Probing Unstable Massive Neutrinos with Current Cosmic Microwave Background Observations

Journal Article · Thu Oct 01 04:00:00 EDT 1998 · Physical Review Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.81.3075· OSTI ID:662286

Lopez, R E; Turner, M S ^[1]; Lopez, R E; Dodelson, S; Scherrer, R J; Turner, M S ^[2]; Scherrer, R J ^[3]; Turner, M S ^[4]

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1. Department of Physics, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637-1433 (United States)
2. NASA/Fermilab Astrophysics Center, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, Batavia, Illinois 60510 (United States)
3. Department of Physics and Department of Astronomy, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210 (United States)
4. Department of Astronomy Astrophysics, Enrico Fermi Institute, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637-1433 (United States)

The pattern of anisotropies in the cosmic microwave background depends upon the masses and lifetimes of the three neutrino species. A neutrino species of mass greater than 10thinspthinspeV with lifetime between 10{sup 13} and 10{sup 17} sec leaves a very distinct signature (due to the integrated Sachs-Wolfe effect): the anisotropies at large angles are predicted to be comparable to those on degree scales. Present data exclude such a possibility and hence this region of parameter space. For m{sub {nu}}{approx_equal}30 eV , {tau}{approx_equal}10{sup 13} sec , we find an interesting possibility: the integrated Sachs-Wolfe peak produced by the decaying neutrino in low-{Omega} models mimics the acoustic peak expected in an {Omega}=1 model. {copyright} {ital 1998} {ital The American Physical Society}

• OSTI ID: 662286
• Journal Information: Physical Review Letters, Journal Name: Physical Review Letters Journal Issue: 15 Vol. 81; ISSN 0031-9007; ISSN PRLTAO
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

66 PHYSICS
ANISOTROPY
BACKGROUND RADIATION
COSMIC NEUTRINOS
COSMOLOGICAL MODELS
COSMOLOGY
LIFETIME
MICROWAVE RADIATION
NONLUMINOUS MATTER
PARTICLE DECAY