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Effect of neutrino rest mass on ionization equilibrium freeze-out
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https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevd.92.125027Abstract
We show how small neutrino rest masses can increase the expansion rate near the photon decoupling epoch in the early Universe, causing an earlier, higher temperature freeze-out for ionization equilibrium compared to the massless neutrino case. This yields a larger free-electron fraction, thereby affecting the photon diffusion length differently than the sound horizon at photon decoupling. This neutrino-mass and recombination effect depends strongly on the neutrino rest masses. Though below current sensitivity, this effect could be probed by next-generation cosmic microwave background experiments, giving another observational handle on neutrino rest mass.
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