Published 2020
| Version v1
Publication
The baryon density of the Universe from an improved rate of deuterium burning
Creators
- V. Mossa
- K. Stöckel
- F. Cavanna
- F. Ferraro
- M. Aliotta
- F. Barile
- D. Bemmerer
- A. Best
- A. Boeltzig
- C. Broggini
- C. G. Bruno
- A. Caciolli
- T. Chillery
- G. F. Ciani
- P. Corvisiero
- L. Csedreki
- T. Davinson
- R. Depalo
- A. Di Leva
- Z. Elekes
- E. M. Fiore
- A. Formicola
- Z. Fülöp
- G. Gervino
- A. Guglielmetti
- C. Gustavino
- G. Gyürky
- G. Imbriani
- M. Junker
- A. Kievsky
- I. Kochanek
- M. Lugaro
- L. E. Marcucci
- G. Mangano
- P. Marigo
- E. Masha
- R. Menegazzo
- F. R. Pantaleo
- V. Paticchio
- R. Perrino
- D. Piatti
- O. Pisanti
- P. Prati
- L. Schiavulli
- O. Straniero
- T. Szücs
- M. P. Takács
- D. Trezzi
- M. Viviani
- S. Zavatarelli
Contributors
Others:
- Mossa, V.
- Stöckel, K.
- Cavanna, F.
- Ferraro, F.
- Aliotta, M.
- Barile, F.
- Bemmerer, D.
- Best, A.
- Boeltzig, A.
- Broggini, C.
- Bruno, C. G.
- Caciolli, A.
- Chillery, T.
- Ciani, G. F.
- Corvisiero, P.
- Csedreki, L.
- Davinson, T.
- Depalo, R.
- Di Leva, A.
- Elekes, Z.
- Fiore, E. M.
- Formicola, A.
- Fülöp, Z.
- Gervino, G.
- Guglielmetti, A.
- Gustavino, C.
- Gyürky, G.
- Imbriani, G.
- Junker, M.
- Kievsky, A.
- Kochanek, I.
- Lugaro, M.
- Marcucci, L. E.
- Mangano, G.
- Marigo, P.
- Masha, E.
- Menegazzo, R.
- Pantaleo, F. R.
- Paticchio, V.
- Perrino, R.
- Piatti, D.
- Pisanti, O.
- Prati, P.
- Schiavulli, L.
- Straniero, O.
- Szücs, T.
- Takács, M. P.
- Trezzi, D.
- Viviani, M.
- Zavatarelli, S.
Description
Light elements were produced in the first few minutes of the Universe through a
sequence of nuclear reactions known as Big Bang nucleosynthesis (BBN). Among the
light elements produced during BBN, deuterium is an excellent indicator of
cosmological parameters because its abundance is highly sensitive to the primordial
baryon density and also depends on the number of neutrino species permeating the
early Universe. Although astronomical observations of primordial deuterium
abundance have reached percent accuracy, theoretical predictions based on BBN
are hampered by large uncertainties on the cross-section of the deuterium burning
D(p,γ)3He reaction. Here we show that our improved cross-sections of this reaction
lead to BBN estimates of the baryon density at the 1.6 percent level, in excellent
agreement with a recent analysis of the cosmic microwave background. Improved
cross-section data were obtained by exploiting the negligible cosmic-ray background
deep underground at the Laboratory for Underground Nuclear Astrophysics (LUNA)
of the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (Italy). We bombarded a high-purity
deuterium gas target with an intense proton beam from the LUNA 400-kilovolt
accelerator and detected the γ-rays from the nuclear reaction under study with a
high-purity germanium detector. Our experimental results settle the most uncertain
nuclear physics input to BBN calculations and substantially improve the reliability of
using primordial abundances to probe the physics of the early Universe.
Additional details
Identifiers
- URL
- http://hdl.handle.net/11567/1030669
- URN
- urn:oai:iris.unige.it:11567/1030669
Origin repository
- Origin repository
- UNIGE