Related papers: Thermal Contributions to Primordial Nucleosynthesi…
The determination of the absolute mass scale of neutrinos is one of the most important challenges in Particle Physics. The shape of the endpoint region of $\beta$-decay and electron capture (EC) spectra depends on the phase space factor,…
Understanding how matter behaves at the highest densities and temperatures is a major open problem in both nuclear physics and relativistic astrophysics. This physics is often encapsulated in the so-called high-temperature nuclear equation…
Interaction rates of neutrinos and antineutrinos within a QED plasma determine the dynamics of their decoupling in the early universe. We show how to define the relevant double-differential production, annihilation, and scattering rates at…
This dissertation aims to deepen the understanding of the primordial composition of the Universe in the temperature range 300 MeV>T>0.02 MeV. I exploit known properties of elementary particles and apply methods of kinetic theory and…
We study the effect of neutrino degeneracy on primordial nucleosynthesis in a universe in which the cosmological scale factor evolves linearly with time. The degeneracy parameter of electron type neutrinos ($\xi_e$) determines the $n/p$…
Thermal freeze-out or freeze-in during a period of early matter domination can give rise to the correct dark matter abundance for $\langle \sigma_{\rm ann} v \rangle_{\rm f} < 3 \times 10^{-26}$ cm$^3$ s$^{-1}$. In the standard scenario, a…
$\beta$-decay properties of nuclei are investigated within the relativistic nuclear energy density functional framework by varying the temperature and density, conditions relevant to the final stages of stellar evolution. Both thermal and…
We present a model for the rate of temperature relaxation between electrons and ions in plasmas. The model includes self-consistently the effects of particle screening, electron degeneracy and correlations between electrons and ions. We…
For beta-equilibrated nuclear matter we estimate the contribution to the bulk viscosity from purely leptonic processes, namely the conversion of electrons to and from muons. For oscillation frequencies in the kiloHertz range, we find that…
Nucleon effective masses are studied in the framework of the Brueckner-Hartree-Fock many-body approach at finite temperature. Self-consistent calculations using the Argonne $V_{18}$ interaction including microscopic three-body forces are…
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…
The connection between cosmological observations and neutrino physics is discussed in detail. Neutrinos decouple from thermal contact in the early Universe at a temperature of order 1 MeV which coincides with the temperature where light…
In dense stars the nuclear reaction rates are influenced by screening effects arising from both ions and electrons. In this paper we calculate the enhancement factors due to electron polarization in the high-density, degenerate and…
We consider Big Bang Nucleosynthesis (BBN) with long lived charged massive particles. Before decaying, the long lived charged particle recombines with a light element to form a bound state like a hydrogen atom. This effect modifies the…
We reinvestigate the constraints from primordial nucleosynthesis on a possible time-dependent quark mass. The limits on such quark-mass variations are particularly sensitive to the adopted observational abundance constraints. Hence, in the…
Following a brief introduction to early Universe cosmology, the current of status of big bang nucleosynthesis is reviewed and the concordance between theory and observation is examined in detail. The abundances of He4 and Li7 determine the…
The Hubble expansion of galaxies, the $2.73\dK$ blackbody radiation background and the cosmic abundances of the light elements argue for a hot, dense origin of the universe --- the standard Big Bang cosmology --- and enable its evolution to…
Although the energies associated with nuclear reactions are due primarily to interactions involving nuclear forces, the rates and probabilities associated with those reactions are effectively governed by electromagnetic forces. Charges in…
We extend previous studies of big bang nucleosynthesis, with the assumption that ordinary matter and dark matter sectors are entangled through the number of degrees of freedom entering the Friedmann equations. This conjecture allows us to…
Temperature effects on the neutron matter equation of state are investigated in the framework of chiral effective field theory. Latest, state-of-the-art chiral two-nucleon forces are applied from third to fifth order in the chiral expansion…