522 research outputs found
BBN For Pedestrians
The simplest, `standard' model of Big Bang Nucleosynthesis (SBBN) assumes
three light neutrinos (N_nu = 3) and no significant electron neutrino
asymmetry, leaving only one adjustable parameter: the baryon to photon ratio
eta. The primordial abundance of any one nuclide can, therefore, be used to
measure the baryon abundance and the value derived from the observationally
inferred primordial abundance of deuterium closely matches that from current,
non-BBN data, primarily from the WMAP survey. However, using this same estimate
there is a tension between the SBBN-predicted 4He and 7Li abundances and their
current, observationally inferred primordial abundances, suggesting that N_nu
may differ from the standard model value of three and/or that there may be a
non-zero neutral lepton asymmetry (or, that systematic errors in the abundance
determinations have been underestimated or overlooked). The differences are not
large and the allowed ranges of the BBN parameters permitted by the data are
quite small. Within these ranges, the BBN-predicted abundances of D, 3He, 4He,
and 7Li are very smooth, monotonic functions of eta, N_nu, and the lepton
asymmetry. It is possible to describe the dependencies of these abundances (or
powers of them) upon the three parameters by simple, linear fits which, over
their ranges of applicability, are accurate to a few percent or better. The
fits presented here have not been maximized for their accuracy but, for their
simplicity. To identify the ranges of applicability and relative accuracies,
they are compared to detailed BBN calculations; their utility is illustrated
with several examples. Given the tension within BBN, these fits should prove
useful in facilitating studies of the viability of proposals for non-standard
physics and cosmology, prior to undertaking detailed BBN calculations.Comment: Submitted to a Focus Issue on Neutrino Physics in New Journal of
Physics (www.njp.org
Invalidation of the Kelvin Force in Ferrofluids
Direct and unambiguous experimental evidence for the magnetic force density
being of the form in a certain geometry - rather than being the
Kelvin force - is provided for the first time. (M is the
magnetization, H the field, and B the flux density.)Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
BBN and the Primordial Abundances
The relic abundances of the light elements synthesized during the first few
minutes of the evolution of the Universe provide unique probes of cosmology and
the building blocks for stellar and galactic chemical evolution, while also
enabling constraints on the baryon (nucleon) density and on models of particle
physics beyond the standard model. Recent WMAP analyses of the CBR temperature
fluctuation spectrum, combined with other, relevant, observational data, has
yielded very tight constraints on the baryon density, permitting a detailed,
quantitative confrontation of the predictions of Big Bang Nucleosynthesis with
the post-BBN abundances inferred from observational data. The current status of
this comparison is presented, with an emphasis on the challenges to astronomy,
astrophysics, particle physics, and cosmology it identifies.Comment: To appear in the Proceedings of the ESO/Arcetri Workshop on "Chemical
Abundances and Mixing in Stars in the Milky Way and its Satellites", eds., L.
Pasquini and S. Randich (Springer-Verlag Series, "ESO Astrophysics Symposia"
The Effect of Bound Dineutrons upon BBN
We have examined the effects of a bound dineutron, n2, upon big bang
nucleosynthesis (BBN) as a function of its binding energy B_n2. We find a
weakly bound dineutron has little impact but as B_n2 increases its presence
begins to alter the flow of free nucleons to helium-4. Due to this disruption,
and in the absence of changes to other binding energies or fundamental
constants, BBN sets a reliable upper limit of B_n2 <~ 2.5 MeV in order to
maintain the agreement with the observations of the primordial helium-4 mass
fraction and D/H abundance
Collective neutrino flavor transitions in supernovae and the role of trajectory averaging
Non-linear effects on supernova neutrino oscillations, associated with
neutrino self-interactions, are known to induce collective flavor transitions
near the supernova core for theta_13 \neq 0. In scenarios with very shallow
electron density profiles, these transformations have been shown to couple with
ordinary matter effects, jointly producing spectral distortions both in normal
and inverted hierarchy. In this work we consider a complementary scenario,
characterized by higher electron density, as indicated by post-bounce
shock-wave simulations. In this case, early collective flavor transitions are
decoupled from later, ordinary matter effects. Moreover, such transitions
become more amenable to both numerical computations and analytical
interpretations in inverted hierarchy, while they basically vanish in normal
hierarchy. We numerically evolve the neutrino density matrix in the region
relevant for self-interaction effects. In the approximation of averaged
intersection angle between neutrino trajectories, our simulations neatly show
the collective phenomena of synchronization, bipolar oscillations, and spectral
split, recently discussed in the literature. In the more realistic (but
computationally demanding) case of non-averaged neutrino trajectories, our
simulations do not show new significant features, apart from the smearing of
``fine structures'' such as bipolar nutations. Our results seem to suggest
that, at least for non-shallow matter density profiles, averaging over neutrino
trajectories plays a minor role in the final outcome. In this case, the swap of
nu_e and nu_{\mu,\tau} spectra above a critical energy may represent an
unmistakable signature of the inverted hierarchy, especially for theta_{13}
small enough to render further matter effects irrelevant.Comment: v2 (27 pages, including 9 eps figures). Typos removed, references
updated. Minor comments added. Corrected numerical errors in Eq.(6). Matches
the published versio
Neutrino Scattering, Absorption and Annihilation above the accretion disks of Gamma Ray Bursts
The central engine that drives gamma ray burst (GRB) explosions may derive
from the ability of electrons/positrons and nucleons to tap into the momentum
and energy from the large neutrino luminosity emitted by an accretion disk
surrounding a black hole. This transfer of momentum and energy occurs due to
neutrino absorption, scattering, and annihilation and the non-spherical
geometry of the source both increases the annihilation efficiency and, close to
the black hole, directs the momentum transfer towards the disk axis. We present
annihilation efficiencies and the momentum/energy transfers for a number of
accretion disk models and compute the critical densities of infalling material
below which the transfer of neutrino momentum/energy will lead to an explosion.
