Synthesis of light elements

Abstract

The synthesis of light elements has provided both signatures, and tests of our understanding, of the processes of the big bang. Recent developments, both theoretical and experimental, have extended and refined those signatures. Prediction of the primordial abundance of Be and its observation at considerably more sensitive levels than previously achieved have produced hope that it and other light nuclides might provide new information about the details of the big bang. Late time effects have somewhat confused the issues for abundances of the light nuclides, but have also contributed to our understanding of the processes which occurred several minutes after the big bang. Recent laboratory measurements, using radioactive nuclear beams, of the 8Li(d, n) 9Be(g.s.), 8Li(d, t) 7Li, and 8Li(α, n)11B reactions have shown that even the cross sections for the reactions which are important to primordial nucleosynthesis which involve short-lived nuclides can be measured.