Related papers: Cosmic Deuterium and Baryon Density
For the first time, we have a plausible and complete accounting of matter and energy in the Universe. Expressed a fraction of the critical density it goes like this: neutrinos, between 0.3% and 15%; stars, between 0.3% and 0.6%; baryons…
We combine the recent determination of the evolution of the cosmic density of molecular gas (H_2) using deep, volumetric surveys, with previous estimates of the cosmic density of stellar mass, star formation rate and atomic gas (HI), to…
More than three quarters of the baryonic content of the Universe resides in a highly diffuse state that is difficult to observe, with only a small fraction directly observed in galaxies and galaxy clusters. Censuses of the nearby Universe…
A critical review is given of the current status of cosmological nucleosynthesis. In the framework of the standard model with 3 types of relativistic neutrinos, the baryon-to-photon ratio, \eta, corresponding to the inferred primordial…
Observations of clusters and super clusters of galaxies have indicated that the Universe is more dominated by baryons than ever estimated in the homogeneous cosmological model for primordial nucleosynthesis. Recent detections of possibly…
Observations show that the global deuterium-to-hydrogen ratio (D/H) in the local interstellar medium (ISM) is about 90% of the primordial ratio predicted by big bang nucleosynthesis. The high (D/H)$_{ISM}$ implies that only a small fraction…
We consider possible implications if the recent and disconcordant measurements of D/H in quasar absorption systems are real and indicate a dispersion in D/H in these primitive systems. In particular we examine the option that the D/H…
We present an estimate of the global budget of baryons in all states, with conservative estimates of the uncertainties, based on all relevant information we have been able to marshal. Most of the baryons today are still in the form of…
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…
The last parameter of big-bang nucleosynthesis, the baryon density, is being pinned down by measurements of the deuterium abundance in high-redshift hydrogen clouds. When it is determined, it will fix the primeval light-element abundances.…
Baryon fraction in clusters, combined with constraints from primordial nucleosynthesis is currently used to provide a robust upper limit on the cosmological density parameter $\Omega_0$. Current analyses lead to gas fractions at virial…
Most of the mass density in the Universe---and in the halo of our own galaxy---exists in the form of dark matter. Overall, the contribution of luminous matter (in stars) to the mass density of the Universe is less than 1\%; primordial…
We use high resolution spectra obtained with FUSE and STIS to obtain interstellar column densities of H I, D I, O I, S II, Fe II and P II toward the QSO HE 0226-4110 ( l = 253.4 deg , b = -65.77 deg). We obtain D/H = 21(+8, -6) ppm.…
After few minutes the Universe evolved through conditions of temperature and density which permitted the first synthesis of astrophysically interesting abundances of D, 3He, 4He and 7Li. The relic abundances are sensitive probes of the…
A critical review is given of the current status of cosmological nucleosynthesis. In the framework of the Standard Model with 3 types of relativistic neutrinos, the baryon-to-photon ratio, $\eta$, corresponding to the inferred primordial…
We discuss the present bounds on the relativistic energy density in the Universe parameterized in terms of the effective number of neutrinos N using the most recent cosmological data on Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) temperature…
We present a new measurement of the Hubble constant, independent of standard rulers and robust to pre-recombination modifications such as Early Dark Energy (EDE), obtained by calibrating the total energy density of the Universe. We start…
A very low primordial deuterium abundance of D/H = 1.5 10^{-5} has recently been proposed by Molaro et al. in the Lyman limit system with log(N_HI) = 18.1 cm^{-2} at z_a = 3.514 towards the quasar APM08279+5255. The D/H value was estimated…
For the first time, we have a plausible, complete accounting of matter and energy in the Universe. Expressed a fraction of the critical density it goes like this: neutrinos, between 0.3% and 15%; stars, 0.5%; baryons (total), 5%; matter…
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…