New reaction rates for the destruction of 7Be during big bang nucleosynthesis measured at CERN/n_TOF and their implications on the cosmological lithium problem

New measurements of the 7 Be(n,α )4 He and 7 Be(n,p)7 Li reaction cross sections from thermal to keV neutron energies have been recently performed at CERN/n_TOF. Based on the new experimental results, astrophysical reaction rates have been derived for both reactions, including a proper evaluation of their uncertainties in the thermal energy range of interest for big bang nucleosynthesis studies. The new estimate of the 7 Be destruction rate, based on these new results, yields a decrease of the predicted cosmological 7 Li abundance insufficient to provide a viable solution to the cosmological lithium problem.