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Center for Nonlinear Studies |
The laboratory of the early universe provides a setting for testing Beyond Standard Model (BSM) physics in the particle and cosmological sectors. Any BSM physics in operation at early times may produce slight deviations in the primordial element abundances and cosmic microwave background observables predicted within the standard cosmology. The identification and characterization of such BSM signatures require a precise numerical treatment of the neutrino energy and flavor wave functions when the neutrinos decouple fromthe electromagnetic plasma. The weak decoupling process occurs during Big Bang Nucleosynthesis (BBN) and we employ Quantum Kinetic Equations (QKEs) to follow the out-of-equilibrium neutrino evolution. I will review some of the work doneon characterizing BBN with a Boltzmann-energy-transport approach, as well as present ongoing work towards a full QKE treatment with neutrino oscillations and collisions. A QKE treatment of early-universe neutrino physics will greatlyassist observers and theorists as the next generation cosmological experiments come on line in the near future.
Host: Jonas Lippuner