"Nucleosynthesis constraints on active-sterile neutrino conversions in the early universe with random magnetic field"

Abstract

We consider active-sterile neutrino conversions in the early universe hot plasma in the presence of a random magnetic field generated at the electroweak phase transition. Within a random field domain the magnetization asymmetry of the lepton antilepton plasma produced by a uniform constant magnetic field is huge in contrast to their small density asymmetry, leading to a drastic change in the active-sterile conversion rates. Assuming that the random field provides the seed for the galactic field one can estimate the restrictions from primordial nucleosynthesis. Requiring that the extra sterile \neu does not enter in equilibrium with the active ones before nucleosynthesis we find limits of the oscillation parameters which are stronger than in the isotropic case.