Related papers: A robust upper limit on N_eff from BBN, circa 2011
We present the first comprehensive discussion of constraints on the cosmic neutrino background (C$\nu$B) overdensity, including theoretical, experimental and cosmological limits for a wide range of neutrino masses and temperatures.…
To elucidate the significance of the effect of systematic uncertainties in light element abundance estimates on cosmological bounds derivable from Big Bang Nucleosynthesis (BBN) we present tables giving bounds on $\Omega_{baryon}$ and…
Short baseline neutrino experiments such as LSND and MiniBooNE seem to suggest the existence of light sterile neutrinos. Meanwhile, current cosmic microwave background (CMB) and big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) measurements place an upper…
Using a new sample of extremely metal poor systems, the EMPRESS survey has recently reported a primordial helium abundance that is $3\sigma$ smaller than the prediction from the standard big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) scenario. This…
A critical review is given of the current status of cosmological nucleosynthesis. In the framework of the standard model with 3 types of relativistic neutrinos, the baryon-to-photon ratio, \eta, corresponding to the inferred primordial…
We discuss the present bounds on the relativistic energy density in the Universe parameterized in terms of the effective number of neutrinos N using the most recent cosmological data on Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) temperature…
Limits can be placed on nonstandard neutrino physics when big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) calculations employing standard neutrino physics agree with the observationally inferred primordial abundances of deuterium (D), $^3$He, $^4$He, and…
The effective number of neutrino species, $N_{\rm eff}$, serves as a key fitting parameter extensively employed in cosmological studies. In this work, we point out a fundamental inconsistency in the conventional treatment of $N_{\rm eff}$…
We present new upper and lower bounds to the primordial abundances of deuterium and helium-3 based on observational data from the solar system and the interstellar medium. Independent of any model for the primordial production of the…
We use the constraints arising from primordial nucleosynthesis to bound the strength $F$ of non-standard neutrino-neutrino interactions, when the right-handed neutrinos participate in the interaction. We find $F < 3 \times 10^{-3}\ G_F$,…
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 radiative component of the Universe has a characteristic impact on both large scale structure (LSS) and the cosmic microwave background radiation (CMB). We use the recent WMAP data, together with previous CBI data and 2dF matter power…
We discuss how much we can probe the effective number of neutrino species N_nu with cosmic microwave background alone. Using the data of WMAP, ACBAR, CBI and BOOMERANG experiments, we obtain a constraint on the effective number of neutrino…
Big Bang Nucleosynthesis (BBN) relates key cosmological parameters to the primordial abundance of light elements. In this paper, we point out that the recent observations of Cosmic Microwave Background anisotropies by the Planck satellite…
From a combination of probes including the cosmic microwave background (WMAP7+SPT), Hubble constant (HST), baryon acoustic oscillations (SDSS+2dFGRS), and supernova distances (Union2), we have explored the extent to which the constraints on…
We show that the predicted primordial helium production is significantly reduced when new measurements of the neutron lifetime and the implied enhancement in the weak reaction rates are included in big-bang nucleosynthesis. Therefore, even…
At temperatures below the QCD phase transition, any substantial lepton number in the Universe can only be present within the neutrino sector. In this work, we systematically explore the impact of a non-vanishing lepton number on Big Bang…
We have performed a thorough analysis of the constraints which can be put on neutrino parameters from cosmological observations, most notably those from the WMAP satellite and the 2dF galaxy survey. For this data we find an upper limit on…
Solar, atmospheric, and reactor neutrino experiments have confirmed neutrino oscillations, implying that neutrinos have non-zero mass, but without pinning down their absolute masses. While it is established that the effect of neutrinos on…
We consider the cosmological effects of sterile neutrinos with the masses of $150- 450$ MeV. The decay of sterile neutrinos changes the thermal history of the Universe and affects the energy density of radiation at the recombination and the…