Searcharxiv⌕ Search
Home/Archive/arXiv

arXiv · 1607.03900

The primordial deuterium abundance of the most metal-poor damped Lyman-alpha system

Ryan Cooke·Max Pettini·Kenneth M. Nollett·Regina Jorgenson
View original source ↗Read source document ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

We report the discovery and analysis of the most metal-poor damped Lyman-alpha (DLA) system currently known, which also displays the Lyman series absorption lines of neutral deuterium. The average [O/H] abundance of this system is [O/H] = -2.804 +/- 0.015, which includes an absorption component with [O/H] = -3.07 +/- 0.03. Despite the unfortunate blending of many weak D I absorption lines, we report a precise measurement of the deuterium abundance of this system. Using the six highest quality and self-consistently analyzed measures of D/H in DLAs, we report tentative evidence for a subtle decrease of D/H with increasing metallicity. This trend must be confirmed with future high precision D/H measurements spanning a range of metallicity. A weighted mean of these six independent measures provides our best estimate of the primordial abundance of deuterium, 10^5 (D/H)_P = 2.547 +/- 0.033 (log_10 (D/H)_P = -4.5940 +/- 0.0056). We perform a series of detailed Monte Carlo calculations of Big Bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) that incorporate the latest determinations of several key nuclear cross sections, and propagate their associated uncertainty. Combining our measurement of (D/H)_P with these BBN calculations yields an estimate of the cosmic baryon density, 100 Omega_B,0 h^2(BBN) = 2.156 +/- 0.020, if we adopt the most recent theoretical determination of the d(p,gamma)3He reaction rate. This measure of Omega_B,0 h^2 differs by ~2.3 sigma from the Standard Model value estimated from the Planck observations of the cosmic microwave background. Using instead a d(p,gamma)3He reaction rate that is based on the best available experimental cross section data, we estimate 100 Omega_B,0 h^2(BBN) = 2.260 +/- 0.034, which is in somewhat better agreement with the Planck value. Forthcoming measurements of the crucial d(p,gamma)3He cross section may shed further light on this discrepancy.

Explore related subjects

astro-ph.COastro-ph.GAnucl-th

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

Ryan Cooke, Max Pettini, Kenneth M. Nollett, Regina Jorgenson. 2016-07-13. The primordial deuterium abundance of the most metal-poor damped Lyman-alpha system. https://doi.org/10.3847/0004-637x%2F830%2F2%2F148

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

KEEP EXPLORING

Related papers

arXiv2026

Constraining spinning primordial black holes with interstellar dust heating

Primordial black holes (PBHs) are a well-motivated dark matter candidate, and their cosmic abundance is constrained by a variety of observational probes. PBHs in the mass range $10^{15}\,\text{g}\,{-}\,10^{17}\,\text{g}$ are evaporating today via Hawking radiation, a process that can heat interstellar dust and modify its thermal emission. Recent studies have used this effect to place constraints on the abundance of non-spinning PBHs. We extend this approach by investigating the influence of PBH spin on dust-heating constraints. Furthermore, we account for secondary photons that originate not only from the decay of gauge bosons but also from the decay of hadrons produced via the fragmentation of primary quarks and gluons emitted through Hawking radiation. By comparing the dust heating rate induced by spinning PBHs with the maximum cooling rate of dust, considering both silicate and graphite grains, we derive new upper limits on the fraction of dark matter in the form of PBHs, $f_{\rm PBH}$. Our results show that the constraints depend on both PBH mass and spin. Smaller PBHs with higher spin yield stronger limits. For example, in the cases we investigated, the strongest constraint is $f_{\rm PBH} \sim 1.5 \times 10^{-4}$ for $M_{\rm PBH} = 10^{15}{\rm g}$ and spin parameter $a_{*} = 0.9999$. Although these limits are less stringent than existing constraints in the same mass range, they provide a distinct and complementary approach to constraining the abundance of PBHs.

astro-ph.CO↗
arXiv2026

Two-parameter continuous deformation of Starobinsky inflation as a bridge between Planck and ACT DESI data with $N_\star\in(50,60)$

We present a family of plateau-type inflationary potentials, eq.~\eqref{Vgeneral}, and analyze a two-parameter $\alpha\beta$-Starobinsky specialization that interpolates continuously between a \emph{maximal} plateau ($V\!\to\!V_0$) and a \emph{submaximal} plateau ($V\!\to\!V_\infty 0$ with $x_\star\gg 1/\beta$ the slow-roll scaling laws change to $n_s\simeq 1-\frac{4}{3N_\star},\, r\simeq\mathcal{C}(\alpha,\beta)\,N_\star^{-4/3},$ with an explicit coefficient $\mathcal{C}(\alpha,\beta)$ set by the plateau truncation. This deformation lifts $n_s$ at fixed $N_\star$ while further suppressing $r$, reconciling the Planck~2018 constraint $n_s=0.9649\pm0.0042$ (68\% CL) and BICEP/Keck18 data $r_{0.05}<0.036$ (95\% CL), with the higher central values $n_s\sim0.97$--$0.98$ preferred by ACT+DESI~DR2 (BAO), within the theoretically motivated interval $N_\star\in(50,60)$ and without exotic reheating. We provide an exact identity for $V/V'$ enabling analytic control of $N_\star$, a practical crossover criterion $\beta\,x_\star\ll1$ vs.\ $\gg1$, and a transparent mapping between $(\alpha,\beta)$ and the observables $(n_s,r,N_\star)$. These yield sharp, testable signatures, particularly the softened $N_\star$-scaling of $r$, that distinguish a maximal from a submaximal plateau with upcoming CMB and LSS data.

astro-ph.CO↗
arXiv2026

A Tale of Two Gauges: Effective Field Theory for Relativistic Behavior of Cosmological Axions

In this work, we present a formalism to model the relativistic behavior of axions. The relativistic behavior of axions is surprisingly difficult to model precisely, as it involves oscillations on timescales much shorter than the Hubble timescale. To overcome this challenge, one typically resorts to some form of effective treatment, focusing only on the time-averaged description of the exact oscillations. Salehian, Namjoo & Kaiser provide a systematic framework for such treatment, based on the effective field theory formalism. While the aforementioned study was formulated for axion perturbations in the Newtonian gauge with no anisotropic stress, we extend the formalism to the synchronous gauge that is more conventionally used for numerical implementation in a realistic cosmological setting. Unlike their work, however, we propose a fluid interpretation in which the axion field can be identified as a perfect fluid at all times, both in the exact and effective regimes. Moreover, we present the effective field theory for the Newtonian gauge with non-zero anisotropic stress, making the original formulation more general and useful for scenarios where the matter content of the universe is multi-component. These results lay the theoretical foundation for a companion paper where we discuss how the axion field should be incorporated alongside other species in common cosmological Boltzmann solvers.

astro-ph.CO↗