Related papers: Temperature Bias and the Primordial Helium Abundan…
This paper describes a new determination of the primordial helium abundance (Y_P), based on the abundance analysis of five metal-poor extragalactic HII regions. For three regions of the sample (SBS 0335-052, I Zw 18, and H29) we present…
Recent advances on the quest to determine the primordial or pregalactic helium abundance, Yp, are reviewed. There are seven problems affecting the He/H abundance determinations of H II regions that are briefly discussed: the underlying…
To understand the Universe a highly accurate ($\sim$1%) primordial helium abundance (Yp) determination plays an important role; it is extremely important to constrain: Big Bang Nucleosynthesis models, elementary particle physics, and the…
We discuss the effects of collisional enhancement of Balmer lines on the determination of the primordial helium abundance. To this aim, we present a photoionization model of the metal-poor extragalactic HII region SBS 0335--052. We show…
We have derived a primordial helium abundance of Yp = 0.2477 +- 0.0029, based on new atomic physics computations of the recombination coefficients of He I and of the collisional excitation of the H I Balmer lines together with observations…
The primordial helium abundance Y_p is commonly inferred from abundance determinations in low-metallicity extragalactic HII-regions. Such determinations may be subject to systematic uncertainties that are investigated here. Particular…
Currently, the primordial helium abundance is best estimated through spectroscopic observations of H II regions in metal-poor galaxies. However these determinations are limited by several systematic uncertainties which ultimately limit our…
Observations of helium and hydrogen emission lines from metal-poor extragalactic H II regions provide an independent method for determining the primordial helium abundance, Y_p. Traditionally, the emission lines employed are in the visible…
The primordial $^4$He abundance (Y$_p$) is one of the key characteristics of Primordial Nucleosynthesis processes that occurred in the first minutes after the Big Bang. Its value depends on the baryon/photon ratio $\eta\equiv…
We introduce a new statistical method to estimate the primordial helium abundance, Y_p from observed abundances in a sample of galaxies which have experienced stellar helium enrichment. Rather than using linear regression on metal abundance…
Observations of metal-poor extragalactic H II regions allow the determination of the primordial helium abundance, Y_p. The He I emissivities are the foundation of the model of the H II region's emission. Porter, Ferland, Storey, & Detisch…
We determine the primordial helium mass fraction Yp using 93 spectra of 86 low-metallicity extragalactic HII regions. This sample constitutes the largest and most homogeneous high-quality data sets in existence for the determination of Yp.…
A new determination of the pregalactic helium abundance based on the Magellanic Clouds H II regions is discussed. This determination amounts to Yp = 0.2345 +- 0.0030 and is compared with those derived from giant extragalactic H II regions…
The primordial helium abundance $Y_P$ is calculated using sulphur as metallicity tracer in the classical methodology (with $Y_P$ as an extrapolation of $Y$ to zero metals). The calculated value, $Y_{P,\,S}=0.244\pm0.006$, is in good…
The precision measurement of the primordial helium abundance $Y_p$ is a powerful probe of the early Universe. The most common way to determine $Y_p$ is analyses of observations of metal-poor \HII regions found in blue compact dwarf…
There is evidence for temperature fluctuations in Planetary Nebulae and in Galactic HII regions. If such fluctuations occur in the low-metallicity, extragalactic HII regions used to probe the primordial helium abundance, the derived 4He…
We present a review on the determination of the primordial helium abundance Yp, based on the study of hydrogen and helium recombination lines in extragalactic HII regions. We also discuss the observational determinations of the increase of…
The metal content of a galaxy is a key property for distinguishing between viable galaxy evolutionary scenarios, and it strongly influences many of the physical processes in the interstellar medium. An absolute and robust determination of…
Currently there are two significantly different observational determinations of the primordial helium abundance, and, if only statistical errors in He4 abundance determinations are considered, the discrepancies between the observational…
A reanalysis is made for the helium abundance determination for the Izotov-Thuan (2004) spectroscopic sample of extragalactic H II regions. We find that the effect of underlying stellar absorption of the He I lines, which is more important…