A new approach to systematic uncertainties and self-consistency in helium abundance determinations

Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics

Volumn 2010, Issue 5, 2010, Pages

  Aver, Erik ^a   Olive, Keith A ^b   Skillman, Evan D ^a  

^a University of Minnesota ^*  (United States)

^b UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA   (United States)

Author keywords

Big bang nucleosynthesis; Dwarfs galaxies

Indexed keywords

EID: 77952814489     PISSN: 14757516     EISSN: 14757516     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1088/1475-7516/2010/05/003     Document Type: Article

References (69)

1. T.P. Walker, G. Steigman, D.N. Schramm, K.A. Olive and H.-S. Kang, 1991 Primordial nucleosynthesis redux, Astrophys. J. 376 51
2. K.A. Olive, G. Steigman and T.P. Walker, 2000 Primordial nucleosynthesis: theory and observations, Phys. Rept. 333 389 [astro-ph/9905320]
3. Particle Data Group collaboration, C. Amsler et al., 2008 Review of particle physics, Phys. Lett. B 667 1
4. WMAP collaboration, E. Komatsu et al., 2009 Five-year Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) observations: cosmological interpretation, Astrophys. J. Suppl. 180 330 [0803.0547]
5. R.H. Cyburt, B.D. Fields and K.A. Olive, 2002 Primordial nucleosynthesis with CMB inputs: probing the early universe and light element astrophysics, Astropart. Phys. 17 87 [astro-ph/0105397]
6. R.H. Cyburt, B.D. Fields and K.A. Olive, 2003 Primordial nucleosynthesis in light of WMAP, Phys. Lett. B 567 227 [astro-ph/0302431]
7. R.H. Cyburt, B.D. Fields and K.A. Olive, 2001 The NACRE thermonuclear reaction compilation and big bang nucleosynthesis, New Astron. 6 215 [astro-ph/0102179]
8. A. Coc, E. Vangioni-Flam, M. Cassé and M. Rabiet, 2002 Constraints on Ω b from nucleosynthesis of Li-7 in the standard big bang model, Phys. Rev. D 65 043510 [astro-ph/0111077]
9. A. Coc, E. Vangioni-Flam, P. Descouvemont, A. Adahchour and C. Angulo, 2004 Updated big bang nucleosynthesis confronted to WMAP observations and to the abundance of light elements, Astrophys. J. 600 544 [astro-ph/0309480]
10. R.H. Cyburt, 2004 Primordial nucleosynthesis for the new cosmology: determining uncertainties and examining concordance, Phys. Rev. D 70 023505 [astro-ph/0401091]
11. P. Descouvemont, A. Adahchour, C. Angulo, A. Coc and E. Vangioni-Flam, 2004 Compilation and R-matrix analysis of big bang nuclear reaction rates, Atom. Data Nucl. Data Tabl. 88 203 [astro-ph/0407101]
12. A. Cuoco et al., 2004 Present status of primordial nucleosynthesis after WMAP: results from a new BBN code, Int. J. Mod. Phys. A 19 4431 [astro-ph/0307213]
13. P.D. Serpico, S. Esposito, F. Iocco, G. Mangano, G. Miele and O. Pisanti, 2004 Nuclear reaction network for primordial nucleosynthesis: a detailed analysis of rates, uncertainties and light nuclei yields J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys. JCAP12(2004)010 [astro-ph/0408076]
14. R.H. Cyburt, B.D. Fields and K.A. Olive, 2008 A bitter pill: the primordial lithium problem worsens J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys. JCAP11(2008)012 [0808.2818]
15. R.A. Malaney and G.J. Mathews, 1993 Probing the early universe: a review of primordial nucleosynthesis beyond the standard big bang, Phys. Rept. 229 145
16. S. Sarkar, 1996 Big bang nucleosynthesis and physics beyond the standard model, Rept. Prog. Phys. 59 1493 [hep-ph/9602260].
17. 4He, Astropart. Phys. 23 313 [astro-ph/0408033]
18. D. Kirkman, D. Tytler, N. Suzuki, J.M. O'Meara and D. Lubin, 2003 The cosmological baryon density from the deuterium to hydrogen ratio towards QSO absorption systems: D/H towards Q1243+3047, Astrophys. J. Suppl. 149 1 [astro-ph/0302006]
19. 2, Mon. Not. Roy. Astron. Soc. 391 1499 [0805.0594]
20. A. Hosford, S.G. Ryan, A.E. García Pérez, J.E. Norris and K.A. Olive, 2009 Lithium abundances of halo dwarfs based on excitation temperature. I. Local thermodynamic equilibrium, Astron. Astrophys. 493 601
