Big Bang nucleosynthesis in a weakly non-ideal plasma

Abstract

© 2021 ESO.We propose a correction of the standard Big Bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) scenario to resolve the primordial lithium problem by considering a possibility that the primordial plasma can deviate from the ideal state. In the standard BBN, the primordial plasma is assumed to be ideal, with particles and photons satisfying the Maxwell-Boltzmann and Planck distribution, respectively. We suggest that this assumption of the primordial plasma being ideal might oversimplify the early Universe and cause the lithium problem. We find that a deviation of photon distribution from the Planck distribution, which is parameterised with the help of Tsallis statistics, can resolve the primordial lithium problem when the particle distributions of the primordial plasma still follow the Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution. We discuss how the primordial plasma can be weakly non-ideal in this specific fashion and its effects on the cosmic evolution.