Cosmology Based on f(R) Gravity Admits 1 eV Sterile Neutrinos

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that f(R) gravity models of the universe's accelerated expansion can reconcile the existence of 1 eV sterile neutrinos with cosmological constraints, resolving previous tensions between particle physics and cosmology.

Contribution

It introduces a cosmological model based on f(R) gravity that accommodates sterile neutrinos of about 1 eV mass, addressing existing conflicts with observational data.

Findings

f(R) gravity models can fit cosmological data with 1 eV sterile neutrinos

The model alleviates tension between neutrino oscillation experiments and cosmological constraints

Supports the viability of sterile neutrinos in cosmology within modified gravity frameworks

Abstract

It is shown that the tension between recent neutrino oscillation experiments, favoring sterile neutrinos with masses of the order of 1 eV, and cosmological data which impose stringent constraints on neutrino masses from the free streaming suppression of density fluctuations, can be resolved in models of the present accelerated expansion of the Universe based on f(R) gravity.