Reconciling sterile neutrinos with big bang nucleosynthesis

Aug, 1995
10 pages
Published in:
  • Phys.Rev.Lett. 75 (1995) 4350
e-Print:
Report number:
  • UM-P-95-75,
  • RCHEP-95-19

Citations per year

1995200220092016202305101520
Abstract:
We re-examine the big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) bounds on the mixing of neutrinos with sterile species. These bounds depend on the assumption that the relic neutrino asymmetry LνL_{\nu} is very small. We show that for LνL_{\nu} large enough (greater than about 10 510~{-5}) the standard BBN bounds do not apply. We apply this result to the sterile neutrino solution to the atmospheric neutrino anomaly and show that for L_{\nu} > 7 \times 10~{-5} it is consistent with BBN. The BBN bounds on sterile neutrinos mixing with electron neutrinos can also be weakened considerably.
Note:
  • 10 pages, LaTeX, no figures Report-no: UM-P-95/75
  • cosmological model
  • light nucleus: production
  • production: light nucleus
  • neutrino: sterile
  • neutrino: asymmetry
  • neutrino: cosmic radiation
  • neutrino: oscillation