Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics
Scientific paper
2008-03-25
JCAP 0806:016,2008
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
Scientific paper
10.1088/1475-7516/2008/06/016
We explore constraints on extensions to the standard models of cosmology and particle physics which modify the early-Universe expansion rate S = H'/H (parametrized by the effective number of neutrinos N_nu). The constraints on N_nu and the baryon density parameter (eta_B = n_B/n_gamma = 10^(-10)*eta_10) from BBN at 20 minutes are compared with those from the CMB at 400 kyr and LSS at 14 Gyr. BBN provides the strongest constraint on N_nu (1.6 < N_nu < 3.3 at 95% confidence), but a weaker constraint on eta_B. The CMB/LSS best constrain the baryon density (5.9 < eta_10 < 6.4 at 95% confidence), independent of N_nu, but provide a relatively weak N_nu constraint, consistent with N_nu = 3. Using the best fit values and the allowed ranges of the CMB/LSS-derived parameters to calculate the BBN-predicted primordial abundances yields excellent agreement with the observationally inferred abundance of deuterium and good agreement with 4He, confirming the consistency between the BBN and CMB/LSS results. However, the BBN-predicted abundance of 7Li is high, by a factor of 3 or more. We comment on the value of N_nu and a possible anomaly in the matter power spectrum inferred from observations of the Ly-alpha forest. The good agreement between our BBN and CMB/LSS results permit us to constrain any post-BBN entropy production as well as to limit the production of any non-thermalized relativistic particles and, allow us to combine them finding 95% ranges, 1.8 < N_nu < 3.2 and 5.9 < eta_10 < 6.4.
Simha Vimal
Steigman Gary
No associations
LandOfFree
Constraining The Early-Universe Baryon Density And Expansion Rate does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.
If you have personal experience with Constraining The Early-Universe Baryon Density And Expansion Rate, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Constraining The Early-Universe Baryon Density And Expansion Rate will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-348390