Particle Physics Catalysis of Thermal Big Bang Nucleosynthesis

Maxim Pospelov
Phys. Rev. Lett. 98, 231301 – Published 4 June 2007

Abstract

We point out that the existence of metastable, τ>103s, negatively charged electroweak-scale particles (X) alters the predictions for lithium and other primordial elemental abundances for A>4 via the formation of bound states with nuclei during big bang nucleosynthesis. In particular, we show that the bound states of X with helium, formed at temperatures of about T=108K, lead to the catalytic enhancement of Li6 production, which is 8 orders of magnitude more efficient than the standard channel. In particle physics models where subsequent decay of X does not lead to large nonthermal big bang nucleosynthesis effects, this directly translates to the level of sensitivity to the number density of long-lived X particles (τ>105s) relative to entropy of nX/s3×1017, which is one of the most stringent probes of electroweak scale remnants known to date.

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  • Received 1 July 2006

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.98.231301

©2007 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

Maxim Pospelov

  • Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, Waterloo, Ontario N2J 2W9, Canada
  • Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, V8P 1A1 Canada

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Issue

Vol. 98, Iss. 23 — 8 June 2007

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