Neutron-to-proton ratio 2026-10-06
Neglecting chemical potentials, the equilibrium abundance ratio is . Weak freeze-out fixes an approximate starting ratio, which is then reduced by free-neutron decay after freeze-out before most remaining neutrons bind into helium.
At weak freeze-out, photons, electrons, positrons and all four neutrino flavors are relativistic and approximately at the same temperature. The effective number of relativistic energy degrees of freedom changes from
The expansion rate at fixed temperature is larger by . Equating the supplied weak interaction time with the supplied age gives when is measured in MeV. Therefore
Earlier cosmological weak freeze-out at a higher temperature leaves more neutrons. With negligible chemical potentials, the neutron-to-proton ratio in equilibrium is , where . If almost all surviving neutrons enter helium-4, the primordial helium mass fraction before neutron decay is . Literal use of the given rate normalizations yields
Equivalently, the leading response is . This is a roughly one-percentage-point absolute increase in the helium fraction, rather than a one-percent relative increase.
The deuterium bottleneck delays nuclear burning, allowing free-neutron decay after freeze-out. If its end temperature is , and is the neutron mean life, a sharper instantaneous-freeze-out estimate conserves total baryon number and gives
This formula evolves the neutron fraction, not just the neutron-to-proton ratio, because each neutron decay also creates a proton. After electron annihilation, let . The radiation counts relevant to the age at fixed are
Consequently . Less time is available for neutron decay, adding to the helium increase. As an explicit illustrative completion, and give an increase of approximately in this toy model. The precise helium fraction requires the nuclear-burning temperature, baryon abundance and properly normalized weak rates; the question supplies only approximate time laws. In particular, the large no-decay fractions in the table must not be interpreted as precise predictions for the observed primordial abundance. The robust effect is extra relativistic energy raises the primordial helium fraction, with an absolute change of order for one thermally populated flavor.
The effective number of relativistic energy degrees of freedom count two photon polarizations, four electron/positron spin states, and six neutrino/antineutrino states, with the Fermi-Dirac distribution factor for fermions. Treating these species as relativistic and at a common temperature gives .
The mass-equivalent radiation mass density is . Therefore the Friedmann equation gives
At , . Equating the specified weak interaction rate to gives and hence
The approximate equilibrium neutron-to-proton ratio, neglecting chemical potentials, is , about using the mass difference . This is a freeze-out estimate rather than a detailed reaction-network computation.
After weak cosmological weak freeze-out, free neutrons undergo beta-minus decay; neutrinos decouple, and electron-positron annihilation heats the photons relative to the neutrinos. Initially the abundant energetic photons destroy deuterium almost as soon as it forms. Once the deuterium bottleneck ends, nuclear reactions rapidly pass through deuterium, tritium and helium-three to helium-4. Reactions eventually become too slow compared with cosmic expansion; nearly all surviving neutrons are bound in helium-four. Its mass fraction is approximately , where is evaluated when nuclear assembly begins.
Increasing increases the Hubble parameter, raises , increases the freeze-out neutron-to-proton ratio, and leaves less time for free-neutron decay after freeze-out. Both effects increase ; decreasing reverses them. Most deuterium is only an intermediate product and is burned into helium, so its residual abundance and its absolute change are tiny compared with the helium mass fraction. This does not imply a negligible fractional change in residual deuterium. Faster expansion also shortens the time available to burn it, and its relative abundance can be appreciably sensitive to extra radiation. The distinction matters when interpreting the final wording of the question; joint deuterium and helium abundances constrain extra relativistic species, as discussed in the Particle Data Group nucleosynthesis review.