Physics of the Universe : Assignment IV

Monsoon 2023 — Kandu, Ananth

Due: 30th November, 2023 Max. marks: 40

1. Nucleosynthesis

(a) List the chain of fusion reactions which are involved in the pro-
duction of Helium-4 nuclei.
(5 Marks)
(b) The binding energy of Deuterium is about 2.2 MeV, but signifi-
cant fraction of Deuterium forms at temperatures almost 30 times
smaller. Can you explain briefly why this is so?
(5 marks)
(c) Suppose the neutron decay time were τn = 89 seconds, instead of
τn = 890 seconds, with all other physical parameters unchanged.
Estimate the Helium mass abundance Y , the maximum possible
mass fraction in 4 He, assuming that all available neutrons are
incorporated into 4 He nuclei.
(10 Marks)

2. Optical depth
The universe recombines to form predominantly neutral atoms at a red-
shift of zrec = 1100. We know from observations that the intergalactic
medium is currently ionized. Thus, at some time between zrec and z = 0
(present epoch t0 ), the intergalactic medium must have been reionized.
The fact that we can see small fluctuations in the CMB places limits
on how early the reionization took place. Assume that the baryonic
component of the universe instantaneously became completely reion-
ized at some redshift z∗ (or epoch t = t∗ ). The CMB photons which
were travelling freely, can again be scattered by electrons, after this
epoch. The average number of such scatterings will be given by what
is called the optical depth,
Z t0
τ= ne (t)σT cdt
t∗

1
For what value of z∗ will this optical depth be equal to one? For
simplicity, assume that the universe is spatially flat, matter-dominated,
and that the baryonic component of the universe is pure hydrogen
with Ωb = 0.04. Take the Thomson cross section for photon electron
scattering to be σT = 5/3 × 10−24 cm2 and H0 = 70 km s−1 Mpc−1 .
(15 Marks)
If the CMB observations determine τ = 0.1, what would then be z∗ ?
(5 Marks)