Axion Dark Matter and Cosmological Parameters
Abstract
We observe that photon cooling after big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) but before recombination can remove the conflict between the observed and theoretically predicted value of the primordial abundance of 7Li. Such cooling is ordinarily difficult to achieve. However, the recent realization that dark matter axions form a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) provides a possible mechanism, because the much colder axions may reach thermal contact with the photons. This proposal predicts a high effective number of neutrinos as measured by the cosmic microwave anisotropy spectrum.
Turn this paper into a lesson
ArcXiv compiles a structured reading guide from this paper's metadata: plain-English importance, contributions, prerequisite concepts, which sections to read first, flashcards, and a quiz. Grounded in the abstract, never invented.