How do we determine the production of H and He during BBN?

  • Context: Graduate 
  • Thread starter Thread starter pianoplayer98
  • Start date Start date
Click For Summary
SUMMARY

The production of hydrogen (H) and helium (He) during Big Bang Nucleosynthesis (BBN) is established to be approximately 74% H and 24% He, with minor variations. This ratio is determined through numerical simulations that account for various initial conditions and known cross-sections of nuclear processes at different energies. Analytic approaches are insufficient for accurately calculating these abundances, necessitating computational methods to model the conditions post-Big Bang.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of Big Bang Nucleosynthesis (BBN)
  • Familiarity with nuclear cross-sections
  • Knowledge of numerical simulation techniques
  • Basic principles of cosmology
NEXT STEPS
  • Explore numerical simulation methods for BBN using software like Mathematica or Python libraries.
  • Research nuclear cross-section data relevant to BBN processes.
  • Study the implications of varying initial conditions on nucleosynthesis outcomes.
  • Investigate the role of energy levels in nuclear reactions during the early universe.
USEFUL FOR

Astronomers, cosmologists, and physicists interested in the early universe and the formation of elemental abundances through Big Bang Nucleosynthesis.

pianoplayer98
Messages
5
Reaction score
0
How do we calculate how much H and He is created during Big Bang Nucleosynthesis?

Wikipedia states that regardless of some initial conditions during BBN, it will always be that 74% of the universe is H and 24% of the universe is He, plus or minus a couple percent. How is this determined?

Sorry - I know this question is fairly basic.
 
Space news on Phys.org
I don't think there is an analytic approach, but you can simulate the conditions after the big bang numerically with different parameters. With known cross-sections for the different processes at different energies, you can simulate nucleosynthesis.
 

Similar threads

Graduate Nuclear Processes in Other Universes: Varying the Strength of the Weak Force
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
2K
Undergrad How Do We Measure the First Second of the Universe?
  • · Replies 11 ·
Replies
11
Views
2K
High School How can we see Background radiation
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
2K
Undergrad Some questions about Cosmic Inflation
  • · Replies 4 ·
Replies
4
Views
5K
High School Do we still live in a Big Bang Singularity?
  • · Replies 14 ·
Replies
14
Views
4K
Graduate Is there a stretching of the light curves of supernovae 1a?
  • · Replies 5 ·
Replies
5
Views
3K
How Do You Solve H(T) at 1 MeV in Cosmology?
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
2K
Undergrad Some questions about Cosmic Microwave Background radiation
  • · Replies 13 ·
Replies
13
Views
7K
High School How Do We Calculate the Number of Atoms in the Universe?
  • · Replies 7 ·
Replies
7
Views
3K
Graduate Could the Laws of Physics Be Proportional to Entropy?
  • · Replies 5 ·
Replies
5
Views
1K