Effects of sterile neutrinos and an extra dimension on big bang nucleosynthesis

Dukjae Jang, Motohiko Kusakabe, and Myung-Ki Cheoun
Phys. Rev. D 97, 043005 – Published 9 February 2018

Abstract

By assuming the existence of extra-dimensional sterile neutrinos in the big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) epoch, we investigate the sterile neutrino (νs) effects on the BBN and constrain some parameters associated with the νs properties. First, for the cosmic expansion rate, we take into account effects of a five-dimensional bulk and intrinsic tension of the brane embedded in the bulk and constrain a key parameter of the extra dimension by using the observational element abundances. Second, effects of the νs traveling on or off the brane are considered. In this model, the effective mixing angle between a νs and an active neutrino depends on energy, which may give rise to a resonance effect on the mixing angle. Consequently, the reaction rate of the νs can be drastically changed during the cosmic evolution. We estimated abundances and temperature of the νs by solving the rate equation as a function of temperature until the sterile neutrino decoupling. We then find that the relic abundance of the νs is drastically enhanced by the extra dimension and maximized for a characteristic resonance energy Eres0.01GeV. Finally, some constraints related to the νs, i.e., mixing angle and mass difference, are discussed in detail with the comparison of our BBN calculations corrected by the extra-dimensional νs to observational data on light element abundances.

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  • Received 20 November 2016
  • Revised 7 November 2017

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.97.043005

© 2018 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Particles & Fields

Authors & Affiliations

Dukjae Jang1,*, Motohiko Kusakabe2,†, and Myung-Ki Cheoun3,‡

  • 1Department of Physics and OMEG Institute, Soongsil University, Seoul 156-743, Korea
  • 2Center for Astrophysics, Department of Physics, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana 46556, USA
  • 3Department of Physics, Soongsil University, Seoul 156-743, Korea

  • *havevirtue@ssu.ac.kr
  • mkusakab@nd.edu
  • Corresponding author. cheoun@ssu.ac.kr

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Vol. 97, Iss. 4 — 15 February 2018

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