Loophole in theory offers insight into the 'lithium problem'
Thursday, March 12, 2015 - 08:50
in Physics & Chemistry
(Phys.org)—There's not as much lithium in the universe as predicted, and scientists aren't sure why. According to the theory of big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN), isotopes of the three lightest elements—hydrogen, helium, and lithium—were created within the first 20 minutes after the big bang. The theory predicts with remarkable accuracy the observed amounts of hydrogen and helium, but its estimate for lithium is three times too high.