A study of the fine-structure constant dependence of radiative capture in Halo-EFT

TL;DR

This paper investigates how the fine-structure constant influences radiative capture rates using Halo Effective Field Theory, revealing deviations from simple Coulomb penetration models and discussing implications for primordial nucleosynthesis.

Contribution

It introduces a Halo EFT approach to analyze the fine-structure constant dependence of radiative capture reactions, challenging traditional penetration factor assumptions.

Findings

Dependence deviates from simple penetration factor models

Potential impact on primordial element abundances

Highlights need for refined theoretical models

Abstract

We study the fine-structure constant dependence of the rates of some selected radiative capture reactions within the framework of so-called Halo Effective Field Theory in order to assess the adequacy of some assumptions made on the Coulomb penetrability. We find that this dependence deviates from that implied by a parameterization of the cross sections of this effect via a simple penetration factor. Some features of this fine-structure dependence are discussed, in particular its potential impact on the abundances of the light elements in primordial nucleosynthesis.