BBN constraints on MeV-scale dark sectors. Part I. Sterile decays
arXiv:1712.03972 · doi:10.1088/1475-7516/2018/02/044
Abstract
We study constraints from Big Bang Nucleosynthesis on inert particles in a dark sector which contribute to the Hubble rate and therefore change the predictions of the primordial nuclear abundances. We pay special attention to the case of MeV-scale particles decaying into dark radiation, which are neither fully relativistic nor non-relativistic during all temperatures relevant to Big Bang Nucleosynthesis. As an application we discuss the implications of our general results for models of self-interacting dark matter with light mediators.
25 pages, 9 figures