2 research outputs found
Big Bang Nucleosynthesis and Particle Dark Matter
We review how our current understanding of the light element synthesis during
the Big Bang Nucleosynthesis era may help shed light on the identity of
particle dark matter.Comment: a mini-review for the NJP special issue on dark matte
Constraints on Supersymmetric Models from Catalytic Primordial Nucleosynthesis of Beryllium
The catalysis of nuclear reactions by negatively charged relics leads to
increased outputs of primordial ^6Li and ^9Be. In combination with
observational constraints on the primordial fractions of ^6Li and ^9Be, this
imposes strong restrictions on the primordial abundance and the lifetime of
charged relics. We analyze the constraints from the catalysis of ^9Be on
supersymmetric models in which the gravitino is the lightest supersymmetric
particle and a charged slepton--such as the lighter stau--the next-to-lightest
supersymmetric particle (NLSP). Barring the special cases in which the
primordial fraction of the slepton NLSP is significantly depleted, we find that
the ^9Be data require a slepton NLSP lifetime of less than 6x10^3 seconds. We
also address the issue of the catalytic destruction of ^6Li and ^9Be by late
forming bound states of protons with negatively charged relics finding that it
does not lead to any significant modification of the limit on the slepton
lifetime.Comment: 31 pages, 8 figures; minor additions, matches published versio