2014/08/15 by S. Q. Hou, J. J. He, Hou, S. Q. +9 · 1 citation
Computer Science · Physics and Astronomy · #Computational Physics and Python Applications #astro-ph.CO #astro-ph.SR #nucl-th
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1408.4422
5 pages, 3 figures. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1406.4583
arxiv created 2014/08/15 · arxiv updated 2014/08/20
We provide the most stringent constraint to date on possible deviations from the usually-assumed Maxwell-Boltzmann (MB) velocity distribution for nuclei in the Big-Bang plasma. The impact of non-extensive Tsallis statistics on thermonuclear reaction rates involved in standard models of Big-Bang Nucleosynthesis (BBN) has been investigated. We find that the non-extensive parameter q may deviate by, at most, |δq|=6×10-4 from unity for BBN predictions to be consistent with observed primordial abundances; q=1 represents the classical Boltzmann-Gibbs statistics. This constraint arises primarily from the \em supersensitivity of endothermic rates on the value of q, which is found for the first time. As such, the implications of non-extensive statistics in other astrophysical environments should be explored. This may offer new insight into the nucleosynthesis of heavy elements.