Primordial Deuterium Abundance and Cosmic Baryon Density

Abstract

The comparison of cosmic abundances of the light elements with the density of baryonic stars and gas in the universe today provides a critical test of big bang theory and a powerful probe of the nature of dark matter. A new technique allows determination of cosmic deuterium abundances in quasar absorption clouds at large redshift, allowing a new test of big bang homogeneity in diverse, very distant systems. The first results of these studies are summarized, along with their implications. The quasar data are confronted with the apparently contradictory story from the helium-3 abundances measured in our Galaxy. The density of baryonic stars and gas in the universe today is reviewed and compared with the big bang prediction.