Big Bang Nucleosynthesis Limits and Relic Gravitational Waves Detection Prospects
Tina Kahniashvili,
Emma Clarke,
Jonathan Stepp
et al.
Abstract:We revisit the big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) limits on primordial magnetic fields and/or turbulent motions accounting for the decaying nature of turbulent sources between the time of generation and BBN. This leads to larger estimates for the gravitational wave (GW) signal than previously expected. We address the detection prospects through space-based interferometers (for GWs generated around the electroweak energy scale) as well as pulsar timing arrays and astrometric missions (for GWs generated around the q… Show more
“…BBN was one of the first probes used to constrain PMFs [104][105][106][107][108][109]. Although current constraints are around a fraction of a µG, two orders of magnitude weaker than the ones from other probes, BBN offers an interesting prospect for the future using GWs [110].…”
We present detailed forecasts for the constraints on the characteristics of primordial magnetic fields (PMFs) generated prior to recombination that will be obtained with the LiteBIRD satellite. The constraints are driven by some of the main physical effects of PMFs on the CMB anisotropies: the gravitational effects of magnetically-induced perturbations; the effects on the thermal and ionization history of the Universe; the Faraday rotation imprint on the CMB polarization spectra; and the non-Gaussianities induced in polarization anisotropies. LiteBIRD represents a sensitive probe for PMFs.
We explore different levels of complexity, for LiteBIRD data and PMF configurations, accounting for possible degeneracies with primordial gravitational waves from inflation. By exploiting all the physical effects, LiteBIRD will be able to improve the current limit on PMFs at intermediate and large scales coming from Planck. In particular, thanks to its accurate B-mode polarization measurement, LiteBIRD will improve the constraints on infrared configurations for the gravitational effect, giving B
n
B=-2.9
1 Mpc< 0.8 nG at 95% C.L., potentially opening the possibility to detect nanogauss fields with high significance. We also observe a significant improvement in the limits when marginalized over the spectral index, B
n
Bmarg
1 Mpc< 2.2 nG at 95 % C.L. From the thermal history effect, which relies mainly on E-mode polarization data, we obtain a significant improvement for all PMF configurations, with the marginalized case, √⟨B
2⟩marg<0.50 nG at 95 % C.L. Faraday rotation constraints will take advantage of the wide frequency coverage of LiteBIRD and the high sensitivity in B modes, improving the limits by orders of magnitude with respect to current results, B
n
B=-2.9
1 Mpc < 3.2 nG at 95 % C.L. Finally, non-Gaussianities of the B-mode polarization can probe PMFs at the level of 1 nG, again significantly improving the current bounds from Planck. Altogether our forecasts represent a broad collection of complementary probes based on widely tested methodologies, providing conservative limits on PMF characteristics that will be achieved with the LiteBIRD satellite.
“…BBN was one of the first probes used to constrain PMFs [104][105][106][107][108][109]. Although current constraints are around a fraction of a µG, two orders of magnitude weaker than the ones from other probes, BBN offers an interesting prospect for the future using GWs [110].…”
We present detailed forecasts for the constraints on the characteristics of primordial magnetic fields (PMFs) generated prior to recombination that will be obtained with the LiteBIRD satellite. The constraints are driven by some of the main physical effects of PMFs on the CMB anisotropies: the gravitational effects of magnetically-induced perturbations; the effects on the thermal and ionization history of the Universe; the Faraday rotation imprint on the CMB polarization spectra; and the non-Gaussianities induced in polarization anisotropies. LiteBIRD represents a sensitive probe for PMFs.
We explore different levels of complexity, for LiteBIRD data and PMF configurations, accounting for possible degeneracies with primordial gravitational waves from inflation. By exploiting all the physical effects, LiteBIRD will be able to improve the current limit on PMFs at intermediate and large scales coming from Planck. In particular, thanks to its accurate B-mode polarization measurement, LiteBIRD will improve the constraints on infrared configurations for the gravitational effect, giving B
n
B=-2.9
1 Mpc< 0.8 nG at 95% C.L., potentially opening the possibility to detect nanogauss fields with high significance. We also observe a significant improvement in the limits when marginalized over the spectral index, B
n
Bmarg
1 Mpc< 2.2 nG at 95 % C.L. From the thermal history effect, which relies mainly on E-mode polarization data, we obtain a significant improvement for all PMF configurations, with the marginalized case, √⟨B
2⟩marg<0.50 nG at 95 % C.L. Faraday rotation constraints will take advantage of the wide frequency coverage of LiteBIRD and the high sensitivity in B modes, improving the limits by orders of magnitude with respect to current results, B
n
B=-2.9
1 Mpc < 3.2 nG at 95 % C.L. Finally, non-Gaussianities of the B-mode polarization can probe PMFs at the level of 1 nG, again significantly improving the current bounds from Planck. Altogether our forecasts represent a broad collection of complementary probes based on widely tested methodologies, providing conservative limits on PMF characteristics that will be achieved with the LiteBIRD satellite.
“…Cosmology Due to the limited lifetime of the neutron, Big Bang Nucleosynthesis (BBN) is greatly sensitive to the Hubble expansion rate and, therefore, to the number of relativistic degrees of freedom N e f f [225][226][227]. This severely constrains the possibility of having new light particles in thermal equilibrium with neutrinos at temperatures of a few MeV.…”
Section: New Neutrino Interactions With Light Mediatorsmentioning
Neutrinos are one of the most promising messengers for signals of new physics Beyond the Standard Model (BSM). On the theoretical side, their elusive nature, combined with their unknown mass mechanism, seems to indicate that the neutrino sector is indeed opening a window to new physics. On the experimental side, several long-standing anomalies have been reported in the past decades, providing a strong motivation to thoroughly test the standard three-neutrino oscillation paradigm. In this Snowmass21 white paper, we explore the potential of current and future neutrino experiments to explore BSM effects on neutrino flavor during the next decade.
“…Cosmology -Due to the limited lifetime of the neutron, Big Bang Nucleosynthesis (BBN) is greatly sensitive to the Hubble expansion rate and, therefore, to the number of relativistic degrees of freedom N ef f [223][224][225]. This severely constrains the possibility of having new light particles in thermal equilibrium with neutrinos at temperatures of a few MeV.…”
Section: New Neutrino Interactions With Light Mediatorsmentioning
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.