Particle Physics Catalysis of Thermal Big Bang Nucleosynthesis
- Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, Waterloo, Ontario N2J 2W9 (Canada)
We point out that the existence of metastable, {tau}>10{sup 3} s, negatively charged electroweak-scale particles (X{sup -}) alters the predictions for lithium and other primordial elemental abundances for A>4 via the formation of bound states with nuclei during big bang nucleosynthesis. In particular, we show that the bound states of X{sup -} with helium, formed at temperatures of about T=10{sup 8} K, lead to the catalytic enhancement of {sup 6}Li production, which is 8 orders of magnitude more efficient than the standard channel. In particle physics models where subsequent decay of X{sup -} does not lead to large nonthermal big bang nucleosynthesis effects, this directly translates to the level of sensitivity to the number density of long-lived X{sup -} particles ({tau}>10{sup 5} s) relative to entropy of n{sub X{sup -}}/s < or approx. 3x10{sup -17}, which is one of the most stringent probes of electroweak scale remnants known to date.
- OSTI ID:
- 20951457
- Journal Information:
- Physical Review Letters, Vol. 98, Issue 23; Other Information: DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.98.231301; (c) 2007 The American Physical Society; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0031-9007
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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