The primordial abundances of Be-9 and B-11 are the most sensitive indicators of the importance of inhomogeneity in the early universe which have not yet been measured. Additionally, their abundances in the oldest stars are a sensitive measure of the star formation and cosmic-ray spallation history of the early Milky Way. Here, the first determination of the abundance of Be-9 in a very metal poor star is reported, showing that such measurements are possible, and opening the way to a new investigation of the structure of the very early universe and the evolution of the early Galaxy. The star HD 140283, which has Fe/H = 2.6, has a beryllium abundance of log (Be-9/H = 12.8 + or - 0.3, a factor of 1000 greater than the primordial value predicted in the standard model of light element nucleosynthesis.
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Gilmore et al. (1991) studied this question.