Search arXiv⌕ Search
Home/Archive/arXiv

arXiv · 2605.26824

Improved Big Bang Nucleosynthesis constraints on decaying massive relics

Sara Bianco·Jonas Frerick·Marco Hufnagel·Kai Schmidt-Hoberg
View original source ↗Read source document ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

We present updated and improved Big Bang Nucleosynthesis (BBN) constraints on heavy, long-lived beyond the Standard Model (BSM) relics $ϕ$ decaying into pairs of Standard Model particles, covering a comprehensive set of two-body decay channels. We treat the leading effects of these injections in detail, discussing the modification of the neutron-to-proton ratio from hadronic interconversions, as well as hadro- and photodisintegration of the light elements. Our analysis incorporates several important refinements with respect to earlier work. We adopt up-to-date primordial abundance measurements, including the new $^4$He determination and the latest nuclear reaction rates. The hadronic and electromagnetic injection spectra are computed using PYTHIA 8, providing a proper treatment of final-state radiation and hadronisation. We further implement an improved treatment of $p\leftrightarrow n$ interconversions, accounting for dynamical equilibrium, kaon-induced processes, and updated rates. Additionally, we make use of a refined hadrodisintegration formalism which allows us to also consider disintegration processes while BBN is still active. Together, these improvements yield updated exclusion contours on lifetime, mass, and abundance of the relic for each decay channel considered. Furthermore, we discuss the irreducible freeze-in contribution from inverse decays.

Explore related subjects

hep-phastro-ph.CO

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

Sara Bianco, Jonas Frerick, Marco Hufnagel, Kai Schmidt-Hoberg. 2026-05-26. Improved Big Bang Nucleosynthesis constraints on decaying massive relics. https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.26824

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related papers

arXiv2026

Stochastic Ultralight Dark Matter Fluctuations in Pulsar Timing Arrays

Metric perturbations induced by ultralight dark matter (ULDM) fields have long been identified as a potential target for pulsar timing array (PTA) observations. Previous works have focused on the coherent oscillation of metric perturbations at the characteristic frequency set by the ULDM mass. In this work, we show that ULDM fields source low-frequency stochastic metric fluctuations and that these low-frequency fluctuations can produce distinctive detectable signals in PTA data. Using the NANOGrav 12.5-year data set and synthetic data sets mimicking present and future PTA capabilities, we show that the current and future PTA observations provide the strongest probe of ULDM density within the solar system for masses in the range of $10^{-18}\;{\rm eV}-10^{-16}\;{\rm eV}$.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2026

On the Origin of QCD Collectivity in High-Multiplicity Jets: A Transport Model Study

The CMS Collaboration has observed an enhancement of elliptic azimuthal anisotropy ($v^{\ast}_2$) in high-multiplicity jets. To investigate its microscopic origin, we employ a hybrid transport model that couples jets generated with \textsc{PYTHIA~8} to partonic and hadronic rescattering. The analysis is performed in the jet frame, where the jet momentum defines the longitudinal axis. We characterize the initial-state geometry using the eccentricity vectors of shower partons and quantify the geometric response by correlating them with the final-state flow vectors of hadrons. By systematically varying the partonic and hadronic interactions, we find that the anisotropy enhancement is dominated by hadronic rescattering in the present model and increases with the initial eccentricity. We further classify jets using the Soft Drop variable $z_gθ_g^β$ and show that this momentum-space substructure variable is sensitive to the initial coordinate-space geometry, although the predicted substructure dependence differs from the current CMS measurement. These results support a geometry--response mechanism for collective behavior inside jets and establish jet substructure as a promising experimental handle on the initial geometry. They also motivate models that treat parton branching and transport interactions concurrently.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2026

Comprehensive effective field theory framework for coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering

Coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering (CE$ν$NS) stands out as a pivotal process for precision tests of the Standard Model electroweak sector, investigations of neutrino properties, and searches for new physics. Recent experimental measurements by COHERENT, CONUS+, and ton-scale xenon detectors--including PandaX-4T and XENONnT--underscore the need for a systematic theoretical framework to bridge high-energy physics scenarios with low-energy observational data. In this work, we develop a comprehensive end-to-end effective field theory (EFT) framework for CE$ν$NS, encompassing the complete energy scale hierarchy spanning the ultraviolet regime down to the nuclear sector. We consider the low-energy EFT (LEFT) operators up to dimension 8, incorporating their QCD renormalization group running effects, and employ the systematic spurion method to achieve matching between these operators and the chiral Lagrangian. A full power counting analysis is performed, extending to nuclear response functions, which evaluates contributions from LEFT operators up to dimension 8 while accounting for the nucleon number enhancement effect intrinsic to CE$ν$NS. Moreover, we match the relevant LEFT operators for CE$ν$NS onto operators up to dimension 8 within the Standard Model EFT. By also providing their complete tree-level ultraviolet completions, this procedure establishes a consistent top-down theoretical workflow. Leveraging a broad suite of CE$ν$NS experimental data, this framework enables a combined analysis to extract constraints on the scales of EFT operators and neutrino non-standard interaction parameters.

hep-ph↗