Finite temperature corrections to weak rates prior to nucleosynthesis

Abstract

We have reexamined the electromagnetic corrections to the weak interaction rates for the transformation of neutrons to protons, and protons to neutrons, in the early universe, before freeze-out. We derive compact expressions for these rates in terms of thermal expectation values of products of fields, and we give explicit constructions of the terms to order e^2. We disagree in several respects with results in the literature.

38 pages, 3 figures Two typos corrected

References in corpus (3)

• Precision Prediction for the Big-Bang Abundance of Primordial Helium
• Precision Rates for Nucleon Weak Interactions in Primordial Nucleosynthesis and He-4 Abundance
• Wave Function Renormalization at Finite Temperature

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• Absence of resonant enhancements in some inclusive rates
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• Inside the Black Box of Big Bang Nucleosynthesis: A Comprehensive Sensitivity Atlas for the Precision Era