THE BIG BANG

THEORY AND
NUCLEOSYNTHESIS
EARTH SCIENCE LECTURE 2
LEARNING OBJECTIVES

• Give evidence for the Big Bang

• Explain the formation of light elements during the Big Bang
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• NOTE: From time t=0s (the beginning of the Big Bang) many events occur with
extreme rapidity.
• IN THE BEGINNING:
• The entire universe was infinitesimally small and infinitely hot, all matter and
energy compressed into one megadense point.

• The four fundamental forces of the universe were all combined into one force, Supergravity.
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• Starting at time t=0s, the universe began to expand outward rapidly.

• Gravity separated from the rest of the fundamental forces, shortly followed by the Strong
Force.
• This leads to an event known as inflation wherein the universe grows billions and billions
of times larger.
• Over the course of the inflation, the Weak Force and Electromagnetic Force separate
from each other as well.
• At about 1 trillionth of a second after the Big Bang, Matter and Energy start to separate from
one another. This includes Dark Matter and Dark Energy.
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• At about 1 billionth of a second after the Big Bang, the universe was a dense sea of
quarks and other particles.
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• As trillionths of seconds passed, the quarks would undergo Baryogenesis, forming

Protons and Neutrons.
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• At t=0.01s the Protons and Neutrons begin to undergo Nucleosynthesis, forming particles that would
then form into light elements, Hydrogen and Helium
• At t=100s, Electrons and Positrons begin to annihilate one other to create Photons
• For the first 380,000 years, the universe was opaque. Light couldn’t escape the soup of other particles
because everything is still too hot and moving too fast.
• Eventually, the universe cooled enough and gravity slowed everything enough that the Protons,
Neutrons, and other charged particles could capture Electrons, turning them neutral and less energetic.
• This allows photons to move faster than the rest of the matter which then makes the universe transparent
to light and other electromagnetic energy.
• At about 100 million years after the Big Bang, gravity would have slowed matter down enough that
it begins to coalesce which would in turn create the first stars of the universe.
• 13.8 billion years after the Big Bang: the present universe
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVsHjnY-o9s
PROOF OF THE BIG BANG

1. Hubble’s Law
• Galaxies have been observed to be moving from the Earth at speeds that are proportional to their distance.
• Phenomenon discovered in 1929 by Edwin Hubble.
• Supports the expansion of the universe and suggests that it was once compacted.
2. Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) Radiation
• 2.725 degree Kelvin background radiation in the microwave range that pervades ALL of the known universe.
• Phenomenon discovered in 1965 by Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson
• The CMB is the evidence of the theory’s statement that if the universe was extremely hot and extremely small at one point in time,
then there should be evidence of this extreme temperature all across the universe.
3. Abundance of Light Elements
• The sheer volume of light elements, Hydrogen and Helium in the observable universe.
• Supports the model since these are the first elements to form in the high-energy environment during and shortly after the Big Bang.
LIGHT ELEMENT NUCLEOSYNTHESIS

• Forward reaction: formation of Deuterium (Hydrogen isotope) nuclei, aka Deuterons:

• Dueteron binding energy = 2.2MeV

•• Reverse
  reaction: Dissociation of Deuterons:

• Requires 2.2MeV of energy to proceed.

• If the universe were filled with energetic photons then the two reactions would occur at the same rate,
Deuterons being formed as quickly as they dissociated. But the universe cooled enough so that the
reaction could proceed forward.