Topic 3

Primordial nucleosynthesis

Evidence for the Big Bang

!  Back in the 1920s it was
generally thought that the
Universe was infinite
!  However a number of
experimental observations
started to question this,
namely:
•  Red shift and Hubble’s Law
•  Olber’s Paradox
•  Radio sources
•  Existence of CMBR
 Red shift and Hubble’s Law
!  We have already discussed red shift in the
context of spectral lines (Topic 2)
!  Crucially Hubble discovered that the
recessional velocity (and hence red shift) of
galaxies increases linearly with their distance
from us according to the famous Hubble Law
V = H 0d
where
H0 = 69.3 ±0.8 (km/s)/Mpc
and 1/H0 = Age of Universe

Olbers’ paradox
!  Steady state Universe is:
infinite, isotropic or uniform (sky
looks the same in all directions),
homogeneous (our location in
the Universe isn’t special) and
is not expanding
!  Therefore an observer choosing
to look in any direction should
eventually see a star
!  This would lead to a night sky that is uniformly bright (as a
star’s surface)
!  This is not the case and so the assumption that the
Universe is infinite must be flawed
 Radio sources
!  Based on observations of radio sources of
different strengths (so-called 2C and 3C
surveys)
!  The number of radio sources versus source
strength concludes that the Universe has
evolved from a denser place in the past
!  This again appears to rule out the so-called
Steady State Universe and gives support for
the Big Bang Theory

Cosmic Microwave Background

!  CMBR was predicted as early as 1949 by Alpher and Herman
(Gamow group) as a “remnant heat” left over from the very
hot and dense initial Universe
!  They predicted that after the Big Bang the Universe should
“glow” in the gamma ray part of the spectrum
!  This will subsequently cool as the Universe expands shifting
the wavelength of this “last light” to a temperature of ~5K
!  Eventually observed in 1965 by Penzias and Wilson
!  The CMBR is now a very
powerful tool for cosmologists
!  Recent experiments such as
COBE and WMAP have
measured the CMBR
anisotropies at the 10-5 level
!  Gives us information on Big
Bang, Dark Matter, etc.
 αβγ theory (Origin of Chemical Elements)
!  Actually Alpher & Gamow: Bethe
included (by Gamow) as a joke
!  Proposed an early Universe that was
hot and dense
!  Assumed that the Early Universe
consisted only of neutrons
!  As the temperature fell neutron decay
to protons was possible

!  Subsequently they proposed a single

process for all elemental abundances in the
Universe - that of neutron capture
!  Protons via β-decay: n → p + e- + νe
!  First step: p + n → 2H + γ

αβγ theory

νe

νe
 αβγ theory - abundances
!  Successive neutron
For these
capture creates heavier calculations
elements capture
cross-sections
!  At each step the progress measured at
controlled by the balance Los Alamos
between the rate of during
World War II
production and the rate of were used
destruction
(1 MeV
!  By setting up and solving a neutrons
sequence of differential =1010K)
equations of this type, a
distribution could be
dNA/dt = F(S,T)[σ A-1NA-1 - σANA]
produced in reasonable F is collision frequency (function of
agreement with the trend of thermodynamic state variables)
the observed abundances NA is the no. of atoms with atomic no. A
σA is the neutron capture cross-section

Cross-sections (quick revision)

!  Consider the simple case in which a
beam of particles is incident on nuclei of
some type, then the cross-section is the
probability of a particular process
occurring per target nucleus, per incident
particle
!  The total area “blocked out” is the
(number of nuclei per unit volume) x (the
volume) x (σ). Thus the fraction of the
beam which is removed by the reaction is:
dN/N = - nσ dx
where n = number density x beam area
Integration yields
N = N0 exp(- nσx)
or N = N0 exp(- x /λ )
where λ is the mean free path
!  In neutron capture the rate at
which the reaction is occurring
depends upon the relative
velocity v of the particles and
target nuclei and is given by the
product of particle density, the
relative velocity, the cross
section and the total number of
target nuclei.
!  We shall discuss neutron
capture further in understanding
the production of elements
heavier than Iron
 αβγ theory - success and failure
!  Abundance for He agrees well with observation
!  By splitting the elements into 15 “groups” by atomic weight
and using an average cross-section for each group gives a
reasonable fit to abundance data
!  BUT predicted abundances for
heavier elements were incorrect
!  Problem getting past A=4 due to lack
of stable elements with A=5, 8
!  Results carved the way for
calculations of thermonuclear fusion
!  Discussion is relevant to neutron
capture topic later

This is an extract from the “Chart of nuclides”

Big Bang: Underlying principles I

!  Universe expanded some 14 billion years ago
from a singularity
!  At extremely high temperatures elementary
particles can simply be created from thermal
energy kT = mc2 (essentially E = mc2)
!  After the BB the Universe expands and cools

!  As temperatures fall below the threshold

temperature for particle production then
annilihilation rate > creation rate
 Big Bang; Underlying Principles II
!  Normal physics laws (including standard
model of particle physics)
!  Small matter-antimatter asymmetry

!  Gravitation described by General Relativity

!  Cosmological principal (Universe is

homeogeneous and isotropic) Robertson-
Walker metric
!  Expansion of the Universe is governed by
field equations of GR

The Big Bang

Time

Space
 Key events after Big Bang
Time Temp/Energy Event
10-43 s kT = 1019 eV Planck era, quantum gravity, prior
to this all forces one, gravity first to
decouple, many exotic particles
10-35 s kT = 1015 eV Inflation starts, Strong nuclear
force decouples
10-10 s T = 1015 K – Free electrons, quarks, photons,
-10-4 s 1012 K neutrinos all strongly interacting

