Observational Constraint on Heavy Element Production in Inhomogeneous Big Bang Nucleosynthesis

TL;DR

This paper explores how inhomogeneous Big Bang nucleosynthesis could produce heavy elements beyond iron, potentially explaining certain astronomical observations and influencing early star formation theories.

Contribution

It provides detailed nucleosynthesis calculations within IBBN, showing the potential for significant heavy element production consistent with observational constraints.

Findings

Heavy elements beyond Fe can be produced in IBBN.

Produced elements include p- and r-process elements.

Possible explanation for observed He4 overabundance and high metallicity in quasars.

Abstract

Based on a scenario of the inhomogeneous big-bang nucleosynthesis (IBBN), we investigate the detailed nucleosynthesis that includes the production of heavy elements beyond Li-7. From the observational constraints on light elements of He4 and D for the baryon-to-photon ratio given by WMAP, possible regions found on the plane of the volume fraction of the high density region against the ratio between high- and low-density regions. In these allowed regions, we have confirmed that the heavy elements beyond Fe can be produced appreciably, where p- and/or r-process elements are produced well simultaneously compared to the solar system abundances. We suggest that recent observational signals such as He4 overabundance in globular clusters and high metallicity abundances in quasars could be partly due to the results of IBBN. Possible implications are given for the formation of the first generation stars