Resonant destruction as a possible solution to the cosmological lithium problem

Journal Article · Tue Mar 15 00:00:00 EDT 2011 · Physical Review. D, Particles Fields

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PHYSREVD.83.063006· OSTI ID:21537493

Chakraborty, Nachiketa; Fields, Brian D ^[1]; Olive, Keith A ^[2]

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1. Departments of Astronomy and of Physics, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois 61801 (United States)
2. William I. Fine Theoretical Physics Institute, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455 (United States)

We explore a nuclear physics resolution to the discrepancy between the predicted standard big-bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) abundance of {sup 7}Li and its observational determination in metal-poor stars. The theoretical {sup 7}Li abundance is 3-4 times greater than the observational values, assuming the baryon-to-photon ratio, {eta}{sub wmap}, determined by WMAP. The {sup 7}Li problem could be resolved within the standard BBN picture if additional destruction of A=7 isotopes occurs due to new nuclear reaction channels or upward corrections to existing channels. This could be achieved via missed resonant nuclear reactions, which is the possibility we consider here. We find some potential candidate resonances which can solve the lithium problem and specify their required resonant energies and widths. For example, a 1{sup -} or 2{sup -} excited state of {sup 10}C sitting at approximately 15.0 MeV above its ground state with an effective width of order 10 keV could resolve the {sup 7}Li problem; the existence of this excited state needs experimental verification. Other examples using known states include {sup 7}Be+t{yields}{sup 10}B(18.80 MeV), and {sup 7}Be+d{yields}{sup 9}B(16.71 MeV). For all of these states, a large channel radius (a>10 fm) is needed to give sufficiently large widths. Experimental determination of these reaction strengths is needed to rule out or confirm these nuclear physics solutions to the lithium problem.

• OSTI ID: 21537493
• Journal Information: Physical Review. D, Particles Fields, Vol. 83, Issue 6; Other Information: DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevD.83.063006; (c) 2011 American Institute of Physics; ISSN 0556-2821
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS
79 ASTROPHYSICS
COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY
BARYONS
BERYLLIUM 7
CARBON 10
CORRECTIONS
LITHIUM 7
MEV RANGE 10-100
NUCLEAR PHYSICS
NUCLEOSYNTHESIS
PHOTONS
RESOLUTION
RESONANCE
VERIFICATION
ALKALINE EARTH ISOTOPES
BERYLLIUM ISOTOPES
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-PLUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BOSONS
CARBON ISOTOPES
DAYS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
ELECTRON CAPTURE RADIOISOTOPES
ELEMENTARY PARTICLES
ENERGY RANGE
EVEN-EVEN NUCLEI
EVEN-ODD NUCLEI
FERMIONS
HADRONS
ISOTOPES
LIGHT NUCLEI
LITHIUM ISOTOPES
MASSLESS PARTICLES
MEV RANGE
NUCLEI
ODD-EVEN NUCLEI
PHYSICS
RADIOISOTOPES
SECONDS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
STABLE ISOTOPES
SYNTHESIS