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We present a comprehensive evaluation of the current status of the standard theory of primordial nucleosynthesis, determining the 12 nuclear reactions most important for the production of the light elements and conducting a detailed study of their rates and uncertainties; these are incorporated into a Monte Carlo analysis to evaluate uncertainties in the computed elemental abundances. These predicted abundances are compared with primordial abundances deduced from astronomical observations of the light elements D, He-3, He-4, and Li-7; consistent agreement exists over a narrow range of the baryon-to-photon ratio n, thereby supporting the standard theory of big bang nucleosynthesis. This n range corresponds to a constraint on the baryon density parameter of 0.01-0.09, where the primordial D + He-3 abundance sets the lower bound and the He-4 abundance sets the upper bound. The new reaction rates cause an increase in the upper bound from Li-7 by 40 percent over that determined in previous studies.
Smith et al. (Thu,) studied this question.