Transformation-Induced Nonthermal Neutrino Spectra and Primordial Nucleosynthesis

Abstract

We examine in detail the changes in the production of primordial helium resulting from nonthermal neutrino momentum distributions produced by resonant transformation of electron-type neutrinos to steriles. These transformations, anti-nu_e -> anti-nu_s (nu_e->nu_s), amplify a positive (negative) lepton number asymmetry. We find that the resulting supression relative to a thermal distribution of low energy nu_e reduces n -> p conversion to a greater extent than does the enhancement of n -> p from an identical suppression of anti-nu_e. Thus, equal lepton-number asymmetries of opposite sign have unequal effects on the resulting helium yield in primordial nucleosynthesis.