Precision Detection of the Cosmic Neutrino Background

Preprint

9 March 1998

preprint
Published by arXiv in arXiv

Abstract

In the standard Big Bang cosmology the canonical value for the ratio of relic neutrinos to CMB photons is 9/11. Within the framework of the Standard Model of particle physics there are small corrections, in sum about 1%, due to slight heating of neutrinos by electron/positron annihilations and finite-temperature QED effects. We show that this leads to changes in the predicted cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropies that might be detected by future satellite experiments. NASA's MAP and ESA's PLANCK should be able to test the canonical prediction to a precision of 1% or better and could confirm these corrections.

Keywords

PRECISION DETECTION
NEUTRINO BACKGROUND
COSMIC NEUTRINO
STANDARD MODEL
ANISOTROPIES
STANDARD BIG
NEUTRINOS
BIG BANG
PHOTONS

All Related Versions

Version 1, 1998-03-09, ArXiv
Version 2, 1998-03-10, ArXiv
Published version: Physical Review Letters, 82 (20), 3952.

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