Related papers: BBN with light dark matter
We review important reactions in the big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) model involving a long-lived negatively charged massive particle, $X^-$, which is much heavier than nucleons. This model can explain the observed $^7$Li abundances of…
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…
It is often said that asymmetric dark matter is light compared to typical weakly interacting massive particles. Here we point out a simple scheme with a neutrino portal and $\mathcal{O}(60 \text{ GeV})$ asymmetric dark matter which may be…
For a brief time in its early evolution the Universe was a cosmic nuclear reactor. The expansion and cooling of the Universe limited this epoch to the first few minutes, allowing time for the synthesis in astrophysically interesting…
We calculate and discuss the implications of neutrino self-interactions for the physics of weak decoupling and big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) in the early universe. In such neutrino-sector extensions of the standard model, neutrinos may not…
Recent work on increasing the effective number of neutrino species (Neff) in the early universe has focussed on introducing extra relativistic species (`dark radiation'). We draw attention to another possibility: a new particle of mass less…
We propose a novel cosmological scenario in which baryonic neutron stars could plausibly form in the early universe. If baryogenesis initially produces an excessively-large baryon asymmetry, $Y_B \gg 10^{-10},$ the baryonic mass inside the…
We explore the big-bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) constraint on heavy neutrino that is a mixture of gauge singlet fermion and active neutrinos in the Standard Model. We work in the minimal model with only two parameters, the heavy neutrino mass…
Light element nucleosynthesis is an important chapter of nuclear astrophysics. Specifically, the rare and fragile light nuclei Lithium, Beryllium and Boron (LiBeB) are not generated in the normal course of stellar nucleosynthesis (except…
Big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) and the cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropies independently predict the universal baryon density. Comparing their predictions will provide a fundamental test on cosmology. Using BBN and the CMB…
We investigate the impact of a nonstandard electron mass $m_e$ on early-Universe thermal history, focusing on neutrino decoupling and Big Bang Nucleosynthesis (BBN). In the standard cosmology, neutrino--electron interactions keep neutrinos…
A scenario that relates the abundance of dark matter to the baryon asymmetry of the Universe is presented. In this scenario, based on a left-right extension of the Standard Model, dark matter is made of light, ~ 1 GeV, right-handed Majorana…
We examine the extent to which primordial black holes (PBHs) can constitute the observed dark matter while also giving rise to the measured matter-antimatter asymmetry and account for the observed baryon abundance through asymmetric Hawking…
We show that if photon possesses a tiny but non-vanishing mass the universe cannot be electrically neutral. Cosmological electric asymmetry could be generated either at an early stage by different evaporation rates of primordial black holes…
Cosmology provides interesting information on neutrino mixing models with sterile neutrinos. In this case non standard BBN effects can be relevant. We show how the recent measurement of the baryon content from the observations of CMB…
To constrain the universe before recombination (380000 years after the Big Bang), we mostly rely on the measurements of the primordial abundances that indicate the first insight into the thermal history of the universe. The first production…
We study the impact on the primordial abundances of light elements created by a variation of the quark masses at the time of Big Bang nucleosynthesis (BBN). In order to navigate through the particle and nuclear physics required to connect…
We examine the effects of relic dark matter annihilations on big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN). The magnitude of these effects have scale simply with the dark matter mass and annihilation cross-section, which we derive. Estimates based on…
Big-Bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) represents one of the earliest phenomena that can lead to observational constraints on the early Universe properties. It is well-known that many important mechanisms and phase transitions occurred before BBN.…
Sphalerons of a new gauge interaction can convert a primordial asymmetry in B or L into a dark matter asymmetry. From the equilibrium conditions for the sphalerons of both the electroweak and the new interactions, one can compute the ratios…