21. M. Peimbert and S. Torres-Peimbert, 1974 Chemical composition of H II regions in the large magellanic cloud and its cosmological implications, Astrophys. J. 193 327
22. Particle Data Group collaboration, C. Amsler et al., 2008 Review of particle physics, Phys. Lett. B 667 1
23. 4He abundance determinations in extragalactic H II regions, New Astron. 6 119
24. K.A. Olive and E.D. Skillman, 2004 A realistic determination of the error on the primordial helium abundance: steps toward non-parametric nebular helium abundances, Astrophys. J. 617 29 [astro-ph/0405588]
25. B.E.J. Pagel, E.A. Simonson, R.J. Terlevich and M.G. Edmunds, 1992 The primordial helium abundance from observations of extragalactic H-II regions Mon. Not. Roy. Astron. Soc. 255 325
26. Y.I. Izotov, T.X. Thuan and V.A. Lipovetsky, 1994 The primordial helium abundance from a new sample of metal-deficient blue compact galaxies, Astrophys. J. 435 647
27. 4He: an update, Astrophys. J. 483 788 [astro-ph/9611166]
28. Y.I. Izotov, T.X. Thuan and V.A. Lipovetsky, 1997 The primordial helium abundance: systematic effects and a new determination, Astrophys. J. Suppl. 108 1
29. 4He revisited, Astrophys. J. 500 188
30. Y.I. Izotov, F.H. Chaffee, C.B. Foltz, R.F. Green, N.G. Guseva and T.X. Thuan, 1999 Helium abundance in the most metal-deficient blue compact galaxies: I ZW 18 and SBS 0335-052, Astrophys. J. 527 757 [astro-ph/9907228]
31. M. Peimbert, A. Peimbert and M.T. Ruiz, 2000 The chemical composition of the small magellanic cloud H II region NGC 346 and the primordial helium abundance, Astrophys. J. 541 688 [astro-ph/0003154]
32. T.X. Thuan and Y.I. Izotov, 2002 The primordial helium-4 abundance determination: systematic effects Space Sci. Rev. 100 263 [astro-ph/0112348]
33. A. Peimbert, M. Peimbert and V. Luridiana, 2002 Temperature bias and the primordial helium abundance determination, Astrophys. J. 565 668 [astro-ph/0107189]
34. V. Luridiana, A. Peimbert, M. Peimbert and M. Cervino, 2003 The effect of collisional enhancement of Balmer lines on the determination of the primordial helium abundance, Astrophys. J. 592 846 [astro-ph/0304152]
35. WMAP collaboration, D.N. Spergel et al., 2003 First year Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) observations: determination of cosmological parameters, Astrophys. J. Suppl. 148 175 [astro-ph/0302209].
36. 4He and dY/dZ from observations of blue compact galaxies, Astrophys. J. 602 200 [astro-ph/0310421]
37. WMAP collaboration, D.N. Spergel et al., 2007 Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) three year results: implications for cosmology, Astrophys. J. Suppl. 170 377 [astro-ph/0603449]
38. 4He: a self-consistent empirical analysis of systematic effects in a large sample of low-metallicity HII regions, Astrophys. J. 662 15 [astro-ph/0702072]
39. M. Peimbert, V. Luridiana and A. Peimbert, 2007 Revised primordial helium abundance based on new atomic data, Astrophys. J. 666 636 [astro-ph/0701580]
40. 4He: evidence for non-standard big bang nucleosynthesis, Astrophys. J. 710 L67 [1001.4440]
41. R.L. Porter, G.J. Ferland and K.B. MacAdam, 2007 He I emission in the orion nebula and implications for primordial helium abundance, Astrophys. J. 657 327 [astro-ph/0611579]
42. K. Davidson and T.D. Kinman, 1985 Primordial helium, spectrophotometric technique, and I Zwicky 18, Astrophys. J. Suppl. 58 321
43. E.D. Skillman and R.C. Kennicutt, 1993 Spatially resolved optical and near-infrared spectroscopy of I ZW 18, Astrophys. J. 411 655
44. G. Stasińska and Y. I. Izotov, Collisional excitation of hydrogen and the determination of the primordial helium abundance from H II regions, [astro-ph/0109253]
45. J.A. Cardelli, G.C. Clayton and J.S. Mathis, 1989 The relationship between infrared, optical and ultraviolet extinction, Astrophys. J. 345 245
