. Recent measurements of…
We discuss what can be learned about the baryon density from an all-sky map of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) with sub-degree angular resolution. With only minimal assumptions about the primordial spectrum of density perturbations…
We have used recent observations of helium-4, nitrogen and oxygen from some four dozen, low metallicity, extra-galactic HII regions to define mean $N$ versus $O$, $^4He$ versus $N$ and $^4He$ versus $O$ relations which are extrapolated to…
The paper is devoted to the methods of determination of the cosmological parameters from recent CMB observations. We show that the more complex models of kinetics of recombination with a few "missing" parameters describing the recombination…
We present a brief review of Big Bang Nucleosynthesis (BBN). We discuss theoretical and observational uncertainties in deuterium and helium-4 primordial abundances and their implications for the determination of important cosmological…
Recent Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) temperature and polarization anisotropy measurements from the Planck mission have significantly improved previous constraints on the neutrino masses as well as the bounds on extended models with…
We have derived a primordial helium abundance of Yp = 0.2477 +- 0.0029, based on new atomic physics computations of the recombination coefficients of He I and of the collisional excitation of the H I Balmer lines together with observations…
The cosmic microwave background (CMB), carrying the inhomogeneous information of the very early universe, is of great significance for understanding the origin and evolution of our universe. However, observational CMB maps contain serious…
Future Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) experiments will deliver extremely accurate measurements of the E-modes pattern of the CMB polarization field. Given the sharpness of the E-modes transfer functions, such surveys make for a powerful…
The primordial abundances of deuterium, helium, and lithium probe the baryon density of the universe only a few minutes after the Big Bang. Of these relics from the early universe, deuterium is the baryometer of choice. After reviewing the…
The physical ingredients to describe the epoch of cosmological recombination are amazingly simple and well-understood. This fact allows us to take into account a very large variety of processes, still finding potentially measurable…
We present cosmological constraints on the sum of neutrino masses as a function of the neutrino lifetime, in a framework in which neutrinos decay into dark radiation after becoming non-relativistic. We find that in this regime the cosmic…
We present a new determination of the primordial helium abundance based on new, high-quality Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) observations of 54 metal-poor H II regions. These regions have been observed and analyzed uniformly. We also…
A massive long-lived tau neutrino in the MeV regime modifies the primordial light-element abundances predicted by big-bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) calculations. This effect has been used to derive limits on the tau neutrino mass. Because…
We study primordial nucleosynthesis abundance yields for assumed ranges of cosmological lepton numbers, sterile neutrino mass-squared differences and active-sterile vacuum mixing angles. We fix the baryon-to-photon ratio at the value…
Spectroscopic observations of the chemical abundances in metal-poor H II regions provide an independent method for estimating the primordial helium abundance. H II regions are described by several physical parameters such as electron…
Constraints on the main cosmological parameters using CMB or large scale structure data are usually based on power-law assumption of the primordial power spectrum (PPS). However, in the absence of a preferred model for the early universe,…
We employ state-of-the art cosmological observables including supernova surveys and BAO information to provide constraints on the mass and mixing angle of a non-resonantly produced sterile neutrino species, showing that cosmology can…