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Implications of a New Temperature Scale for Halo Dwarfs on LiBeB and Chemical Evolution

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Brian D. Fields1, Keith A. Olive2 and Elisabeth Vangioni-Flam3

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Big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) and the cosmic baryon density from cosmic microwave background anisotropies together predict a primordial 7Li abundance a factor of 2-3 higher than that observed in galactic halo dwarf stars. A recent analysis of 7Li observations in halo stars, using significantly higher surface temperature for these stars, found a higher Li plateau abundance. These results go a long way toward resolving the discrepancy with BBN. Here we examine the implications of the higher surface temperatures on the abundances of Be and B that are thought to have been produced in galactic cosmic-ray nucleosynthesis by spallation of CNO together with Li (produced in α + α collisions). While the Be abundance is not overly sensitive to the surface temperature, the derived B abundances and more importantly the derived oxygen abundances are very temperature-dependent. If the new temperature scale is correct, the implied increased abundances of these elements pose a serious challenge to models of galactic cosmic-ray nucleosynthesis and galactic chemical evolution.


Subject headings

cosmic rays; early universe; nuclear reactions, nucleosynthesis, abundances; stars: abundances


Dates

Issue 2 (2005 April 20)

Received 2004 December 2, accepted for publication 2005 January 15



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