Cosmological constraints on the lifetime of massive particles

Particles with masses more than a few MeV, decaying into photons or electrons, can cause destruction by photofission of cosmologically produced light elements. A previous calculation of this effect is corrected and extended, and used to derive maximum lifetimes for massive neutrinos; these range from a few thousand seconds upward, depending on the particle mass. Some approximate expressions are given that enable lifetime limits to be obtained for other particles, with different masses and abundances, such as gravitinos. These limits are generally stronger than previously determined constraints, such as distortion of the microwave background by energetic photons.