46. N.G. Guseva, Y. Izotov and T.X. Thuan, 2006 Balmer and Paschen jump temperature determinations in low-metallicity emission-line galaxies, Astrophys. J. 644 890 [astro-ph/0603134]
47. C. Esteban et al., 2009 Keck HIRES spectroscopy of extragalactic HII regions: C and O abundances from recombination lines, Astrophys. J. 700 654 [0905.2532]
48. R.L. Porter, R.P. Bauman, G.J. Ferland and K.B. MacAdam, 2005 Theoretical He I emissivities in the case B approximation, Astrophys. J. 622 L73 [astro-ph/0502224]
49. G.J. Ferland, K.T. Korista, D.A. Verner, J.W. Ferguson, J.B. Kingdon and E.M. Verner, 1998 CLOUDY 90: numerical simulation of plasmas and their spectra, Publ. Astron. Soc. Pac. 110 761
50. R.A. Benjamin, E. D. Skillman and D.P. Smits, 1999 Improving predictions for helium emission lines, Astrophys. J. 514 307 [astro-ph/9810087]
51. D.G. Hummer and P.J. Storey, 1987 Recombination-line intensities for hydrogenic ions. I - Case B calculations for H I and He II Mon. Not. Roy. Astron. Soc. 224 801
52. H.L. Dinerstein and G.A. Shields, 1986 Reassessing the primordial helium abundance - new observations of NGC 4861 and CG 1116 + 51, Astrophys. J. 311 45
53. Y.I. Izotov and T.X. Thuan, 1998 Reexamining the helium abundance of I ZW 18, Astrophys. J. 497 227
54. E.D. Skillman, E. Terlevich and R. Terlevich, 1998 Toward an understanding of the systematic uncertainties in deriving the primordial helium abundance from H II region observations Space Sci. Rev. 84 105.
55. K.B.W. McQuinn et al., 2009 The true durations of starbursts: HST observations of three nearby dwarf starburst galaxies, Astrophys. J. 695 561 [0901.2361]
56. R.M. Gonzlez Delgado, M. Cervĩo, L. Pires Martins, C. Leitherer and P.H. Hauschildt, 2005 Evolutionary stellar population synthesis at high spectral resolution: optical wavelengths, Mon. Not. Roy. Astron. Soc. 357 945 [astro-ph/0501204]
57. L.P. Martins, R.M. Gonzlez Delgado, C. Leitherer, M. Cervĩo and P. Hauschildt, 2005 A high-resolution stellar library for evolutionary population synthesis, Mon. Not. Roy. Astron. Soc. 358 49 [astro-ph/0501225]
58. H. Anderson, C.P. Ballance, N.R. Badnell and H.P. Summers, 2002 An R-matrix with pseudo-states approach to the electron-impact excitation of H I for diagnostic applications in fusion plasmas, J. Phys. B 35 1613
59. S.M. Viegas, R. Gruenwald and G. Steigman, 2000 Ionization corrections for low-metallicity H II regions and the primordial helium abundance Astrophys. J. 531 813 [astro-ph/9909213]
60. D.R. Ballantyne, G.J. Ferland and P.G. Martin, 2000 The primordial helium abundance: toward understanding and removing the cosmic scatter in the DY/DZ relation, Astrophys. J. 536 773
61. R. Gruenwald, G. Steigman and S.M. Viegas, 2002 The evolution of helium and hydrogen ionization corrections as HII regions age, Astrophys. J. 567 931 [astro-ph/0109071]
62. E.D. Skillman, 1985Spatial variations in the physical conditions in the giant extragalactic H II region NGC 5471, Astrophys. J. 290 449
63. C.J. Hogan, K.A. Olive and S.T. Scully, 1997 A bayesian estimate of the primordial helium abundance, Astrophys. J. 489 L119 [astro-ph/9705107]
64. V. Luridiana et al., 2009 Fluorescent excitation of Balmer lines in gaseous nebulae: case D, Astrophys. J. 691 1712 [0810.5556]
65. R.A. Benjamin, E.D. Skillman and D.P. Smits, 2002 Radiative transfer effects in He I emission lines, Astrophys. J. 569 288 [astro-ph/0202227]
66. M. Peimbert, 1967 Temperature determinations of H II regions, Astrophys. J. 150 825
67. R.L. Porter, G.J. Ferland, K.B. MacAdam and P.J. Storey, 2009 Uncertainties in theoretical HeI emissivities: HII regions, primordial abundance, and cosmological recombination, Mon. Not. Roy. Astron. Soc. 393 L36 [0811.1216]
68. M.J. Seaton, 1979 Interstellar extinction in the UV Mon. Not. Roy. Astron. Soc. 187 73
69. G. Steigman, S.M. Viegas and R. Gruenwald, 1997 Observations of Doppler shifts in a solar polar coronal hole, Astrophys. J. 490 187