Related papers: Primordial Deuterium Abundance Measurements
The current of status of big bang nucleosynthesis is reviewed and the concordance between theory and observation is examined in detail. It is argued that when using the observational data on he4 and li7, the two isotopes whose abundances…
Recent observations by Bania et al. (2002) measure He3 versus oxygen in Galactic HII regions, finding that He3/H is within a factor of 2 of the solar abundance for [O/H] > -0.6. These results are consistent with a flat behavior in this…
If the universe is slightly non-extensive, and the distribution functions are not exactly given by those of Boltzmann-Gibbs, the primordial production of light elements will be non-trivially modified. In particular, the principle of…
(Abridged) The water deuterium fractionation (HDO/H$_2$O abundance ratio) has traditionally been used to infer the amount of water brought to Earth by comets. Measuring this ratio in deeply-embedded low-mass protostars makes it possible to…
The first observations of deuterium and oxygen in the Local Interstellar Medium (LISM) obtained with the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) can be used to search for local abundance variations. While the very limited sample of…
We investigate the possibility of accounting for the currently inferred primordial abundances of D, 3He, 4He, and 7Li by big bang nucleosynthesis in the presence of baryon density inhomogeneities plus the effects of late-decaying massive…
One of the three testaments in favor of the big bang theory is the prediction of the primordial elemental abundances in the big-bang nucleosynthesis (BBN). The Standard BBN is a parameter-free theory due to the precise knowledge of the…
We report the first direct measurement of the helium isotope ratio, 3He/4He, outside of the Local Interstellar Cloud, as part of science verification observations with the upgraded CRyogenic InfraRed Echelle Spectrograph (CRIRES). Our…
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.…
The first definite discoveries of extragalactic deuterium are reported. DCO$^+$ has been detected in three and DCN has been measured in one star-forming region of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). While the HCO$^+$/DCO$^+$ abundance ratios…
Current measurements indicate that the deuterium abundance in diffuse interstellar gas varies spatially by a factor of ~4 among sightlines extending beyond the Local Bubble. One plausible explanation for the scatter is the variable…
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…
We update the Big Bang Nucleosynthesis calculations on the basis of the recent NACRE compilation. The average values of the calculated abundances of light nuclei do not differ significantly from that obtained using the previous Fowler's…
The relative abundance of deuterium and hydrogen is a potent tracer of planet formation and evolution. Jupiter and Saturn have protosolar atmospheric D/H ratios, a relic of substantial gas accretion from the nebula, while the atmospheres of…
Positronium is an ideal system for the research of the bound state QED. New precise measurement of orthopositronium decay rate has been performed with an accuracy of 150 ppm, and the result combined with the last three is 7.0401 +- 0.0007…
We consider inhomogeneous big bang nucleosynthesis in light of the present observational situation. Different observations of He-4 and D disagree with each other, and depending on which set of observations one uses, the estimated primordial…
We report two detections of deuterated molecular hydrogen (HD) in QSO absorption-line systems at $z > 2$. Toward J2123-0500, we find $N$(HD) $= 13.84 \pm 0.2$ for a sub-DLA with metallicity $\simeq 0.5Z_{\odot}$ and $N$(H$_2$) = $17.64 \pm…
The abundance of primordial black holes (PBHs) in the mass range $0.1 - 10^3 M_\odot$ can potentially be tested by gravitational wave observations due to the large merger rate of PBH binaries formed in the early universe. To put the…
We evaluate abundance anomalies generated in patches of the universe where the baryon-to-photon ratio was locally enhanced by possibly many orders of magnitude in the range $\eta = 10^{-10} - 10^{-1}$. Our study is motivated by the possible…
We place constraints on the number of relativistic degrees of freedom and on the baryon asymmetry at the epoch of Big Bang Nucleosynthesis (BBN) and at recombination, using cosmic background radiation (CBR) data from the Wilkinson Microwave…