Big bang nucleosynthesis as a probe of new physics

Maxim Pospelov; Josef Pradler

doi:10.1146/annurev.nucl.012809.104521

Big bang nucleosynthesis as a probe of new physics

Maxim Pospelov, Josef Pradler

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

140 Scopus citations

Abstract

Big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN), an epoch of primordial nuclear transformations in the expanding universe, has left an observable imprint in the abundances of light elements. Precision observations of such abundances, combined with high-accuracy predictions, provide a nontrivial test of the hot big bang and probe nonstandard cosmological and particle physics scenarios. We give an overview of BBN sensitivity to different classes of new physics: new particle or field degrees of freedom, time-varying couplings, decaying or annihilating massive particles leading to nonthermal processes, and catalysis of BBN by charged relics.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	539-568
Number of pages	30
Journal	Annual Review of Nuclear and Particle Science
Volume	60
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.nucl.012809.104521
State	Published - Nov 23 2010
Externally published	Yes

Keywords

abundances of light elements
dark matter
early universe
extensions of the standard model

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10.1146/annurev.nucl.012809.104521

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AU - Pradler, Josef

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AB - Big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN), an epoch of primordial nuclear transformations in the expanding universe, has left an observable imprint in the abundances of light elements. Precision observations of such abundances, combined with high-accuracy predictions, provide a nontrivial test of the hot big bang and probe nonstandard cosmological and particle physics scenarios. We give an overview of BBN sensitivity to different classes of new physics: new particle or field degrees of freedom, time-varying couplings, decaying or annihilating massive particles leading to nonthermal processes, and catalysis of BBN by charged relics.

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KW - dark matter

KW - early universe

KW - extensions of the standard model

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