Big Bang nucleosynthesisProcess during the early universe Part of a series onPhysical cosmology Big BangUniverse Age of the universe Chronology of the universe Early universe InflationBaryogenesisNucleosynthesis Backgrounds Gravitational wave (GWB) Microwave (CMB)Neutrino (CNB) Expansion and future Hubble's lawRedshift Expansion of the universe FLRW metricFriedmann equations Lambda-CDM model Future of an expanding universe Ultimate fate of the universe Components and structure Components Dark energyDark matter PhotonsBaryons Structure Shape of the universe Galaxy filamentGalaxy formation Large quasar group Large-scale structure ReionizationStructure formation Experiments Black Hole Initiative (BHI) BOOMERanG Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) Dark Energy Survey Planck space observatory Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey ("2dF") Wilkinson Microwave AnisotropyProbe (WMAP) Scientists Aaronson Alfvén Alpher Copernicus de Sitter Dicke Ehlers Einstein Ellis Friedmann Galileo Gamow Guth Hawking Hubble Huygens Kepler Lemaître Mather Newton Penrose Penzias Rubin Schmidt Smoot Suntzeff Sunyaev Tolman Wilson Zeldovich List of cosmologists Subject history Discovery of cosmic microwavebackground radiation History of the Big Bang theory Timeline of cosmological theories Category Astronomy portalvte In physical cosmology, Big Bang nucleosynthesis (also known as primordial nucleosynthesis, and abbreviated as BBN) is a model for the production of light nuclei (including, but not limited to, 2H, 3He, 4He, and 7Li) during the first ~20 minutes of the evolution of the universe.
IsotopeIsotopes are distinct nuclear species (or nuclides) of the same chemical element. They have the same atomic number (number of protons in their nuclei) and position in the periodic table (and hence belong to the same chemical element), but different nucleon numbers (mass numbers) due to different numbers of neutrons in their nuclei. While all isotopes of a given element have virtually the same chemical properties, they have different atomic masses and physical properties.
DeuteriumDeuterium (hydrogen-2, symbol H or D, also known as heavy hydrogen) is one of two stable isotopes of hydrogen; the other is protium, or hydrogen-1, H. The deuterium nucleus (deuteron) contains one proton and one neutron, whereas the far more common H has no neutrons. The name deuterium comes from Greek , meaning "second". American chemist Harold Urey discovered deuterium in 1931. Urey and others produced samples of heavy water in which the H had been highly concentrated.
SupernovaAstrophysical phenomenonSN 1994D (bright spot on the lower left), a Type Ia supernova within its host galaxy, NGC 4526A supernova (pl.: supernovae) is a powerful and luminous explosion of a star. A supernova occurs during the last evolutionary stages of a massive star, or when a white dwarf is triggered into runaway nuclear fusion. The original object, called the progenitor, either collapses to a neutron star or black hole, or is completely destroyed to form a diffuse nebula.
HydrogenChemical element with atomic number 1 (H)–↑H↓Li(none) ← hydrogen → helium
LithiumChemical element with atomic number 3 (Li)H↑Li↓Nahelium ← lithium → beryllium
Big BangThe Big Bang is a physical theory that describes how the universe expanded from an early state of high density and temperature. Various cosmological models based on the Big Bang concept explain a broad range of phenomena, including the abundance of light elements, the cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation, the redshift of galaxies and the large-scale structure of the universe.
NucleonIn physics and chemistry, a nucleon is either a proton or a neutron, considered in its role as a component of an atomic nucleus. The number of nucleons in a nucleus defines the atom's mass number. Until the 1960s, nucleons were thought to be elementary particles, not made up of smaller parts. Now they are understood as composite particles, made of three quarks bound together by the strong interaction.
HeliumChemical element with atomic number 2 (He)–↑He↓Nehydrogen ← helium → lithium
MetallicityThe globular clusterM80. Stars in globular clusters are mainly older metal-poor members of population II.In astronomy, metallicity is the abundance of elements present in an object that are heavier than hydrogen and helium. Most of the normal currently detectable (i.e. non-dark) matter in the universe is either hydrogen or helium, and astronomers use the word metals as convenient shorthand for all elements except hydrogen and helium.
NovaA nova is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", Latin for "new"; the shortened form of "stella nova", Latin for "new star") that slowly fades over weeks or months. All observed novae involve white dwarfs in close binary systems, but causes of the dramatic appearance of a nova vary, depending on the circumstances of the two progenitor stars.
Atomic nucleusThe atomic nucleus is the small, dense region consisting of protons and neutrons at the center of an atom, discovered in 1911 by Ernest Rutherford at the University of Manchester based on the 1909 Geiger–Marsden gold foil experiment. After the discovery of the neutron in 1932, models for a nucleus composed of protons and neutrons were quickly developed by Dmitri Ivanenko and Werner Heisenberg.
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