Models in which the neutrinos and antineutrinos become trapped within the disk
have noticeably different momentum and energy deposition structure compared to
thin disk models that may lead to significant differences in the explosion
dynamics
Residence Time Statistics for Normal and Fractional Diffusion in a Force Field
We investigate statistics of occupation times for an over-damped Brownian
particle in an external force field. A backward Fokker-Planck equation
introduced by
Majumdar and Comtet describing the distribution of occupation times is
solved. The solution gives a general relation between occupation time
statistics and probability currents which are found from solutions of the
corresponding problem of first passage time. This general relationship between
occupation times and first passage times, is valid for normal Markovian
diffusion and for non-Markovian sub-diffusion, the latter modeled using the
fractional Fokker-Planck equation. For binding potential fields we find in the
long time limit ergodic behavior for normal diffusion, while for the fractional
framework weak ergodicity breaking is found, in agreement with previous results
of Bel and Barkai on the continuous time random walk on a lattice. For
non-binding potential rich physical behaviors are obtained, and classification
of occupation time statistics is made possible according to whether or not the
underlying random walk is recurrent and the averaged first return time to the
origin is finite. Our work establishes a link between fractional calculus and
ergodicity breaking.Comment: 12 page
Neutrino masses and the number of neutrino species from WMAP and 2dFGRS
We have performed a thorough analysis of the constraints which can be put on
neutrino parameters from cosmological observations, most notably those from the
WMAP satellite and the 2dF galaxy survey. For this data we find an upper limit
on the sum of active neutrino mass eigenstates of \sum m_nu < 1.0 eV (95%
conf.), but this limit is dependent on priors. We find that the WMAP and 2dF
data alone cannot rule out the evidence from neutrinoless double beta decay
reported by the Heidelberg-Moscow experiment. In terms of the relativistic
energy density in neutrinos or other weakly interacting species we find, in
units of the equivalent number of neutrino species, N_nu, that N_nu =
4.0+3.0-2.1 (95% conf.). When BBN constraints are added, the bound on N_\nu is
2.6+0.4-0.3 (95% conf.), suggesting that N_nu could possibly be lower than the
standard model value of 3. This can for instance be the case in models with
very low reheating temperature and incomplete neutrino thermalization.
Conversely, if N_nu is fixed to 3 then the data from WMAP and 2dFGRS predicts
that 0.2458 < Y_P < 0.2471, which is significantly higher than the
observationally measured value. The limit on relativistic energy density
changes when a small chemical potential is present during BBN. In this
case the upper bound on N_nu from WMAP, 2dFGRS and BBN is N_nu < 6.5. Finally,
we find that a non-zero \sum m_nu can be compensated by an increase in N_nu.
One result of this is that the LSND result is not yet ruled out by cosmological
observations.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figure
Precision Primordial He Measurement with CMB Experiments
Big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) and the cosmic microwave background (CMB) are
two major pillars of cosmology. Standard BBN accurately predicts the primordial
light element abundances (He, D, He and Li), depending on one
parameter, the baryon density. Light element observations are used as a
baryometers. The CMB anisotropies also contain information about the content of
the universe which allows an important consistency check on the Big Bang model.
In addition CMB observations now have sufficient accuracy to not only determine
the total baryon density, but also resolve its principal constituents, H and
He. We present a global analysis of all recent CMB data, with special
emphasis on the concordance with BBN theory and light element observations. We
find and
(fraction of baryon mass as He) using CMB data alone, in agreement with
He abundance observations. With this concordance established we show that
the inclusion of BBN theory priors significantly reduces the volume of
parameter space. In this case, we find
and . We also find that the inclusion of deuterium
abundance observations reduces the and ranges by a factor
of 2. Further light element observations and CMB anisotropy experiments
will refine this concordance and sharpen BBN and the CMB as tools for precision
cosmology.Comment: 7 pages, 3 color figures made minor changes to bring inline with
journal versio
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