Primordial heavy element production

Abstract

A number of possible mechanisms have been suggested to generate density inhomogeneities in the early Universe which could survive until the onset of primordial nucleosynthesis and generate neutron-rich regions. In this work we are not concerned with how the inhomogeneities were generated but we want to focus on the effect of such inhomogeneities on primordial nucleosynthesis. One of the proposed signatures of inhomogeneity, the synthesis of very heavy elements by neutron capture in a primordial r-process, was analyzed for varying baryon to photon ratios $\eta$ and fluctuation length scales $L$.