Neutrinos in the early universe

The neutrinos from the Big Bang or the Cosmic Neutrino Background (CNB) carry precious information from the early epoch when our universe was only 1 s old. Although not yet directly detected, CNB may be revealed indirectly through cosmological observations due to neutrino important cosmological influence.We review the cosmological role of neutrinos and the cosmological constraints on neutrino characteristics. Namely, we discuss the impact of neutrinos in the early universe: the cosmic expansion, neutrino decoupling, the role of neutrinos in the primordial production of light elements, leptogenesis, etc. We briefly discuss the role of neutrino at later stages of the universe.Due to the considerable cosmological influence of neutrinos, cosmological bounds on neutrino properties from observational data exist. We review the cosmological constraints on the effective number of neutrino species, neutrino mass and mixing parameters, lepton number of the universe, presence of sterile neutrino, etc.     

Formation of difference in distribution between visible and invisible matters in the expanding universe

The visible and invisible matters in the universe have rather different density distributions. The formar is obvious clustered on the scales of galaxies, clusters and superclusters, while the latter is rather more uniform. Here we discuss the possibility of this difference forming during the stage of Jeans clustering. For a two-component universe, so long as the growth and decay time-scales of gravitational perturbation satisfy a certain relation, the perturbation will grow in one component and decay in the other. Specific calculations are made for the development of inhomogeneity in a universe consisting of two collisionless gases. It is found that as long as the densities of the Jeans lengths of the two components satisfy the relations ?₁ ? ?₂λ_1j ? λ_2j, then, whether the initial perturbation is in component 1 or component 2, the result will be component 1 having a large degree of inhomogeneity and component 2, a small one. If the invisible matter is mainly neutrino with a finite rest-mass, then the above result can be used to explain the quasi-uniform distribution of the invisible matter.     

On the neutrino mass and the Lemaitre model

In the light of the experiments /3,4/ showing that neutrinos may have a non-zero rest-mass, we discuss the constraints placed on the cosmological term Λ and the Hubble constant H_o by such a mass and the age of the universe in the Lemaitre model. An upper limit of Λ of 15 × 10^?57/cm² and possible ranges of H_o are given.     

Constraints on ultracompact minihalos using neutrino signals from gravitino dark matter decay

Ultracompact dark matter minihalos(UCMHs) would be formed during the early universe if there were large density perturbations.If dark matter can decay into particles described by the standard model,such as neutrinos,these objects would become potential astrophysical sources of emission which could be detected by instruments such as IceCube.In this paper,we investigate neutrino signals from nearby UCMHs due to gravitino dark matter decay and compare these signals with the background neutrino flux which is mainly from the atmosphere to obtain constraints on the abundance of UCMHs.     

Constraints on unstable heavy neutrinos from cosmology

Cosmological scenarios with massive unstable neutrinos are discussed. Restrictions on the mass and the lifetime of the unstable neutrino are derived from (a) age and mass density of the universe and (b) the growth of primordial fluctuations. It will not be possible to accommodate unstable neutrinos with masses above ∼ 1 ke V in standard cosmology unless they have exceedingly small lifetime: Τ <5 × 10⁸ s.     

The neutrino in the Friedmann universe: Non-zero rest-mass effects

We have considered the problem of the propagation of nonzero rest-mass neutrinos in the Friedmann dust universes of three types: open, flat, and closed, as well as in the radiation-dominated epoch of thehot universe. The total Lagrangian path of the particle has been calculated, and this is shown to be finite for all the three universes-contrary to the total path of the photon, which is infinite in the open and flat universes.We have found the particle horizon as a function of the relativistic parameter at the emission moment and at the moment of observation. The extreme relativistic and nonrelativistic particle motion and its difference from the photon motion have been investigated.     

