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.