Electron–positron plasma in BBN: Damped-dynamic screening

We characterize in detail the dense e−e+γ plasma present during the Big-Bang Nucleosynthesis (BBN) and explore how it is perturbed electromagnetically by “impurities, i.e., spatially dispersed protons and light nuclei undergoing thermal motion. The internuclear electromagnetic screened potential is obtained (analytically) using the linear response approach, allowing for the dynamic motion of the electromagnetic field sources and the damping effects due to plasma component scattering. We discuss the limits of the linear response method and suggest additional work needed to improve BBN reaction rates in the primordial Universe. Our theoretical methods describing the potential between charged dust particles align with previous studies on planetary and space dusty plasma and could have a significant impact on the interpretation of standard cosmological model results.