Big Bang nucleosynthesis: Accelerator tests and can. cap omega. /sub B/ really be large

Conference · Thu Oct 01 00:00:00 EDT 1987

OSTI ID:5716395

Schramm, D N

The first collider tests of cosmological theory are now underway. The number of neutrino families in nature, N/sub nu/, plays a key role in elementary particle physics as well as in the synthesis of the light elements during the early evolution of the Universe. Standard Big Bang Nucleosynthesis argues for N/sub nu/ = 3 +- 1. Current limits on N/sub nu/ from the CERN anti pp collider and e/sup +/e/sup -/ colliders are presented and compared to the cosmological bound. Supernova SN 1987A is also shown to give a limit on N/sub nu/ comparable to current accelerator bounds. All numbers are found to be small thus verifying the Big Bang model at an earlier epoch than is possible by traditional astronomical observations. Future measurements at SLC and LEP will further tighten this argument. Another key prediction of the standard Big Bang Nucleosynthesis is that the baryon density must be small (..cap omega../sub B/ less than or equal to 0.1). Recent attempts to try to subvert this argument using homogeneities of various types are shown to run afoul of the /sup 7/Li abundance which has now become a rather firm constraint. 18 refs., 2 figs.

• Research Organization: Fermi National Accelerator Lab. (FNAL), Batavia, IL (United States); Univ. of Chicago, IL (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: AC02-76CH03000
• OSTI ID: 5716395
• Report Number(s): FNAL/C-87/166-A; CONF-8708165-6; ON: DE88003405
• Resource Relation: Conference: Symposium on the origin and distribution of elements, New Orleans, LA, USA, 31 Aug 1987; Other Information: Portions of this document are illegible in microfiche products
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS
NUCLEOSYNTHESIS
COSMOLOGICAL MODELS
BARYONS
INTERMEDIATE VECTOR BOSONS
LEPTONS
LITHIUM 7
NEUTRINOS
QUARKS
SUPERNOVAE
ALKALI METAL ISOTOPES
BOSONS
ELEMENTARY PARTICLES
ERUPTIVE VARIABLE STARS
FERMIONS
HADRONS
INTERMEDIATE BOSONS
ISOTOPES
LIGHT NUCLEI
LITHIUM ISOTOPES
MASSLESS PARTICLES
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
NUCLEI
ODD-EVEN NUCLEI
POSTULATED PARTICLES
STABLE ISOTOPES
STARS
SYNTHESIS
VARIABLE STARS
640106* - Astrophysics & Cosmology- Cosmology
645200 - High Energy Physics- Particle Interactions & Properties-Theoretical