Low-energy photodisintegration of the deuteron and Big-Bang nucleosynthesis

Abstract The photon analyzing power for the photodisintegration of the deuteron was measured for seven gamma-ray energies between 2.39 and 4.05 MeV using the linearly polarized gamma-ray beam of the high-intensity gamma-ray source at the Duke Free-Electron Laser Laboratory. The data provide a stringent test of theoretical calculations for the inverse reaction, the neutron–proton radiative capture reaction at energies important for Big-Bang nucleosynthesis. Our data are in excellent agreement with potential model and effective field theory calculations. Therefore, the uncertainty in the baryon density Ω B h 2 obtained from Big-Bang Nucleosynthesis can be reduced at least by 20%.