A Simultaneous Solution to the ^6Li and ^7Li Big Bang Nucleosynthesis Problems from a Long-Lived Negatively-Charged Leptonic Particle

Abstract

The ${}^6$Li abundance observed in metal poor halo stars exhibits a plateau similar to that for ${}^7$Li suggesting a primordial origin. However, the observed abundance of ${}^6$Li is a factor of $10^3$ larger and that of ${}^7$Li is a factor of 3 lower than the abundances predicted in the standard big bang when the baryon-to-photon ratio is fixed by WMAP. Here we show that both of these abundance anomalies can be explained by the existence of a long-lived massive, negatively-charged leptonic particle during nucleosynthesis. Such particles would capture onto the synthesized nuclei thereby reducing the reaction Coulomb barriers and opening new transfer reaction possibilities, and catalyzing a second round of big bang nucleosynthesis. This novel solution to both of the Li problems can be achieved with or without the additional effects of stellar destruction.

6 pages, 2 figures, to be published in Physical Review D

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• Cosmic Rays from Dark Matter Annihilation and Big-Bang Nucleosynthesis
• Resonant Destruction as a Possible Solution to the Cosmological Lithium Problem
• Accidental matter at the LHC
• Nuclear astrophysics: the unfinished quest for the origin of the elements
• The number density of a charged relic
• Constraints on Supersymmetric Models from Catalytic Primordial Nucleosynthesis of Beryllium
• Gravitino Dark Matter and the Cosmic Lithium Abundances
• Frequentist Analysis of the Parameter Space of Minimal Supergravity
• Higher D or Li: Probes of Physics beyond the Standard Model
• The New Look pMSSM with Neutralino and Gravitino LSPs
• The X^- Solution to the ^6Li and ^7Li Big Bang Nucleosynthesis Problems
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• Revised Big Bang Nucleosynthesis with long-lived negatively charged massive particles: updated recombination rates, primordial 9Be nucleosynthesis, and impact of new 6Li limits
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• Simplified Models for Exotic BSM Searches
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• New results on catalyzed BBN with a long-lived negatively-charged massive particle
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• Destruction of 7Be in big bang nucleosynthesis via long-lived sub-strongly interacting massive particles as a solution to the Li problem
• Review on Effects of Long-lived Negatively Charged Massive Particles on Big Bang Nucleosynthesis
• Solution to Big-Bang Nucleosynthesis in Hybrid Axion Dark Matter Model
• Breaking Be: a sterile neutrino solution to the cosmological lithium problem
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• A New Measurement of the 6Li(n,α)t Cross Section at MeV Energies Using a Fission Chamber and 6Li Scintillators
• Charged-Particle Decay at Finite Temperature
• The puzzling origin of the 6Li plateau
• 7Be charge exchange between 7Be3+ ion and exotic long-lived negatively charged massive particle in big bang nucleosynthesis
• An Enhanced Cosmological Li6 Abundance as a Potential Signature of Residual Dark Matter Annihilations
• Overview of the lithium problem in metal-poor stars and new results on 6Li
• Study of the ${}^7$Be($d$,${}^3$He)${}^6$Li* reaction at 5 MeV/u
• Big Bang Nucleosynthesis with long-lived strongly interacting relic particles