The Nuclear Age: Primordial Nucleosynthesis

Prelude

• baryons
• nuclei and nuclear forces

Big Bang Nucleosynthesis: Theory

• History
  • prelude: alpha beta gamma
  • Alpher, Herman, and Gamow arising from Ylem
• Radiation domination
• Particle ingredients
• Element formation:
  reaction network
  predictions: Schramm plot (Cyburt, Fields, & Olive 2003)

BBN: Observations

• Problem: pollution; solution: trace evolution
  the circle, the circle of life
• Helium-4
  • dwarf (blue compact) galaxy I Zwicky 18: UV, optical (HST)
    spectra (Izotov et al 1999)
• Deuterium
  • QSO absorption line systems: typical spectra
  • deuterium system HS 0105+1619 (O'Meara et al 2001):
    spectrum overview,
    hydrogen and deuterium lines
• Lithium
  • extreme Pop II (halo) stars
• Helium-3

BBN: Theory vs Observations

• Predictions: Schramm plot (Cyburt, Fields, & Olive 2003)
• Concordance

BBN: Implications

• cosmic baryon inventory
• baryonic dark matter
  hot intergalatic gas: predicted and maybe observed?
• non-baryonic dark matter
• particle physics: the universe as the poor man's accelerator!