Prospects for Constraining Neutrino Mass Using Planck and Lyman-Alpha Forest Data

TL;DR

This paper explores the potential of combining Planck cosmic microwave background data with Lyman-Alpha forest observations to constrain the total neutrino mass and distinguish between different neutrino mass hierarchies.

Contribution

It assesses the prospects of future cosmological data in constraining neutrino masses and differentiating between mass hierarchies, highlighting the limitations and possibilities.

Findings

Planck and Lyman-Alpha data could challenge inverted hierarchy models.

Future data may not confirm the minimal-mass normal hierarchy.

Combining datasets improves neutrino mass constraints.

Abstract

In this paper we investigate how well Planck and Lyman-Alpha forest data will be able to constrain the sum of the neutrino masses, and thus, in conjunction with flavour oscillation experiments, be able to determine the absolute masses of the neutrinos. It seems possible that Planck, together with a Lyman-Alpha survey, will be able to put pressure on an inverted hierarchial model for the neutrino masses. However, even for optimistic assumptions of the precision of future Lyman-Alpha datasets, it will not be possible to confirm a minimal-mass normal hierarchy.