Primordial Nucleosynthesis and Dark Matter

Abstract

Following a brief introduction to early Universe cosmology, the current of status of big bang nucleosynthesis is reviewed and the concordance between theory and observation is examined in detail. The abundances of He4 and Li7 determine the value of the baryon-to-photon ratio, $η$ to be relatively low, $η\approx 1.8 \times 10^{-10}$, and agrees with some recent measurements of D/H in quasar absorption systems. These results have far reaching consequences for galactic chemical evolution, the amount of baryonic dark matter in the Universe and on the allowed number of degrees of freedom in the early Universe. Finally, motivations for cosmological dark matter will be reviewed with special emphasis placed on supersymmetric candidates.

67 pages, latex, 28 ps figures, Summary of lectures given at the 1997 Lake Louise Winter Institute, Lake Louise, Alberta, February 16-20 1997