No Arabic abstract
Primordial or Big Bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) is one of the three strong evidences for the Big- Bang model together with the expansion of the Universe and the Cosmic Microwave Background radiation. In this study, we improve the standard BBN calculations taking into account new nuclear physics analyses and we enlarge the nuclear network until Sodium. This is, in particular, important to evaluate the primitive value of CNO mass fraction that could affect Population III stellar evolution. For the first time we list the complete network of more than 400 reactions with references to the origin of the rates, including approx 270 reaction rates calculated using the TALYS code. Together with the cosmological light elements, we calculate the primordial Beryllium, Boron, Carbon, Nitrogen and Oxygen nuclei. We performed a sensitivity study to identify the important reactions for CNO, 9Be and Boron nucleosynthesis. We reevaluated those important reaction rates using experimental data and/or theoretical evaluations. The results are compared with precedent calculations: a primordial Beryllium abundance increase by a factor of 4 compared to its previous evaluation, but we note a stability for B/H and for the CNO/H abundance ratio that remains close to its previous value of 0.7 times 10-15. On the other hand, the extension of the nuclear network has not changed the 7Li value, so its abundance is still 3-4 times greater than its observed spectroscopic value.
Primordial or big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) is one of the three historical strong evidences for the big bang model. The recent results by the Planck satellite mission have slightly changed the estimate of the baryonic density compared to the previous WMAP analysis. This article updates the BBN predictions for the light elements using the cosmological parameters determined by Planck, as well as an improvement of the nuclear network and new spectroscopic observations. There is a slight lowering of the primordial Li/H abundance, however, this lithium value still remains typically 3 times larger than its observed spectroscopic abundance in halo stars of the Galaxy. According to the importance of this lithium problem, we trace the small changes in its BBN calculated abundance following updates of the baryonic density, neutron lifetime and networks. In addition, for the first time, we provide confidence limits for the production of 6Li, 9Be, 11B and CNO, resulting from our extensive Monte Carlo calculation with our extended network. A specific focus is cast on CNO primordial production. Considering uncertainties on the nuclear rates around the CNO formation, we obtain CNO/H approx (5-30) x 10^{-15}. We further improve this estimate by analyzing correlations between yields and reaction rates and identified new influential reaction rates. These uncertain rates, if simultaneously varied could lead to a significant increase of CNO production: CNO/H sim 10^{-13}. This result is important for the study of population III star formation during the dark ages.
Primordial or Big Bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) is one of the three historical strong evidences for the Big-Bang model together with the expansion of the Universe and the Cosmic Microwave Background radiation (CMB). The recent results by the Planck mission have slightly changed the estimate of the baryonic density Omega_b, compared to the previous WMAP value. This article updates the BBN predictions for the light elements using the new value of Omega_b determined by Planck, as well as an improvement of the nuclear network and new spectroscopic observations. While there is no major modification, the error bars of the primordial D/H abundance (2.67+/-0.09) x 10^{-5} are narrower and there is a slight lowering of the primordial Li/H abundance (4.89^+0.41_-0.39) x 10^{-10}. However, this last value is still ~3 times larger than its observed spectroscopic abundance in halo stars of the Galaxy. Primordial Helium abundance is now determined to be Y_p = 0.2463+/-0.0003.
Primordial nucleosynthesis is one of the three historical evidences for the big bang model, together with the expansion of the universe and the cosmic microwave background. Now that the number of neutrino families and the baryonic densities have been fixed by laboratory measurements or CMB observations, the model has no free parameter and its predictions are rigid. Departure from its predictions could provide hints or constraints on new physics or astrophysics in the early universe. Precision on primordial abundances deduced from observations have recently been drastically improved and reach the percent level for both deuterium and helium-4. Accordingly, the BBN predictions should reach the same level of precision. For most isotopes, the dominant sources of uncertainty come from those on the laboratory thermonuclear reactions. This article focuses on helium-4 whose predicted primordial abundance depends essentially on weak interactions which control the neutron-proton ratio. The rates of the various weak interaction processes depend on the experimentally measured neutron lifetime, but also includes numerous corrections that we thoroughly investigate here. They are the radiative, zero-temperature, corrections, finite nucleon mass corrections, finite temperature radiative corrections, weak-magnetism, and QED plasma effects, which are for the first time all included and calculated in a self consistent way, allowing to take into account the correlations between them, and verifying that all satisfy detailed balance. The helium-4 predicted mass fraction is $0.24709pm0.00017$. In addition, we provide a Mathematica code (PRIMAT) that incorporates, not only these corrections but also a full network of reactions, using the best available thermonuclear reaction rates, allowing the predictions of primordial abundances up to the CNO region.
We compute radiative corrections to nuclear reaction rates that determine the outcome of the Big-Bang Nucleosynthesis (BBN). Any nuclear reaction producing a photon with an energy above $2m_e$ must be supplemented by the corresponding reaction where the final state photon is replaced by an electron-positron pair. We find that pair production brings a typical $0.2 %$ enhancement to photon emission rates, resulting in a similar size corrections to elemental abundances. The exception is $^4{rm He}$ abundance, which is insensitive to the small changes in the nuclear reaction rates. We also investigate the effect of vacuum polarisation on the Coulomb barrier, which brings a small extra correction when reaction rates are extrapolated from the measured energies to the BBN Gamow peak energies.
We provide the most stringent constraint to date on possible deviations from the usually-assumed Maxwell-Boltzmann (MB) velocity distribution for nuclei in the Big-Bang plasma. The impact of non-extensive Tsallis statistics on thermonuclear reaction rates involved in standard models of Big-Bang Nucleosynthesis (BBN) has been investigated. We find that the non-extensive parameter $q$ may deviate by, at most, $|delta q|$=6$times$10$^{-4}$ from unity for BBN predictions to be consistent with observed primordial abundances; $q$=1 represents the classical Boltzmann-Gibbs statistics. This constraint arises primarily from the {em super}sensitivity of endothermic rates on the value of $q$, which is found for the first time. As such, the implications of non-extensive statistics in other astrophysical environments should be explored. This may offer new insight into the nucleosynthesis of heavy elements.