Constraints on large-scale inhomogeneities from WMAP5 and SDSS: confrontation with recent observations

Measurements of the Type Ia supernovae Hubble diagram which suggest that the Universe is accelerating due to the effect of dark energy may be biased because we are located in a 200–300 Mpc underdense 'void' which is expanding 20–30 per cent faster than the average rate. With the smaller global Hubble parameter, the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe 5 data on cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropies can be fitted without requiring dark energy if there is some excess power in the spectrum of primordial perturbations on 100 Mpc scales. The Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) data on galaxy clustering can also be fitted if there is a small component of hot dark matter in the form of 0.5 eV mass neutrinos. We show however that if the primordial fluctuations are Gaussian, the expected variance of the Hubble parameter and the matter density are far too small to allow such a large local void. Nevertheless, many such large voids have been identified in the SDSS Luminous Red Galaxy survey in a search for the late integrated Sachs–Wolfe effect due to dark energy. The observed CMB temperature decrements imply that they are nearly empty, thus these real voids too are in gross conflict with the concordance Λ cold dark matter model. The recently observed high peculiar velocity flow presents another challenge for the model. Therefore, whether a large local void actually exists must be tested through observations and cannot be dismissed a priori.     

Neutrino degeneracy and the primordial abundance of helium and deuterium

Recent observations indicate that the primordial abundance of⁴He could be smaller than 0.24. It may then be necessary to invoke neutrino degeneracy in the early universe to explain the primordial abundances of helium and deuterium. It is shown here that the necessary degeneracy, though small, gives rise to a large asymmetry between the present number densities of neutrinos and antineutrinos. The effect of degeneracy on the upper limit to the neutrino masses is also considered.     

X-ray group and cluster mass profiles in MOND: unexplained mass on the group scale

Although very successful in explaining the observed conspiracy between the baryonic distribution and the gravitational field in spiral galaxies without resorting to dark matter (DM), the modified Newtonian dynamics (MOND) paradigm still requires DM in X-ray bright systems. Here, to get a handle on the distribution and importance of this DM, and thus on its possible form, we deconstruct the mass profiles of 26 X-ray emitting systems in MOND, with temperatures ranging from 0.5 to 9 keV. Initially, we compute the MOND dynamical mass as a function of radius, then subtract the known gas mass along with a component of galaxies which include the cD galaxy with   M / L _K = 1  . Next, we test the compatibility of the required DM with ordinary massive neutrinos at the experimental limit of detection  ( m _ν= 2 eV)  , with density given by the Tremaine–Gunn limit. Even by considering that the neutrino density stays constant and maximal within the central 100 or 150 kpc (which is the absolute upper limit of a possible neutrino contribution there), we show that these neutrinos can never account for the required DM within this region. The natural corollary of this finding is that, whereas clusters  ( T ≳ 3 keV)  might have most of their mass accounted for if ordinary neutrinos have a 2 eV mass, groups  ( T ≲ 2 keV)  cannot be explained by a 2 eV neutrino contribution. This means that, for instance, cluster baryonic dark matter (CBDM, Milgrom) or even sterile neutrinos would present a more satisfactory solution to the problem of missing mass in MOND X-ray emitting systems.     

Sterile neutrino fits to dark matter mass profiles in the Milky Way and in galaxy clusters

In recent papers it was claimed that SN 1987A data supports the existence of 4.0 eV and 21.4 eV active neutrino mass eigenstates, and it was suggested that such large active neutrino masses could be made consistent with existing constraints including neutrino oscillation data and upper limits on the neutrino flavor state masses. The requirement was that there exist a pair of sterile neutrino mass states nearly degenerate with the active ones, plus a third active-sterile doublet that is tachyonic (m ²<0). Here, independent evidence is presented for the existence of sterile neutrinos with the previously claimed masses based on fits to the dark matter distributions in the Milky Way galaxy and four clusters of galaxies. The fits are in excellent agreement with observations within the uncertainties of the masses. In addition, sterile neutrinos having the suggested masses address the “cusp” problem and the missing satellites problem, as well as that of the “top down” scenario of structure formation—previously a chief drawback of HDM particles. Nevertheless, due to the highly controversial nature of the claim, and the need for two free parameters in the dark matter fits, additional confirming evidence will be required before it can be considered proven.     

