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5.5.6. Conclusions from D/H from quasars

Most agree that D is providing the most accurate eta value [11], although some have one remaining objection, that there might also be quasar absorbers which show high values of D/H [112], [7].

The D/H from our group (Burles & Tytler [97], [63], [62]), together with over 50 years of theoretical work and laboratory measurements of reaction rates, leads to the following values for cosmological parameters (unlike most errors quoted in this review, which are the usual 1sigma values, the following are quoted with 95% confidence intervals):

If we accept that D/H is the most accurate measure of eta , then observations of the other elements have two main roles. First, they show that the BBN framework is approximately correct. Second, the differences between the observed and predicted primordial abundances teach us about subsequent astrophysical processes. Recent measurements of 4He [1] agree with the predictions. It appears that some 7Li has been destroyed in halo stars [113], and 3He is both created and destroyed in stars.

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