The Formation of the Light

Elements in the Big Bang Theory

Big Bang Theory

The big bang theory generally refers to

the idea that this mysterious universe
has expanded from a very hot and dense
initial condition at sometime in the past,
13.3 billion years ago and it continuous
to expand
Big Bang Theory

After the initial appearance of our

universe as singularity, it apparently
inflated (the "Big Bang"), expanded and
cooled - going from very, very small and
very, very hot, to the size and
temperature of our current universe.
Pieces of evidence supporting this theory are (1)
occurrence of redshift, (2) background radiation,
and (3) abundance of light elements.
 In the 1910s, Vesto Slipher and
Carl Wilhelm Wirtz measured
the wavelengths of light from
spiral nebulae, which are
interstellar clouds of dust and
ionized gases.
They discovered that the light from the nebulae
increased in wavelength.
They explained their discovery as a Doppler shift.
 The Doppler shift or Doppler effect
It explains that when an object gets
closer to us, its light waves are
compressed into shorter wavelengths
(blueshifted, because blue light has the
shortest wavelength in the visible
region).

On the other hand, when an object moves away from us,

its light waves are stretched into longer wavelengths
(redshifted, because red light has the longest wavelength
in the visible region).
In 1965, Robert Wilson and Arno
Penzias discovered a low, steady “hum”
from their Holmdel Horn antenna (an
antenna built to support NASA’s Project
Echo). They concluded that the noise
is Cosmic Microwave Background
Radiation (CMBR), the remains of
energy created after the big bang
expansion.
Big bang nucleosynthesis is the process
of producing the light elements during
the big bang expansion. In the
beginning, the universe was very hot
that matter was fully ionized and
dissociated.
Few seconds after the start of the big
bang, the universe was filled with
protons, neutrons, electrons, neutrinos,
and positrons. After the first three
minutes, the universe cooled down to a
point where atomic nuclei can form.
Protons and neutrons combined to form
atomic nuclei such as deuterium.
However, the temperature of the
universe was still much greater
than the binding energy of
deuterium.

Binding energy is the energy

required to break down a nucleus
into its components. Therefore,
deuterium easily decayed upon
formation.
When the temperature cooled
down below 1010 K, deuterium
nuclei combined with other nuclei
to form heavier ones.
Helium-3 was formed from the fusion
of two deuterium nuclei and a release
of a neutron.
Tritium or hydrogen-3 was produced
from the fusion of two deuterium
nuclei and a release of a proton.
Helium-4 was produced from the
fusion of deuterium and tritium.
For the first three minutes, a
substantial amount of neutrons was
converted into helium-4 nuclei, before
their decay. Helium then combined to
other nuclei to form heavier ones
such as lithium-7 and beryllium-7.
Lithium-7 was synthesized from
helium-4 and tritium.
Beryllium-7 was produced from
helium-3 and helium-4.
Among the light elements formed,
deuterium, helium-3, helium-4, and
lithium-7 were stable. Beryllium-7 was
unstable and decayed spontaneously
to lithium-7.
How are elements heavier than
beryllium formed?
Summary

• Pieces of evidence that support the big bang

theory are redshift, cosmic microwave
background radiation, and abundance of light
elements.
• Big bang nucleosynthesis is the process of
light element formation.
• The light elements that formed after the big
bang were helium, deuterium, and trace
amounts of lithium and beryllium.
• Deuterium, helium-3, helium-4, and lithium-
7 were stable. On the other hand, beryllium-
7 was unstable and decayed spontaneously
to lithium-7.