Nucleo-synthesis in the Early Universe: A Brief Study

Abstract

It was a fusion reactor in the early universe. A few minutes after the Big Bang, a sequence of reactions occurred during which the first light nucleus was formed. They are Deuterium (D), Tritium (3H), Helium 3 (3He), Helium 4 (4He) and Lithium 7 (7Li). The phase of forming of the above nucleus is known as the Big Bang Nucleo-synthesis (BBN) which began when the universe was about 3 minutes old and lasted about half an hour after the Big Bang. The first few elements in the periodic table were synthesized about three minutes after the creation of the universe at a time when the temperature was low enough to facilitate the production of light nucleus via the nucleo-synthesis process. In this article, we will investigate in section one the past and phases of the cosmos since the “big bang” took place up to the point of the BBN.