Primordial Nucleosynthesis with a Decaying Tau Neutrino

Details Primordial Nucleosynthesis with a Decaying Tau Neutrino Primordial Nucleosynthesis with a Decaying Tau Neutrino

1993-12-28

arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/9312062v1

Phys.Rev.D49:5068-5079,1994

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astrophysics

27 pages, Latex, 12 Figures avaiable on request, FNAL--Pub--93/236-A

Scientific paper

10.1103/PhysRevD.49.5068

A comprehensive study of the effect of an unstable tau neutrino on primordial nucleosynthesis is presented. The standard code for nucleosynthesis is modified to allow for a massive decaying tau neutrino whose daughter products include neutrinos, photons, $e^\pm$ pairs, and/or noninteracting (sterile) daughter products. Tau-neutrino decays influence primordial nucleosynthesis in three distinct ways: (i) the energy density of the decaying tau neutrino and its daughter products affect the expansion rate tending to increase $^4$He, D, and $^3$He production; (ii) electromagnetic (EM) decay products heat the EM plasma and dilute the baryon-to-photon ratio tending to decrease $^4$He production and increase D and $^3$He production; and (iii) electron neutrinos and antineutrinos produced by tau-neutrino decays increase the weak rates that govern the neutron-to-proton ratio, leading to decreased $^4$He production for short lifetimes ($\la 30\sec$) and masses less than about $10\MeV$ and increased $^4$He production for long lifetimes or large masses. The precise effect of a decaying tau neutrino on the yields of primordial nucleosynthesis and the mass-lifetime limits that follow depend crucially upon decay mode. We identify four generic decay modes that serve to bracket the wider range of possibilities:

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