Temperature Dependence of the Neutron Lifespan
Cheng Tao Yang, Jeremiah Birrell, Johann Rafelski (Arizona)
TL;DR
This paper investigates how plasma conditions in the early universe extend neutron lifespans through Fermi-blocking, significantly impacting primordial element abundances during big bang nucleosynthesis.
Contribution
It introduces a plasma-mediated mechanism that prolongs neutron lifetime, providing a novel correction to BBN models and elemental abundance predictions.
Findings
Neutron lifespan increases by 6.4% in plasma conditions.
Plasma effects can alter primordial light element abundances.
Fermi-blocking significantly impacts early universe nucleosynthesis.
Abstract
Current precision big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) studies motivate us to revisit the neutron lifespan in the plasma medium of the early universe. The mechanism we explore is the Fermi-blocking of decay electrons and neutrinos by plasma. As result, neutrons live longer and we find a significant 6.4\% modification of neutron abundance in the BBN era arising from in plasma modification of the neutron lifetime. This effect can influence the final abundances of the light elements in BBN.
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Taxonomy
TopicsAtomic and Subatomic Physics Research · Nuclear reactor physics and engineering · Nuclear Physics and Applications