Related papers: Early-universe constraints on the electron mass
Electron mass is known to modify at finite temperatures and densities. Weak nuclear processes have a great impact on electron mass which modifies in a statistical background. We demonstrate how the temperature change in electron mass is…
After neutrinos decouple from the photon bath, they can populate a thermal dark sector. If this occurs at a temperature above ~100 keV, this can have measurable impacts on light element abundances. We calculate light element abundances in…
A host of dark energy models and non-standard cosmologies predict an enhanced Hubble rate in the early Universe: perfectly viable models, which satisfy Big Bang Nucleosynthesis (BBN), cosmic microwave background and general relativity…
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 study the nonresonant oscillations between left-handed electron neutrinos nu_e and nonthermalized sterile neutrinos nu_s in the early Universe plasma. The case when nu_s do not thermalize till 2 MeV and the oscillations become effective…
Cosmic microwave background (CMB) determinations of the baryon-to-photon ratio $\eta \propto \Omega_{\rm baryon} h^2$ will remove the last free parameter from (standard) big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) calculations. This will make BBN a much…
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…
Primordial nucleosynthesis provides a probe of the Universe during its early evolution. Given the progress exploring the constituents, structure, and recent evolution of the Universe, it is timely to review the status of Big Bang…
By using most of the present CMB and LSS measurements and the BBN constraints on the primordial helium abundance, Y_p, we set bounds on the radiation content of the Universe and neutrino properties. We consider lepton asymmetric…
New light states thermally coupled to the Standard Model plasma alter the expansion history of the Universe and impact the synthesis of the primordial light elements. In this work, we carry out an exhaustive and precise analysis of the…
The primordial neutrino asymmetry leaves profound imprints on the evolution history of the universe, which can be constrained by cosmological observations, including Big Bang Nucleosynthesis (BBN), Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB), and…
Scalar dark matter can interact with Standard Model (SM) particles, altering the fundamental constants of Nature in the process. Changes in the fundamental constants during and prior to Big Bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) produce changes in the…
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…
We calculate the weak interaction rates of selected light nuclei during the epoch of Big Bang Nucleosynthesis (BBN), and we assess the impact of these rates on nuclear abundance flow histories and on final light element abundance yields. We…
During its hot, dense, early evolution the Universe was a primordial nuclear reactor, synthesizing the light nuclides D, 3He, 4He and 7Li in the first thousand seconds. The presently observed abundances of these relic nuclides provide a…
The primordial abundances of deuterium, helium-3, helium-4, and lithium-7 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…
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…
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…
Primordial nucleosynthesis is inevitable during the early evolution of an expanding universe filled with radiation and matter (baryons). However, the precise abundance yields depend sensitively on the baryon density, the radiation content…
The presence of light (m_a ~ 10^-6 ev) scalar fields in the early universe can modify the cosmology of neutrinos considerably by allowing their masses to vary on cosmological times. In this paper, we consider the effect of Planck-suppressed…