Effect of the variation of the Higgs vacuum expectation value upon the deuterium binding energy and primordial abundances of D and ⁴He

¹ Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísicas, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Paseo del Bosque, 1900 La Plata, Argentina e-mail: osvaldo.civitarese@fisica.unlp.edu.ar
² Department of Physics, University of La Plata, cc 67, 1900 La Plata, Argentina

Received: 19 April 2010
Accepted: 5 July 2010

Abstract

Aims. We calculate the constraints on the time variation of the Higgs vacuum expectation value from Big Bang Nucleosynthesis.

Methods. Starting from the calculation of the deuterium binding-energy, as a function of the pion-mass and using the NN-Reid 93 potential, we calculate the abundances of primordial D and ⁴He by modifying Kawano's code. The Higgs vacuum expectation value (v) and the baryon to photon ratio (η_B) enter the calculation as free parameters. By using the observational data of D and ⁴He, we set constraints on η_B and on the variation of v, relative to a constant value of Λ_QCD.

Results. Results are consistent with null variation in v and ϵ_D for the early universe, within 6σ.

Conclusions. We obtained a linear dependence of ϵ_D upon v and found that the best-fit-value of the variation of v is null within 6σ.