Limits from primordial nucleosynthesis on the properties of massive neutral leptons. [Lifetime]

Technical Report · Tue Nov 01 04:00:00 EST 1977

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/6824207· OSTI ID:6824207

Dicus, D. A.; Kolb, E. W.; Teplitz, V. L.; Wagoner, R. V.

If there exist neutral leptons with masses in the range 50 eV to 5 GeV, they would have been present in thermal equilibrium in the early stages of the hot big bang. In the subsequent evolution of the universe, if their lifetime is sufficiently long, their mass dominated the energy density of the universe. The effect of their presence on the synthesis of elements in the early universe is considered. Of the observed primordial abundances, the helium abundance was found to be independent of their existence, but the deuterium abundance was found to be sufficiently sensitive to allow bounds to be placed on the mass, lifetime, and decay modes of any heavy neutrinos. In particular, on the basis of present best estimates of astrophysical parameters, previous radiative lifetime bounds on the order of months are reduced to bounds on the order of hours, and expand the range of masses for which no radiatively decaying massive neutral leptons are allowed, to 50 to 100 keV.

• Research Organization: Texas Univ., Austin (USA). Center for Particle Theory; Virginia Polytechnic Inst. and State Univ., Blacksburg (USA). Dept. of Physics; Stanford Univ., Calif. (USA)
• OSTI ID: 6824207
• Report Number(s): ORO-3992-323
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
DECAY
ELEMENTARY PARTICLES
ENERGY RANGE
EV RANGE
EV RANGE 10-100
EV RANGE 100-1000
FERMIONS
GALACTIC EVOLUTION
GALAXIES
GEV RANGE
GEV RANGE 01-10
KEV RANGE
LEPTONS
LIFETIME
LIMITING VALUES
MASS
MASSLESS PARTICLES
MEV RANGE
MILKY WAY
NEUTRINOS
NUCLEOSYNTHESIS