The forest of QSO absorption lines and cosmological models with unstable dark matter

Indications on clustering features in the two-point correlation function of Ly α line separations in published high-resolution spectra of quasars are presented. They are in contradiction to the self-similar hierarchical clustering model, but they could be explained by a first generation of small-scale pancakes in a model with unstable dark matter. A characteristic scale of velocity dispersion Δv ≈ 150 km/s of absorption clouds within pancakes is described by corresponding coherent regions of positive correlation, while the structure adjacent on the lines of sight are separated by a comoving distance of (18 ± 6) Mpc (H₀ = 50 km/s Mpc). The appropriate coherence length of the fluctuation spectrum may result from the free streaming length of (unstable) neutrinos of (100 … 200) eV rest mass.     

Implications of a cosmological term coupled to matter

The possibility that the cosmological term is proportional toGU, whereG is the gravitational coupling andU is the mass density of the universe is proposed and discussed. WithG = constant, a cosmological model is obtained, which avoids the flatness and horizon problems and does not affect the well known predictions on the cosmic helium abundance which come from standard big bang cosmology. In such model, the deceleration parameter is a null constant, there is matter creation process throughout the universe at the rate 10^–47 g cm^–3 s^–1 and the cosmological term varies asH ² =t ^–2, whereH is the Hubble constant andt is the cosmic time.The possibility of a time-dependentG is then considered. The main consequence of this is that there is a mass creation process on the local scale; the rate of mass creation inside a body of massM is dM/dt =M H. In Section 6 it is suggested that the new matter might be in the form of neutrinos. This suggestion leads to an interesting consequence in celestial mechanics: the radius of a binary system should depend on time according to the nature of the components (the radius of a binary star should decrease, the radius of a planet-moon system should expand, and the orbital radius of a planet should stay constant).     

Formation of a void and galaxies in a neutrino-dominated universe

The recent discovery of the large honeycomb structure of the Universe has triggered many models of the Universe dominated by dark matter. The neutrino-dominated universe is a favorable model for explaining the size of the large-scale structure and the dark matter of the larger scale than the galactic one. Our calculations on the evolution of density perturbations in a two-component universe composed of neutrinos and dissipative gas on a spherically-symmetric model have shown that the galactic scale does correlate the scale of a void of galaxies: if a neutrino has the mass of some tens eV, galaxies of the typical size form surrounding a typical void.Paper presented at the IAU Third Asian-Pacific Regional Meeting, held in Kyoto, Japan, between 30 September–6 October, 1984.     

Sterile neutrinos as dark matter in clusters and galaxies

The recent analysis of MiniBooNE experiment suggests that a better fit of the data arises if there are 2 types of sterile neutrinos. If the sterile neutrinos were produced during the early epoch of the Big Bang, they would be slightly degenerate. I show that the existence of 2 types slightly degenerate sterile neutrinos can fully explain the dark matter problem, the cusp problem, the hot gas density profile in clusters and the rotation curves of galaxies.     

Viscous fluid in a kaluza-klein metric

Exact solutions are obtained in a five-dimensional space-time with an energy-momentum tensor containing a viscous fluid, assuming either an equation of state or a special form for the viscous term in line with the assumption of Belinskii and Khalatnikov (1977). The solutions are, in fact, generalizations of an earlier work by Grøn for a perfect fluid in the 5D rest-mass varying theory of gravity proposed recently by Wesson. It is found that dimensional reduction of the extra space takes place in some of the cases such that the 5-dimensional universe naturally evolves into an effective 4-dimensional one. A huge amount of entropy can be produced following this shrinkage of extra-dimension which may account for the very large value of entropy per baryon observed in our 4D world. Moreover, the observed constancy of the rest-mass in the present era is also interpreted.     

