Related papers: Cosmological Solutions to the Lithium Problem
We reconsider the effects of unstable particles on the production and destruction of the primordial light elements, with a view to reconciling the high primordial Li7 abundance deduced from Big Bang Nucleosynthesis (BBN), as implied by the…
The existence of one percent of lithium-rich giant stars among normal, lithium-poor giant stars continues to be poorly explained. By merging two catalogues, one containing 10,535 lithium-rich giant stars with lithium abundances ranging from…
Observations of interstellar lithium provide a valuable complement to studies of lithium in Pop I and Pop II stars. Large corrections for unseen LiII and for non-gas phase lithium have provided obstacles to using interstellar data for…
Lithium abundance derived in metal-poor main sequence stars is about three times lower than the value of primordial Li predicted by the standard Big Bang nucleosynthesis when the baryon density is taken from the CMB or the deuterium…
Globular cluster stars show chemical abundance patterns typical of hot-CNO processing. Lithium is easily destroyed by proton capture in stellar environments, so its abundance may be crucial to discriminate among different models proposed to…
We consider the effects of uncertainties in nuclear reaction rates on the cosmological constraints on the decays of unstable particles during or after Big-Bang nucleosynthesis (BBN). We identify the nuclear reactions due to non-thermal…
Thirty years after the first observation of the 7Li isotope in the atmosphere of metal-poor halo stars, the puzzle about its origin persists. Do current observations still support the existence of a "plateau": a single value of lithium…
Un-evolved, very metal-poor stars are the most important tracers of the cosmic abundance of lithium in the early universe. Combining the standard Big Bang nucleosynthesis model with Galactic production through cosmic ray spallation, these…
Residual late-time dark matter particle annihilations during and after Big Bang Nucleosynthesis (BBN) may alter the predicted cosmological abundances of the light elements. Within the constrained minimal supersymmetric extension of the…
We have refined the estimate of the primordial level of $^7$Li abundance to an accuracy better than 10%, based on high-precision Li abundances for metal-poor halo stars, and a recent model of post-BBN (Big Bang Nucleosynthesis) chemical…
Since the pioneering observations of Spite & Spite in 1982, the constant lithium abundance of metal-poor ([Fe/H]<-1.3) halo stars near the turnoff has been attributed a cosmological origin. Closer analysis revealed that the observed…
The cosmological {7Li problem consists in explaining why the primordial Li abundance, as predicted by the standard Big Bang nucleosynthesis theory with constraints from WMAP and Planck, is a factor of 3 larger than the Li abundance measured…
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…
The discrepancy between the predictions of primordial nucleosynthesis and the observed lithium abundance in Spite plateau stars has been attributed either to a challenge to the standard model of nucleosynthesis or to stellar processes…
Lithium plays a unique role in astrophysics, as it is a powerful diagnostic for the physics and evolution of low-mass stars, Galactic archaeology, and cosmology. We review the Li observations in stars at different phases of their evolution,…
Cosmic structure formation leads to large-scale shocked baryonic flows which are expected to produce a cosmological population of structure-formation cosmic rays (SFCRs). Interactions between SFCRs and ambient baryons will produce lithium…
Primordial nucleosynthesis provides a probe of the Universe during its early evolution. Given the progress exploring the constituents, structure, and recent evolution of the Universe, it is timely to review the status of Big Bang…
We compare the properties of recent samples of the lithium abundances in halo stars to one another and to the predictions of theoretical models including rotational mixing, and we examine the data for trends with metal abundance. We find…
For a brief time in its early evolution the Universe was a cosmic nuclear reactor. The expansion and cooling of the Universe limited this epoch to the first few minutes, allowing time for the synthesis in astrophysically interesting…
Lithium is created during the Big Bang nucleosynthesis and it is destroyed in stellar interiors at relatively low temperatures. However, it should be preserved in the stellar envelopes of unevolved stars and progressively diluted during…