Related papers: Bipartite Solution to the Lithium Problem
We investigate the non-radiative decay during nucleosynthesis of a massive tau neutrino with mass 0.1 - 1 MeV into an electron neutrino and a scalar or pseudoscalar particle, $\phi$. The full Boltzmann equation is used and shown to give…
Recent spectroscopic observations of metal poor stars have indicated that both $^7$Li and $^6$Li have abundance plateaus with respect to the metallicity. Abundances of $^7$Li are about a factor three lower than the primordial abundance…
Charged particles (X) decaying after primordial nucleosynthesis are constrained by the requirement that their decay products should not change the light element abundances drastically. If the decaying particle is negatively charged (X-)…
We discuss a new mechanism which can solve the crisis in standard big-bang nucleosynthesis. A long-lived particle $X$ ($10^4 sec \lesssim \tau_X \lesssim 10^6 sec$) which decays into photon(s) will induce cascade photons, and destroy…
Comparing Big Bang Nucleosynthesis predictions with the light element abundances inferred from observational data, we can obtain the strong constraints on some neutrino properties, e.g. number of neutrino species, mass, lifetime. Recently…
We analyze the effect of variation of fundamental couplings and mass scales on primordial nucleosynthesis in a systematic way. The first step establishes the response of primordial element abundances to the variation of a large number of…
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…
In the standard hot big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) model the primordial abundances of H, H2, He3, He4, and Li7, fix the baryon density of the universe, $\Omega_b$, via the baryon-to-photon ratio, $\eta$, for a given Hubble parameter. Recent…
We studied previously the impact on light-element abundances of gravitinos decaying during or after Big-Bang nucleosynthesis (BBN). We found regions of the gravitino mass m_{3/2} and abundance zeta_{3/2} plane where its decays could…
Standard Big Bang nucleosynthesis at baryonic density as inferred by WMAP implies a primordial Li7 abundance factor of two to three larger than that inferred by observations of low--metallicity halo stars. Recent observations of Li6 in halo…
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…
Standard Big Bang Nucleosynthesis at the baryon density determined by the microwave anisotropy spectrum predicts an excess of \li7 compared to observations by a factor of 4-5. In contrast, BBN predictions for D/H are somewhat below (but…
Detections of deuterium in high redshift Lyman limit absorption systems along the line of sight to QSOs promise to reveal the primordial deuterium abundance. At present, the deuterium abundances (D/H) derived from the very few systems…
Explaining the well established observation that the expansion rate of the universe is apparently accelerating is one of the defining scientific problems of our age. Within the standard model of cosmology, the repulsive 'dark energy'…
We consider the effects of uncertainties in nuclear reaction rates on the cosmological constraints on the decays of unstable particles during or after Big-Bang nucleosynthesis (BBN). We identify the nuclear reactions due to non-thermal…
In this work we show that the cosmological lithium problem and the $H_0$ tension could be eased at the same time by allowing variations in the fundamental constants. We compute the primordial abundances of light elements resulting from Big…
While theoretical computations of the lithium abundances in Pop II stars predict variations from star to star, the most recent observations confirm the existence of a "lithium plateau" with no abundance dispersion. This apparent paradox has…
Assuming the best numerical value for the cosmic baryonic density and the existence of three neutrino flavors, standard big bang nucleosynthesis is a parameter-free model. It is important to assess if the observed primordial abundances can…
The standard model of primordial nucleosynthesis by the Big Bang as selected by the WMAP-based estimate of the baryon density ($\Omega_bh^2$) predicts an abundance of $^7$Li that is a factor of three greater than the generally reported…
Recent observational constraints on primodial deuterium and Li7 correspond to different values of the baryon-to-photon ratio when applied to the Standard Big Bang Nucleosynthesis (SBBN) model. In this article these constraints are applied…