10-4 s T = 1012 K – Free electrons, protons, neutrons,

-101 s 1010 K photons, neutrinos all strongly
interacting

Key events after Big Bang

Time Temp/Energy Event
101 s T = 1010 K Neutrinos “decouple” from the
cosmic plasma (cross-section falls
dramatically)
102 s T = 7.5-6x109 K Pair production of e+e- ceases
102 s kT = 0.8 MeV Proton:neutron ratio is frozen
Next Thermal energy still high enough
300 s to photodissociate atoms
Neutron decay continues, n:p ratio
changing
Next Primordial nucleosynthesis starts
103 s Note ions not atoms due to mean
thermal energy
 Key events after Big Bang
Time Temp/Energy Event
~ 103 s T ~ 108 or 9 K “Dark ages”: Universe is a sea of
to to free nuclei, electrons and photons.
400,000 T = 3000 K Photons Thomson scatter off
years electrons so Universe remains
opaque to photons. Physics in this
period is less well-established.
380,000 T = 3000 K Photons can no longer ionize,
years photons decouple, “last scattering
surface”. Origin of CMBR.

Fundamental forces
Cosmic Microwave Background

Cosmic Microwave Background

Very close to a
perfect thermal
(Black Body)
spectrum with
a temperature
of 2.7K
 The neutron:proton ratio
!  The main 3 reactions involved in determining
the number of protons and neutrons in the
early Universe are:
(i) n + e+ p + νe (+ 1.8 MeV)
(ii) p + e- (+0.8MeV) n + νe
(iii) n p + e- + νe (+ 0.8 MeV)
!  Note that reaction (ii) is endothermic in a left-
right direction i.e. requires energy into the
system (KE of incoming particles) in order to
proceed

The neutron:proton ratio

!  At T > 1010 K, kT > 1 MeV, t < 1 s, reactions (i) and (ii)
maintain protons and neutrons in thermal equilibrium
•  When kT >> mn – mp = Δm, protons and neutrons are nearly equal in
number
•  When Δm becomes significant compared to kT, the neutron-proton
ratio is given by the Boltzmann factor exp(−Δmc2/kT)
!  At T ~ 1010 K, kT ~ 0.8 MeV, t ~ 1 s, the reaction rates for (i)
and (ii) become slow compared to the expansion rate of the
universe
•  neutrinos decouple (weak interaction rate slow compared to
expansion rate)
•  e+e− pair creation suppressed (γ energies drop below 0.511 MeV)
•  neutron:proton ratio “freezes out”
!  Below this temperature only reaction (iii) continues
 The neutron:proton ratio
!  We use the Boltzmann distribution to estimate the
n:p ratio at this point
3 $ mc 2 '
N ∝ m exp&−2
)
k
% B (T
!  hence 3
N n " mn % " (mn − m p )c 2 %
2

= $$ '' exp$− '

N p # mp & # kB T &
€
!  where kT = 0.8 MeV and (mn - mp) = 1.3 MeV/c2

€ This yields a value of Nn:Np ~ 0.2

Primordial nucleosynthesis
!  At this point kT is too high
for primordial
nucleosynthesis to start
(formation of nuclei) due
to dissociation
!  Therefore reaction (iii)
continues in the left-right
direction – this is neutron
p + n ⇔ 2H + γ
2H + 2H ⇔ 3He + n
2H + 2H ⇔ 3H + p
3H + 2H ⇔ 4He + n
3He + 2H ⇔ 4He + p
2H + 2H ⇔ 4He
3He + 4He ⇔ 7Be + γ

decay 3H + 4He ⇔ 7Li + γ

!  After a further 300 7Be + n ⇔ 7Li + p

seconds primordial 7Li + p ⇔ 24He
nucleosynthesis starts
Note: ions not atoms
 Solved problem
!  If the neutron:proton ratio starts at 0.2 and the neutron continues to decay
for a further 300 seconds what is the neutron:proton ratio at the end of
this period given that the neutron’s lifetime is 890 seconds?

!  The neutron’s lifetime is 890 seconds therefore in 300

seconds: $ t' $ 300 '
N
= exp&− ) = exp&− ) = 0.714
N0 % τ( % 890 (
!  Therefore the fraction of neutrons that have decayed = 0.286
!  Next we write Nn
(1− d)
"N % N (1− d) N
€ $$ n '' = n = p
# N p & t= 300s N p + dN n N
1+ d n
Np
Nn " N %
where = 0.2 and d=0.286 to give $$ n '' = 0.135
Np N
# p & t= 300s
€

€ €

Abundances vs time
Note that a
neutron:proton
ratio of
0.135:1
is equivalent to
12:88

Assuming that the

12 neutrons
go to forming
4He

we would expect
76% Hydrogen (1H)
and
24% Helium (4He)
-  in excellent
agreement
with observation
 Modern day abundances
!  Comparison of modern
day elemental
abundances from
primordial
nucleosynthesis can
also give important
cosmological
information such as the
baryon density or the
baryon to photon ratio
!  Concordance with CMB
is important check on
theory

Summary
!  Big Bang Nucleosynthesis (BBNS)
successfully predicts the production of light
elements shortly after the Big Bang
!  The thermal history of the early Universe and
nuclear physics are used to explain the
sequence of events
!  Light element abundances can be accurately
predicted and related to cosmological
parameters