The prediction that deuterium and helium-3 are produced in cosmological nuclear fusion, together with recent data on their interstellar abundance, have attracted the attention of astrophysicists to models of how these nuclides were produced and destroyed back at the Galaxy’s pre-stellar stage. In particular, the question of whether the observed yields of D and ³He can be employed to pose restrictions on the Standard Model of Big Bang nucleosynthesis is being actively discussed. In this work some aspects of this problem are discussed.

PACS: 95.30.−k, 98.80.−k, 98.80.Ft (all) DOI: 10.1070/pu1999v042n06ABEH000559 URL: https://ufn.ru/en/articles/1999/6/d/ 000081542900004 Citation: Kramarovskii Ya M, Chechev V P "The puzzle of the lightest elements: observations, predictions, hypotheses" Phys. Usp. 42 563 (1999) BibTexBibNote ® (generic)BibNote ® (RIS)MedlineRefWorks Оригинал: Крамаровский Я М, Чечев В П «Загадки самых легких элементов: наблюдения, предсказания, гипотезы» УФН 169 643–652 (1999); DOI: 10.3367/UFNr.0169.199906d.0643