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Temperature-dependent CPT violation: Constraints from big bang nucleosynthesis

Gabriela Barenboim1,2,* and Anne-Katherine Burns3,4,†

  • *Contact author: gabriela.barenboim@uv.es
  • †Contact author: annekatherineburns@icc.ub.edu
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Phys. Rev. D 113, 095031 – Published 22 May, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/ss12-dw3x

Abstract

In this study, we explore temperature-dependent CPT violation during big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) through electron-positron mass asymmetries parametrized by b0(T)=αT2. The T2 scaling naturally evades stringent laboratory bounds at zero temperature while allowing for significant CPT violation at MeV scales in the early Universe [S. Navas et al. (Particle Data Group), Phys. Rev. D 110, 030001 (2024)]. Using a modified version of the BBN code PRyMordial with dynamically-solved chemical potentials and appropriate finite-mass corrections, we constrain electron-positron mass differences from observed abundances of helium-4, deuterium, and Neff. We find that α must be greater than or approximately equal to 10−6  GeV−1 for keV-scale mass differences at BBN. All three observables show no simultaneous 1σ overlap, though pairwise combinations allow for constrained regions of parameter space. We present two toy models demonstrating how b0(T)∝T2 arises from field-theoretic mechanisms, including temperature-driven phase transitions. These results provide the most stringent constraints on early-Universe CPT violation in this regime, probing parameter space inaccessible to laboratory experiments.

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Phys. Rev. D 113, 095031– Published 22 May, 2026
  • Received 19 January 2026
  • Accepted 20 April 2026
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