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A six-body calculation of the alpha-deuteron radiative capture cross section
We have computed the cross section for the process d + alpha -> 6Li + gamma at the low energies relevant for primordial nucleosynthesis and comparison with laboratory data. The final state is a six-body wave function generated by the variational Monte Carlo method from the Argonne v_18 and Urbana IX potentials, including improved treatment of large-particle-separation behavior. The initial state is built up from the alpha-particle and deuteron ground-state solutions for these potentials, with phenomenological descriptions of scattering and cluster distortions. The dominant E2 cross section is in reasonable agreement with the laboratory data. Including center-of-energy and other small corrections, we obtain an E1 contribution which is larger than the measured contribution at 2 MeV by a factor of three. We calculate explicitly the impulse-approximation M1 contribution, which is expected to be very small, and obtain a result consistent with zero. We find little reason to suspect that the cross section is large enough to produce significant 6Li in the big bang
Weak Transitions in A=6 and 7 Nuclei
The He beta decay and Be electron capture processes are studied using
variational Monte Carlo wave functions, derived from a realistic Hamiltonian
consisting of the Argonne two-nucleon and Urbana-IX three-nucleon
interactions. The model for the nuclear weak axial current includes one- and
two-body operators with the strength of the leading two-body term--associated
with -isobar excitation of the nucleon--adjusted to reproduce the
Gamow-Teller matrix element in tritium -decay. The measured half-life of
. He is under-predicted by theory by 8%, while that of Be for
decay into the ground and first excited states of Li is over-predicted by
9%. However, the experimentally known branching ratio for these latter
processes is in good agreement with the calculated value. Two-body axial
current contributions lead to a 1.7% (4.4%) increase in the value of
the Gamow-Teller matrix element of He (Be), obtained with one-body
currents only, and slightly worsen (appreciably improve) the agreement between
the calculated and measured half-life. Corrections due to retardation effects
associated with the finite lepton momentum transfers involved in the decays, as
well as contributions of suppressed transitions induced by the weak vector
charge and axial current operators, have also been calculated and found to be
negligible.Comment: 23 pages 8 tables. submitted to Phys. Rev.
Primordial nucleosynthesis with a varying fine structure constant: An improved estimate
We compute primordial light-element abundances for cases with fine structure
constant alpha different from the present value, including many sources of
alpha dependence neglected in previous calculations. Specifically, we consider
contributions arising from Coulomb barrier penetration, photon coupling to
nuclear currents, and the electromagnetic components of nuclear masses. We find
the primordial abundances to depend more weakly on alpha than previously
estimated, by up to a factor of 2 in the case of ^7Li. We discuss the
constraints on variations in alpha from the individual abundance measurements
and the uncertainties affecting these constraints. While the present best
measurements of primordial D/H, ^4He/H, and ^7Li/H may be reconciled pairwise
by adjusting alpha and the universal baryon density, no value of alpha allows
all three to be accommodated simultaneously without consideration of systematic
error. The combination of measured abundances with observations of acoustic
peaks in the cosmic microwave background favors no change in alpha within the
uncertainties.Comment: Phys. Rev. D accepted version; minor changes in response to refere
Stau-catalyzed Li Production in Big-Bang Nucleosynthesis
If the gravitino mass is in the region from a few GeV to a few 10's GeV, the
scalar lepton X such as stau is most likely the next lightest supersymmetry
particle. The negatively charged and long-lived X^- may form a Coulomb bound
state (A X) with a nucleus A and may affect the big-bang nucleosynthesis
through catalyzed fusion process. We calculate a production cross section of
Li6 from the catalyzed fusion (He4 X^-) + d \to Li6 + X^- by solving the
Schr\"{o}dinger equation exactly for three-body system of He4, d, and X. We
utilize the state-of-the-art coupled-channel method, which is known to be very
accurate to describe other three-body systems in nuclear and atomic reactions.
The importance of the use of appropriate nuclear potential and the exact
treatment of the quantum tunneling in the fusion process are emphasized. We
find that the astrophysical S-factor at the Gamow peak corresponding to T=10
keV is 0.038 MeV barn. This leads to the Li6 abundance from the catalyzed
process as Li6|_{CBBN}\simeq 4.3\times 10^{-11} (D/2.8\times 10^{-5})
([n_{X^-}/s]/10^{-16}) in the limit of long lifetime of X. Particle physics
implication of this result is also discussed.Comment: 16 pages, 7 figure
Sharpening the predictions of big-bang nucleosynthesis
Motivated by the recent measurement of the primeval abundance of deuterium,
we re-examine the nuclear inputs to big-bang nucleosynthesis (BBN). Using
Monte-Carlo realization of the nuclear cross-section data to directly estimate
the theoretical uncertainties for the yields of D, 3-He and 7-Li, we show that
previous estimates were a factor of 2 too large. We sharpen the BBN
determination of the baryon density based upon deuterium, rho_B = (3.6 +/- 0.4)
* 10^{-31} g/cm^3 (Omega_B h^2 = 0.019 +/- 0.0024), which leads to a predicted
4-He abundance, Y_P = 0.246 +/- 0.0014 and a stringent limit to the equivalent
number of light neutrino species: N_nu < 3.20 (all at 95% cl). The predicted
7-Li abundance, 7-Li/H = (3.5 + 1.1 - 0.9) * 10^{-10}, is higher than that
observed in pop II stars, (1.7 +/- 0.3) * 10^{-10} (both, 95% cl). We identify
key reactions and the energies where further work is needed.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures (epsfig), REVTeX; submitted to Phys. Rev. Let
Big bang nucleosynthesis with a varying fine structure constant and non-standard expansion rate
We calculate primordial abundances of light elements produced during big bang
nucleosynthesis when the fine structure constant and/or the cosmic expansion
rate take non-standard values. We compare them with the recent values of
observed D, He4 and Li7 abundances, which show slight inconsistency among
themselves in the standard big bang nucleosynthesis scenario. This
inconsistency is not solved by considering either a varying fine structure
constant or a non-standard expansion rate separately but solutions are found by
their simultaneous existence.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure
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
Primordial nucleosynthesis and hadronic decay of a massive particle with a relatively short lifetime
In this paper we consider the effects on big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) of
the hadronic decay of a long-lived massive particle. If high-energy hadrons are
emitted near the BBN epoch ( -- ), they
extraordinarily inter-convert the background nucleons each other even after the
freeze-out time of the neutron to proton ratio. Then, produced light element
abundances are changed, and that may result in a significant discrepancy
between standard BBN and observations. Especially on the theoretical side, now
we can obtain a lot of experimental data of hadrons and simulate the hadronic
decay process executing the numerical code of the hadron fragmentation even in
the high energy region where we have no experimental data. Using the light
element abundances computed in the hadron-injection scenario, we derive a
constraint on properties of such a particle by comparing our theoretical
results with observations.Comment: 33 pages, 14 postscript figures, reference added, typo corrected, to
appear in Phys. Rev.
Lithium-6: A Probe of the Early Universe
I consider the synthesis of 6Li due to the decay of relic particles, such as
gravitinos or moduli, after the epoch of Big Bang Nucleosynthesis. The
synthesized 6Li/H ratio may be compared to 6Li/H in metal-poor stars which, in
the absence of stellar depletion of 6Li, yields significantly stronger
constraints on relic particle densities than the usual consideration of
overproduction of 3He. Production of 6Li during such an era of non-thermal
nucleosynthesis may also be regarded as a possible explanation for the
relatively high 6Li/H ratios observed in metal-poor halo stars.Comment: final version, Physical Review Letters, additional figure giving
limits on relic decaying particle
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