Implications of a new temperature scale for halo dwarfs on LiBeB and chemical evolution

Preprint
Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) and the cosmic baryon density from cosmic microwave background anisotropies together predict a primordial Li7 abundance a factor of 2--3 higher than that observed in galactic halo dwarf stars. A recent analysis of Li7 observations in halo stars, using significantly higher surface temperature for these stars, found a higher Li plateau abundance. These results go a long way towards resolving the discrepancy with BBN. Here, we examine the implications of the higher surface temperatures on the abundances of Be and B which are thought to have been produced in galactic cosmic-ray nucleosynthesis by spallation of CNO together with Li (produced in alpha + alpha 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 poses a serious challenge to models of galactic cosmic ray nucleosynthesis and galactic chemical evolution.

This publication has 0 references indexed in Scilit: