Abstract
The concerns of cosmology include the birth of the Universe, its evolution, its structure, and its ultimate fate. At present the most convincing theoretical paradigm in cosmology is the so-called Big Bang model, which attributes the origin of the Universe to an extremely hot and dense plasma that was highly isotropic and homogeneous. In this intriguing picture the evolution of the early Universe underwent a number of crucial events, such as the inflation, quark-baryon transition, neutrino decoupling, nucleosynthesis and photon decoupling. The Big Bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) has so far provided us with the most reliable probe of the early Universe based on the well-established knowledge of particle physics and nuclear physics. In this chapter we shall make use of the standard Big Bang model to describe the irreplaceable role of neutrinos in the history of the Universe. In particular, their contributions to the energy density of the Universe, their effects on the BBN and their properties as the cosmic neutrino background (CνB) will be discussed in some detail. Possible ways and experimental challenges to directly detect these Big Bang relic neutrinos will also be introduced.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Adelberger, E. G., et al., 2009, Prog. Part. Nucl. Phys. 62, 102.
Alpher, R. A., Bethe, H., and Gamow, G., 1948, Phys. Rev. 73, 803.
Bania, T. M., et al., 2002, Nature 415, 54.
Blennow, M., 2008, Phys. Rev. D 77, 113014.
Broadhurst, D., 2010, arXiv:1004.4238.
Cirelli, M., et al., 2005, Nucl. Phys. B 708, 215.
Cocco, A. G., Mangano, G., and Messina, M., 2007, JCAP 0706, 015.
Cocco, A. G., Mangano, G., and Messina, M., 2009, Phys. Rev. D 79, 053009.
Cyburt, R. H., et al., 2008, JCAP 0811, 012.
Dicus, D. A., et al., 1982, Phys. Rev. D 26, 2694.
Dolgov, A. D., et al., 2002, Nucl. Phys. B 632, 363.
Duda, G., Gelmini, G., and Nussinov, S., 2001, Phys. Rev. D 64, 122001.
Epstein, R. I., et al., 1976, Nature 263, 198.
Ferreras, I., and Wasserman, I., 1995, Phys. Rev. D 52, 5459.
Friedmann, A., 1922, Z. Phys. 10, 377.
Gamow, G., 1946, Phys. Rev. 70, 572.
Garnavich, P. M., et al. (Supernova Search Team), 1998, Astrophys. J. 509, 74.
Gelmini, G. B., 2005, Phys. Scr. T121, 131.
Grupen, C., et al., 2005, Astroparticle Physics (Springer-Verlag).
Hagmann, C., 1999, arXiv:astro-ph/9902102.
Hannestad, S., 2002, Phys. Rev. D 65, 083006.
Hannestad, S., and Brandbyge, J., 2010, JCAP 1003, 020.
Hu, W., et al., 1995, Phys. Rev. D 52, 5498.
Hubble, E., 1929, Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. 15, 168.
Irvine, J. M., and Humphreys, R., 1983, J. Phys. G. 9, 847.
Izotov, Y. I., et al., 2007, Astrophys. J. 662, 15.
Jedamzik, K., and Pospelov, M., 2009, New J. Phys. 11, 105028.
Kaboth, A., Formaggio, J. A., and Monreal, B., 2010, Phys. Rev. D 82, 062001.
Kolb, E. W., and Turner, M. S., 1990, The Early Universe (Addison-Wesley, Redwood City).
Komatsu, E., et al. (WMAP Collaboration), 2009, Astrophys. J. Supp. 180, 330.
Lazauskas, R., Vogel, P., and Volpe, C., 2008, J. Phys. G. 35, 025001.
Li, Y. F., Xing, Z. Z., and Luo, S., 2010, Phys. Lett. B 692, 261.
Mangano, G., et al., 2002, Phys. Lett. B 534, 8.
Mangano, G., et al., 2005, Nucl. Phys. B 729, 221.
Maor, I., et al., 2002, Phys. Rev. D 65, 123003.
Nakamura, K., et al. (Particle Data Group), 2010, J. Phys. G 37, 075021.
Olive, K. A., and Skillman, E., 2004, Astrophys. J. 617, 29.
Otten, E. W., and Weinheimer, C., 2008, Rept. Prog. Phys. 71, 086201.
Peimbert, M., et al., 2007, Astrophys. J. 667, 636.
Perkins, D. H., 2009, Particle Astrophysics (Oxford University Press).
Perlmutter, S., Turner, M. S., and White, M. J., 1999, Phys. Rev. Lett. 83, 670.
Ringwald, A., 2009, Nucl. Phys. A 827, 501c.
Ringwald, A., and Wong, Y. Y. Y., 2004, JCAP 0412, 005.
Roulet, E., 1993, Phys. Rev. D 47, 5247.
Seljak, U., and Zaldarriaga, M., 1996, Astrophys. J. 469, 437.
Shvartsman, B. F., et al., 1982, JETP Lett. 36, 277.
Smith, P. F., and Lewin, J. D., 1983, Phys. Lett. B 127, 185.
Stodolsky, L., 1974, Phys. Rev. Lett. 34, 110.
Strumia, A., and Vissani, F., 2006, arXiv:hep-ph/0606054.
Weiler, T. J., 1982, Phys. Rev. Lett. 49, 234.
Weinberg, S., 1962, Phys. Rev. 128, 1457.
Weinberg, S., 2008, Cosmology (Oxford University Press).
Yoshida, S., 1994, Astropart. Phys. 2, 187.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2011 Zhejiang University Press, Hangzhou and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Xing, ZZ., Zhou, S. (2011). Big Bang Nucleosynthesis and Relic Neutrinos. In: Neutrinos in Particle Physics, Astronomy and Cosmology. Advanced Topics in Science and Technology in China. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-17560-2_9
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-17560-2_9
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-17559-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-17560-2
eBook Packages: Physics and AstronomyPhysics and Astronomy (R0)