151 research outputs found
Lithium-Beryllium-Boron Evolution: From Meneguzzi, Audouze and Reeves 1971 Up to Now
We review the main sources of LiBeB production and show that a primary
mechanism is at work in the early Galaxy involving both ejection and
acceleration of He, C and O at moderate energy, which by nuclear interaction
with
H and He produce light isotopes. The precise measurement of the Be abundance
at [Fe/H] = -3.3 and of in halo stars find an explanation in this
framework. Thus, the preservation of in the atmosphere of metal poor
stars implied, points toward the fact the Spite plateau reflects the primordial
value of Li. Consequently, it can be used as a baryodensitometer.Comment: 6 pages, no figure, invited talk, to be published in World
Scientific, Proceedings of the conference "Cosmic Evolution" in the honor of
Jean Audouze and James W. Truran, held at the Institut d'Astrophysique de
Paris, Franc
The Primordial Lithium Problem
Big-bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) theory, together with the precise WMAP cosmic
baryon density, makes tight predictions for the abundances of the lightest
elements. Deuterium and 4He measurements agree well with expectations, but 7Li
observations lie a factor 3-4 below the BBN+WMAP prediction. This 4-5\sigma\
mismatch constitutes the cosmic "lithium problem," with disparate solutions
possible. (1) Astrophysical systematics in the observations could exist but are
increasingly constrained. (2) Nuclear physics experiments provide a wealth of
well-measured cross-section data, but 7Be destruction could be enhanced by
unknown or poorly-measured resonances, such as 7Be + 3He -> 10C^* -> p + 9B.
(3) Physics beyond the Standard Model can alter the 7Li abundance, though D and
4He must remain unperturbed; we discuss such scenarios, highlighting decaying
Supersymmetric particles and time-varying fundamental constants. Present and
planned experiments could reveal which (if any) of these is the solution to the
problem.Comment: 29 pages, 7 figures. Per Annual Reviews policy, this is the original
submitted draft. Posted with permission from the Annual Review of Nuclear and
Particle Science, Volume 61. Annual Reviews, http://www.annualreviews.org .
Final published version at
http://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev-nucl-102010-13044
Updated constraint on a primordial magnetic field during big bang nucleosynthesis and a formulation of field effects
A new upper limit on the amplitude of primordial magnetic field (PMF) is
derived by a comparison between a calculation of elemental abundances in big
bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) model and the latest observational constraints on
the abundances. Updated nuclear reaction rates are adopted in the calculation.
Effects of PMF on the abundances are consistently taken into account in the
numerical calculation with the precise formulation of changes in physical
variables. We find that abundances of 3He and 6Li increase while that of 7Li
decreases when the PMF amplitude increases, in the case of the baryon-to-photon
ratio determined from the measurement of cosmic microwave background radiation.
We derive a constraint on the present amplitude of PMF, i.e., B(0)<1.5 micro G
[corresponding to the amplitude less than 2.0x10^{11} G at BBN temperature of
T=10^9 K] based on the rigorous calculation.Comment: 26 pages, 4 figures, new observation of D/H ratio adopted, tighter
constraint derived, Sec. IV modified, accepted for publication in PR
LiBeB, Cosmic Rays and Gamma-Ray Line Astronomy
This article is a summary of a recently held conference on the light
elements, Li, Be and B, and their relationship to cosmic-ray origin and
gamma-ray astronomy. The proceedings will be published by the PASP.Comment: latex 6 pages, uses aasms4.sty To appear in the Publications of the
Astronomical Society of the Pacific (PASP
Cosmic Neutron Star Merger Rate and Gravitational Waves constrained by the R Process Nucleosynthesis
The cosmic evolution of the neutron star merger (NSM) rate can be deduced
from the observed cosmic star formation rate. This allows to estimate the rate
expected in the horizon of the gravitational wave detectors advanced Virgo and
ad LIGO and to compare those rates with independent predictions. In this
context, the rapid neutron capture process, or r process, can be used as a
constraint assuming NSM is the main astrophysical site for this nucleosynthetic
process. We compute the early cosmic evolution of a typical r process element,
Europium. Eu yields from NSM are taken from recent nucleosynthesis
calculations. The same approach allows to compute the cosmic rate of Core
Collapse SuperNovae (CCSN) and the associated evolution of Eu. We find that the
bulk of Eu observations at high iron abundance can be rather well fitted by
either CCSN or NSM scenarios. However, at lower metallicity, the early Eu
cosmic evolution favors NSM as the main astrophysical site for the r process. A
comparison between our calculations and spectroscopic observations at very low
metallicities allows to constrain the coalescence timescale in the NSM scenario
to about 0.1 to 0.2 Gyr. These values are in agreement with the coalescence
timescales of some observed binary pulsars. Finally, the cosmic evolution of Eu
is used to put constraints on the NSM rate, the merger rate in the horizon of
the gravitational wave detectors advanced Virgo/ad LIGO, as well as the
expected rate of electromagnetic counterparts to mergers (kilonovae) in large
near-infrared surveys.Comment: accepted in MNRAS, 19 page
Big-bang nucleosynthesis with the NACRE compilation
We update the Big Bang Nucleosynthesis (BBN) calculations on the basis of the recent NACRE compilation of reaction rates. In particular, we calculate the uncertainties related to the nuclear reaction rates on the abundances of 7Li and compare our results with an other recent analysis
Testing Spallation Processes With Beryllium and Boron
The nucleosynthesis of Be and B by spallation processes provides unique
insight into the origin of cosmic rays. Namely, different spallation schemes
predict sharply different trends for the growth of LiBeB abundances with
respect to oxygen. ``Primary'' mechanisms predict BeB O, and are well
motivated by the data if O/Fe is constant at low metallicity. In contrast,
``secondary'' mechanisms predict BeB O and are consistent with
the data if O/Fe increases towards low metallicity as some recent data suggest.
Clearly, any primary mechanism, if operative, will dominate early in the
history of the Galaxy. In this paper, we fit the BeB data to a two-component
scheme which includes both primary and secondary trends. In this way, the data
can be used to probe the period in which primary mechanisms are effective. We
analyze the data using consistent stellar atmospheric parameters based on
Balmer line data and the continuum infrared flux. Results depend sensitively on
Pop II O abundances and, unfortunately, on the choice of stellar parameters.
When using recent results which show O/Fe increasing toward lower metallicity,
a two-component Be-O fits indicates that primary and secondary components
contribute equally at [O/H] = -1.8 for Balmer line data; and
[O/H] = -1.4 to -1.8 for IRFM. We apply these constraints to recent
models for LiBeB origin. The Balmer line data does not show any evidence for
primary production. On the other hand, the IRFM data does indicate a preference
for a two-component model, such as a combination of standard GCR and
metal-enriched particles accelerated in superbubbles. These conclusions rely on
a detailed understanding of the abundance data including systematic effects
which may alter the derived O-Fe and BeB-Fe relations.Comment: 40 pages including 11 ps figures. Written in AASTe
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