The imprint of cosmic reionization on galaxy clustering

We consider the effect of reionization on the clustering properties of galaxy samples at intermediate redshifts ( z ∼ 0.3–5.5). Current models for the reionization of intergalactic hydrogen predict that overdense regions will be reionized early, thus delaying the build-up of stellar mass in the progenitors of massive lower redshift galaxies. As a result, the stellar populations observed in intermediate-redshift galaxies are somewhat younger and hence brighter in overdense regions of the Universe. Galaxy surveys would therefore be sensitive to galaxies with a somewhat lower dark matter mass in overdense regions. The corresponding increase in the observed number density of galaxies can be parametrized as a galaxy bias due to reionization. We model this process using merger trees combined with a stellar synthesis code. Our model demonstrates that reionization has a significant effect on the clustering properties of galaxy samples that are selected based on their star formation properties. The bias correction in Lyman-break galaxies (including those in proposed baryonic oscillation surveys at z < 1) is at the level of 10–20 per cent for a halo mass of  10¹² M_⊙  , leading to corrections factors of 1.5–2 in the halo mass inferred from measurements of clustering length. The reionization of helium could also lead to a sharp increase in the amplitude of the galaxy correlation function at z ∼ 3. We find that the reionization bias is approximately independent of scale and halo mass. However, since the traditional galaxy bias is mass dependent, the reionization bias becomes relatively more important for lower mass systems. The correction to the bias due to reionization is very small in surveys of luminous red galaxies at z < 1.     

Searching for neutrinos from WIMP annihilations in the Galactic stellar disc

Weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) are a viable candidate for the relic abundance of dark matter (DM) produced in the early universe. So far, WIMPs have eluded direct detection through interactions with baryonic matter. Neutrino emission from accumulated WIMP annihilations in the solar core has been proposed as a signature of DM, but has not yet been detected. These null results may be due to small-scale DM density fluctuations in the halo with the density of our local region being lower than the average  (∼0.3 GeV cm⁻³)  . However, the accumulated neutrino signal from WIMP annihilations in the Galactic stellar disc would be insensitive to local density variations. Inside the disc, DM can be captured by stars causing an enhanced annihilation rate and therefore a potentially higher neutrino flux than what would be observed from elsewhere in the halo. We estimate a neutrino flux from the WIMP annihilations in the stellar disc to be enhanced by more than an order of magnitude compared to the neutrino fluxes from the halo. We offer a conservative estimate for this enhanced flux, based on the WIMP–nucleon cross-sections obtained from direct-detection experiments by assuming a density of  ∼0.3 GeV cm⁻³  for the local DM. We also compare the detectability of these fluxes with a signal of diffuse high-energy neutrinos produced in the Milky Way by the interaction of cosmic rays with the interstellar medium. These comparative signals should be observable by large neutrino detectors.     

Forming supermassive black holes like J1342+0928 (invoking dark matter) in early universe

Recent discovery of J1342+0928 using data from the WISE telescope and ground based surveys indicate presence of a supermassive black hole (SMBH) having a mass of 800 million solar mass at a redshift of about 7.6. This imply that the black hole grew to this mass only 690 million years after the universe started expanding. Here we suggest that formation of such SMBH’s so early in the universe is consistent with our present understanding of the phenomena involved by invoking dark matter (DM).     

Neutrino Tomography – Learning About The Earth’s Interior Using The Propagation Of Neutrinos

Because the propagation of neutrinos is affected by the presence of Earth matter, it opens new possibilities to probe the Earth’s interior. Different approaches range from techniques based upon the interaction of high energy (above TeV) neutrinos with Earth matter, to methods using the MSW effect on the oscillations of low energy (MeV to GeV) neutrinos. In principle, neutrinos from many different sources (sun, atmosphere, supernovae, beams etc.) can be used. In this talk, we summarize and compare different approaches with an emphasis on more recent developments. In addition, we point out other geophysical aspects relevant for neutrino oscillations.