Effects of primordial fluctuations on the abundances of light elements

Abstract

view Abstract Citations (39) References (12) Co-Reads Similar Papers Volume Content Graphics Metrics Export Citation NASA/ADS Effects of primordial fluctuations on the abundances of light elements. Epstein, R. I. ; Petrosian, V. Abstract Some of the effects of primordial inhomogeneities on the production of H-2, He-3, and Li-7 are investigated. For the most part, temperature fluctuations have only small effects on the abundances. The density fluctuations are modeled by a unimodal distribution so that the Universe is characterized by the mean density and the relative amplitude of the density variations. It has been found that the constraint which H-2 production imposes on the mean mass density is eased somewhat by allowing for density inhomogeneities. However, unless the composition of the interstellar matter is atypical of most of the matter in the Universe, the mass density will be at least a factor of 3 below the critical density. For reasonable estimates of the pregalactic abundances, sufficient He-3 and Li-7 cannot be produced in the same model universe. Production of both Li-7 and H-2 requires large-amplitude primordial fluctuations, while sufficient He-3 and H-2 can be formed in very low-density, fairly homogeneous universes. Publication: The Astrophysical Journal Pub Date: April 1975 DOI: 10.1086/153511 Bibcode: 1975ApJ...197..281E Keywords: Abundance; Cosmology; Density Distribution; Light Elements; Nuclear Fusion; Astronomical Models; Baryons; Helium Isotopes; Hydrogen Isotopes; Lithium Isotopes; Matter (Physics); Universe; Astrophysics full text sources ADS |