Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2018 / iii / Paper 310 / 3

Let $V$ be the physical volume of a region with fixed comoving coordinates, so $V\propto a^3$, and write $U=\rho V$. The first law of thermodynamics is $dU=TdS-PdV+\mu dN$. Use extensive quantities: under replication, $U(\lambda S,\lambda V,\lambda N)=\lambda U(S,V,N)$. The Euler theorem for homogeneous functions givesSetting $\mu =0$ yieldsThis is the entropy form of the Gibbs-Duhem equation; it fixes the normalization by extensivity, rather than adding an arbitrary volume-independent entropy constant.

For equilibrium expansion of the same region, the first law and the cosmological perfect-fluid continuity equation implyTherefore $\boxed{\dot{S}=0}$, establishing cosmological entropy conservation for adiabatic equilibrium evolution. Here “comoving volume” means a patch moving with the cosmological fluid; its physical volume $V$ changes. The corresponding coordinate volume is constant. The local TeX's $\dot{V}/P$ in the continuity-equation hint is a transcription error: the PDF correctly has $\dot{V}/V$.

For a relativistic equilibrium species with temperature $T_i$, the entropy density is $s_i=({\rho }_i+P_i)/T_i=4{\rho }_i/(3T_i)$. In units $k_B=\hslash =c=1$, bosons have ${\rho }_i={\pi }^2{g}_i{T}_i^4/30$, while fermions have $7/8$ times this expression. Relative to a reference bath temperature $T$, define the effective number of relativistic degrees of freedom for entropy byThe sums here concern relativistic species, or their effective entropy contributions. Since a physical comoving patch has volume proportional to $a^3$, cosmological entropy conservation givesfor an isolated adiabatic bath. After thermal decoupling in cosmology, one must apply this law separately to sectors that no longer exchange entropy.

Before electron-positron annihilation in cosmology, the electromagnetic bath contains two photon polarizations and four electron/positron spin states. After neutrino decoupling, its entropy degrees of freedom are initiallyand after annihilation only the two photon polarizations remain. Electromagnetic entropy conservation therefore givesThe decoupled Cosmic neutrino background receives none of this entropy; its distribution temperature obeys $a{T}_{\nu }=\text{constant}$, and $T_{\nu }=T_{\gamma }$ before annihilation. ThusThis is the temperature of a decoupled relativistic relic in the instantaneous-decoupling approximation. The ratio remains the same afterwards in the absence of additional photon heating. At late times $T_{\nu }$ denotes the redshifted relic distribution temperature even when neutrino masses become relevant; it need not be a kinetic-equilibrium temperature.

Before decay, the nonrelativistic $\chi$ density redshifts as $a^{-3}$, while the photon density redshifts as $a^{-4}$. Therefore their ratio grows as $a$. Let a minus sign denote the instant just before decay and defineUsing the assumed radiation domination law $a\propto t^{1/2}$ gives $r_d=(t_d/t_{\mathrm{ref}}{)}^{1/2}{\rho }_{\chi }(t_{\mathrm{ref}})/{\rho }_{\gamma }(t_{\mathrm{ref}})$.

Across an instantaneous decay the scale factor does not change. Energy conservation and complete thermalization into a zero-chemical-potential photon bath giveSince blackbody radiation has ${\rho }_{\gamma }\propto T_{\gamma }^4$, instantaneous photon heating by a decaying relic givesThe already decoupled Cosmic neutrino background is not heated. Dividing its unchanged temperature by the new photon temperature therefore yieldsThe relation written with $a_d/a_{\mathrm{ref}}$ is independent of the expansion approximation. Replacing it by the time ratio uses the radiation-dominated background assumed in the question; an appreciable matter contribution would require solving for that background instead. This photon entropy injection is not adiabatic, so the pre-decay photon entropy need not be conserved across the decay.

The photon number density in a thermal zero-chemical-potential bath scales as $T_{\gamma }^3$. The heating factor from the previous calculation therefore increases photon number at fixed physical volume by $(1+r_d{)}^{3/4}$. The decay is nonbaryonic and preserves baryon number, giving baryon-to-photon dilution by entropy injection:If the decay occurs after the light-element abundances have frozen out in Big Bang nucleosynthesis but before the epoch probed by the cosmic microwave background, abundance measurements infer the earlier ${\eta }_{\mathrm{BBN}}$, whereas the CMB measures the later ${\eta }_{\mathrm{CMB}}$. In this simple scenario,A significant discrepancy in this direction could indicate photon entropy injection by $\chi$. Several light-element abundances help distinguish a changed baryon density from a changed expansion history. If decay occurs during nucleosynthesis, the inference instead requires time-dependent $\eta$ and a modified expansion history; the before/after comparison cannot automatically be applied to every decay time allowed in the question.