Primordial Nucleosynthesis Theory

Primordial Nucleosynthesis Observations: Light Elements Measured

• Problem: pollution
  solution: trace evolution
  the circle, the circle of life
• Helium-4: extragalactic H II regions
  • dwarf (blue compact) galaxy I Zwicky 18: images in UV, optical (HST); spectrum
• Deuterium: quasar absorption line systems
  • QSO absorption line systems: typical spectra
  • deuterium system HS 0105+1619 (O'Meara et al 2001):
    spectrum overview,
    hydrogen and deuterium lines
• Lithium-7: extreme Population II stars
  • extreme Pop II (halo) stars
    compare Li strength vs Ca
  • comparison: solar spectrum
  • example data: spectra from Ryan et al 1998; Bonifacio et al; Li vs Fe
• Helium-3: Galactic H II regions
  • a recent compilation: Bania et al 2002
  • also see Vangioni-Flam et al 2003

BBN: Theory vs Observations

• Predictions: Schramm plot (Cyburt, Fields, & Olive 2003,2008)
• Concordance

BBN: Implications

• baryon density
• dark matter: two kinds!
  • baryonic dark matter: e.g., hot gas in collapsed structures and intergalactic gas; MACHOs (well, probably not MACHOs)
  • non-baryonic dark matter

BBN in Light of the CMB

• Overview: BBN+CMB Schramm plot
• Standard BBN: Light element CMB predictions vs observations (CFO 2003)