Related papers: Nucleosynthesis Predictions and High-Precision Deu…
The primordial deuterium abundance probes fundamental physics during the Big Bang Nucleosynthesis and can be used to infer cosmological parameters. Observationally, the abundance can be measured using absorbing clouds along the lines of…
Standard big bang nucleosynthesis (BBNS) promises accurate predictions of the primordial abundances of deuterium, helium-3, helium-4 and lithium-7 as a function of a single parameter. Previous measurements have nearly always been…
A new observation of D in a primordial gas cloud, made using the high resolution spectrograph at the Keck telescope, indicates an abundance $ D/H =(1.9-2.5) \times 10^{-4}$ \cite{SCHR}. Since deuterium is destroyed by stars, and the…
The current status of extragalactic deuterium abundance is discussed using two examples of `low' and `high' D/H measurements. We show that the discordance of these two types of D abundances may be a consequence of the spatial correlations…
Deuterium abundances measured recently from QSO absorption-line systems lie in the range from 3 10^{-5} to 3 10^{-4}, which shed some questions on standard big bang theory. We show that this discordance may simply be an artifact caused by…
Standard Big Bang Nucleosynthesis at the baryon density determined by the microwave anisotropy spectrum predicts an excess of \li7 compared to observations by a factor of 4-5. In contrast, BBN predictions for D/H are somewhat below (but…
Observational constraints on the primordial deuterium-to-hydrogen ratio (D/H) can test theories of the early universe and provide constraints on models of big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN). We measure deuterium absorption in high-redshift,…
We report the discovery of deuterium absorption in the very metal-poor ([Fe/H] = -2.88) damped Lyman-alpha system at z_abs = 3.06726 toward the QSO SDSS J1358+6522. On the basis of 13 resolved D I absorption lines and the damping wings of…
The primordial deuterium abundance is an important tracer of the fundamental physics taking place during Big Bang Nucleosynthesis. It can be determined from absorption features along the line of sight to distant quasars. The quasar…
We present a measurement of the deuterium to hydrogen ratio (D/H) in a metal-poor absorption system at redshift $z=2.504$ towards the QSO 1009+2956. We apply the new method of Burles & Tytler (1997) to robustly determine D/H in high…
The theory of Big Bang nucleosynthesis, coupled with an estimate of the primordial deuterium abundance (D/H)_pr, offers insights into the baryon density of the Universe. Independently, the baryon density can be constrained during a…
We present a new measurement of the deuterium-to-hydrogen ratio (D/H) in the Lyman limit absorption system at $z = 3.572$ towards Q1937--1009. We use an improved method to measure D/H in QSO absorption systems, which includes extra…
The determination of the primeval deuterium abundance has opened a precision era in big-bang nucleosynthesis (BBN), making accurate predictions more important than ever before. We present in analytic form new, more precise predictions for…
We present a new analysis of the deuterium absorption at z = 2.504 towards the quasar Q1009+2956 using the mesoturbulent model which accounts for possible correlations in the large scale velocity field. We obtain a slightly higher…
Two dimensional concordance plots involving the baryon-to-photon ratio, $\eta$, and an effective number of light neutrinos, $N_{\nu}$, are used to discuss the overall consistency of standard big-bang nucleosynthesis in light of recent…
Motivated by the recent measurement of the primeval abundance of deuterium, we re-examine the nuclear inputs to big-bang nucleosynthesis (BBN). Using Monte-Carlo realization of the nuclear cross-section data to directly estimate the…
We present a new analysis of an absorption system in the spectrum of Q0014+813, with particular attention to a single cold cloud at redshift $z=2.797957$. Features are identified at this redshift corresponding to SiIII, SiIV, CIV, DI, and…
The spectrum of the $z_{\rm em} = 2.63$ quasar Q1009+2956 has been observed extensively on the Keck telescope. The Lyman limit absorption system $z_{\rm abs} = 2.504$ was previously used to measure D/H by Burles & Tytler using a spectrum…
The predictions of Standard Big Bang Nucleosynthesis are summarized and compared with observations of abundances of helium in HII regions, deuterium in quasar absorbers, deuterium and helium-3 in the Galaxy, and lithium in metal-poor stars.…
Recent HST/GHRS observations of the z = 0.7010 absorber toward the QSO 1718+4807 (selected because of apparently ideal characteristics for measuring D/H) yield a D/H significantly higher D/H than some recent high-redshift measurements. Our…