EPJ Web of Conferences 146, 01008 (2017)
https://doi.org/10.1051/epjconf/201714601008

Constraining nuclear data via cosmological observations: Neutrino energy transport and big bang nucleosynthesis

¹ Theoretical Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, USA
² Department of Physics, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, USA
³ Department of Physics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA
⁴ Department of Physics and Biophysics, University of San Diego, San Diego, California 92110, USA
⁵ Department of Physics, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695, USA

^a e-mail: mparis@lanl.gov

Published online: 13 September 2017

Abstract

We introduce a new computational capability that moves toward a self-consistent calculation of neutrino transport and nuclear reactions for big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN). Such a self-consistent approach is needed to be able to extract detailed information about nuclear reactions and physics beyond the standard model from precision cosmological observations of primordial nuclides and the cosmic microwave background radiation. We calculate the evolution of the early universe through the epochs of weak decoupling, weak freeze-out and big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) by simultaneously coupling a full strong, electromagnetic, and weak nuclear reaction network with a multi-energy group Boltzmann neutrino energy transport scheme. The modular structure of our approach allows the dissection of the relative contributions of each process responsible for evolving the dynamics of the early universe. Such an approach allows a detailed account of the evolution of the active neutrino energy distribution functions alongside and self-consistently with the nuclear reactions and entropy/heat generation and 'ow between the neutrino and photon/electron/positron/baryon plasma components. Our calculations reveal nonlinear feedback in the time evolution of neutrino distribution functions and plasma thermodynamic conditions. We discuss the time development of neutrino spectral distortions and concomitant entropy production and extraction from the plasma. These e↑ects result in changes in the computed values of the BBN deuterium and helium-4 yields that are on the order of a half-percent relative to a baseline standard BBN calculation with no neutrino transport. This is an order of magnitude larger e↑ect than in previous estimates. For particular implementations of quantum corrections in plasma thermodynamics, our calculations show a 0.4% increase in deuterium and a 0.6% decrease in ⁴He over our baseline. The magnitude of these changes are on the order of uncertainties in the nuclear physics for the case of deuterium and are potentially signi↓cant for the error budget of helium in upcoming cosmological observations.