Big bang nucleosynthesis with long-lived charged massive particles
- Institute for Theory and Computation, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138 (United States)
We consider big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) with long-lived charged massive particles. Before decaying, the long-lived charged particle recombines with a light element to form a bound state like a hydrogen atom. This effect modifies the nuclear-reaction rates during the BBN epoch through the modifications of the Coulomb field and the kinematics of the captured light elements, which can change the light element abundances. It is possible for heavier nuclei abundances such as {sup 7}Li and {sup 7}Be to decrease sizably, while the ratios Y{sub p}, D/H, and {sup 3}He/H remain unchanged. This may solve the current discrepancy between the BBN prediction and the observed abundance of {sup 7}Li. If future collider experiments find signals of a long-lived charged particle inside the detector, the information of its lifetime and decay properties could provide insights into not only the particle physics models but also the phenomena in the early Universe, in turn.
- OSTI ID:
- 21027757
- Journal Information:
- Physical Review. D, Particles Fields, Vol. 76, Issue 6; Other Information: DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevD.76.063507; (c) 2007 The American Physical Society; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0556-2821
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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