Related papers: ACROPOLIS: A generiC fRamework fOr Photodisintegra…
Many well-motivated extensions of the Standard Model predict the existence of new light species that may have been produced in the early universe. Prominent examples include axions, sterile neutrinos, gravitinos, dark photons, and more. The…
Big-bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) theory, together with the precise WMAP cosmic baryon density, makes tight predictions for the abundances of the lightest elements. Deuterium and 4He measurements agree well with expectations, but 7Li…
We investigate the effect of potentially large distortions of the relic neutrino spectra on cosmological observables. To that end, we consider a phenomenological model of "gray" spectral distributions, described by a single parameter, which…
The $^7$Li abundance calculated in BBN with the baryon-to-photon ratio fixed from fits to the CMB power spectrum is inconsistent with the observed lithium abundances on the surface of metal-poor halo stars. Previous cosmological solutions…
The cosmological abundance of nucleons determined from considerations of Big Bang nucleosynthesis allegedly provides compelling evidence for non-nucleonic dark matter. Recent developments in measurements of primordial light element…
We study the effects of dark-matter annihilation during the epoch of big-bang nucleosynthesis on the primordial abundances of light elements. We improve the calculation of the light-element abundances by taking into account the effects of…
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…
The measurement of the cosmic microwave background has strongly constrained the cosmological parameters of the Universe. When the measured density of baryons (ordinary matter) is combined with standard Big Bang nucleosynthesis calculations,…
Big Bang nucleosynthesis in the presence of decaying relic neutral particles is examined in detail. All non-thermal processes important for the determination of light-element abundance yields of 2H, 3H, 3He, 4He, 6Li, and 7Li are coupled to…
The decays of massive gravitinos into neutralino dark matter particles and Standard Model secondaries during or after Big-Bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) may alter the primordial light-element abundances. We present here details of a new suite…
I discuss some central issues in particle physics which are potentially relevant to cosmology. I first briefly review the present (glorious) experimental status of the Standard Model, emphasizing that it provides a firm foundation both for…
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…
We consider the effects on big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) of the radiative decay of a long-lived massive particle. If high-energy photons are emitted after the BBN epoch ($t \sim 1 - 10^3$ sec), they may change the abundances of the light…
We present a model for big bang nucleosynthesis which combines baryon inhomogeneities with the effects of the decays of massive particles (masses higher than a few GeV). Those particles, with half-lives longer than the standard…
Measurements of lithium abundances in solar-type stars have shown that standard models of stellar evolution are incapable of explaining the observed depletion as a function of stellar age. Beryllium is one of the lightest elements that can…
We describe an attempt to reconstruct the initial conditions for the formation of cosmological large-scale structure. The power spectrum of the primordial fluctuations is affected by bias, nonlinear evolution and redshift-space distortions,…
A phenomenological theory of luminescence properties of one-dimensional resonant photonic crystals is developed within the framework of classical Maxwell equations with fluctuating polarization terms representing non-coherent sources of…
The apparent accelerating expansion of the Universe is forcing us to examine the foundational aspects of the standard model of cosmology -- in particular, the fact that dark energy is a direct consequence of the homogeneity assumption. We…
Primordial power spectra with low power at long wavelengths can alleviate lensing anomaly. However the extent to which data favours such a primordial spectra is not clear. In this work, we investigate power suppression and related…
Big Bang Nucleosynthesis (BBN) is an important stage of a homogeneous and isotropic expanding universe. The results of calculation of the synthesis of light elements during this epoch can then be compared with the abundances of the light…