Year: 1995
Type: article
Abstract: Big bang production of deuterium is the best indicator of the baryon density; however, only the present abundance of D is known (and only locally) and its chemical evolution is intertwined with that of 3 He. Because Galactic abundances are spatially heterogeneous, mean chemical-evolution models are not well suited for extrapolating the pre-solar D and 3 He abundances to their primeval values. We introduce a new approach which explicitly addresses heterogeneity by statistically tracing the history of the pre-solar material back to its primeval beginning. We show that the decade-old concordance interval η ≈ (2-8) × 10 -10 based on D and 3 He is well founded.
Source: The Astrophysical Journal
DOI: 10.1086/309836
Institutions: Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, University of Chicago
Language: English
Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W2064634557