Colloquium- Big Bang Nucleosynthesis as a tool to probe new physics

Abstract: Big Bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) theory predicts the abundances of the light  elements D, 3He, 4He, and 7Li produced in the early universe. The primordial abundances of D and 4He inferred from observational data are in reasonable  good agreement with predictions. However, BBN theory overestimates the primordial 7Li abundance by about a factor of three. This is known as  “the cosmological lithium problem.” Solutions of this problem using conventional astrophysics and nuclear physics have not been successful over the past few decades, probably indicating the presence of new physics during the BBN epoch. I will discuss my recent work on the cosmological lithium problem.

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