• DOI:10.1103/PhysRevD.78.083010
• Corpus ID: 14137529

Primordial lithium abundance in catalyzed big bang nucleosynthesis

@article{Bird2007PrimordialLA,
  title={Primordial lithium abundance in catalyzed big bang nucleosynthesis},
  author={Christina Marie Bird and Kristen Koopmans and Maxim Pospelov},
  journal={Physical Review D},
  year={2007},
  volume={78},
  pages={083010}
}

• C. Bird, K. Koopmans, M. Pospelov
• Published 8 March 2007
• Physics
• Physical Review D

There exists a well-known problem with the {sup 7}Li+{sup 7}Be abundance predicted by standard big bang nucleosynthesis being larger than the value observed in population II stars. The catalysis of big bang nucleosynthesis by metastable, {tau}{sub X} > or approx. 10{sup 3} sec, charged particles X{sup -} is capable of suppressing the primordial {sup 7}Li+{sup 7}Be abundance and making it consistent with the observations. We show that to produce the correct abundance, this mechanism of suppression places a requirement on the initial abundance of X{sup -} at temperatures of 4x10{sup 8} K to be on the order of or larger than 0.02 per baryon, which is within the natural range of abundances in models with metastable electroweak-scale particles. The suppression of {sup 7}Li+{sup 7}Be is triggered by the formation of ({sup 7}BeX{sup -}) compound nuclei, with fast depletion of their abundances by catalyzed proton reactions, and in some models by direct capture of X{sup -} on {sup 7}Be. The combination of {sup 7}Li+{sup 7}Be and {sup 6}Li constraints favors the window of lifetimes, 1000 s < or approx. {tau}{sub X}{<=}2000 s.