Big Bang nucleosynthesis as a probe of new physics

Big bang nucleosynthesis as a probe of fundamental “constants”

Big Bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) is the earliest sensitive probe of the values of many fundamental particle physics parameters. We have found the leading linear dependences of primordial abundances on all relevant parameters of the standard BBN code, including binding energies and nuclear reaction rates. This enables us to set limits on possible variations of fundamental parameters. We find that ...

Big Bang Nucleosynthesis

Big Bang Nucleosynthesis: Reprise

Recent observational and theoretical developments concerning the primordial synthesis of the light elements are reviewed, and the implications for dark matter mentioned.

Assessing Big-Bang nucleosynthesis.

Systematic uncertainties in the light-element abundances and their evolution make a rigorous statistical assessment difficult. However, using Bayesian methods we show that the following statement is robust: the predicted and measured abundances are consistent with 95% credibility only if the baryon-to-photon ratio is between 2× 10 and 6.5× 10 and the number of light neutrino species is less tha...

Big Bang Nucleosynthesis Calculation

I review standard big bang nucleosynthesis and some versions of nonstandard BBN. The abundances of the primordial isotopes D, He-3, and Li-7 produced in standard BBN can be calculated as a function of the baryon density with an accuracy of about 10%. For He-4 the accuracy is better than 1%. The calculated abundances agree fairly well with observations, but the baryon density of the universe can...