When , the Fermi-Dirac distribution approaches the step function for and zero for . For one internal state and negligible mass, the degenerate relic neutrino energy density is therefore
so .
At thermal equilibrium, the antineutrino chemical potential is . Its occupation is approximately , giving
It is exponentially smaller than the neutrino density; this particle-antiparticle imbalance is a cosmological lepton asymmetry.