Reheated Universe by Unstable Neutrinos

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Abstract
The possibility is explored that moderately massive neutrinos (1-10 keV) with a lifetime shorter than the age of the Universe, decaying predominantly without emitting radiation but with a small branching ratio to the photon channel, have reheated the Universe after recombination. For a reasonable parameter range, it is possible to explain the recently observed spectral distortion of the cosmic microwave background radiation (CBR). Implications are also discussed for the interpretation of the anisotropy measurement of the CBR.