Cosmology and the origin of nuclei

Abstract

The problem of explaining the origin of all the chemical elements found in the universe is a central problem in astrophysics. In the 1940s Fred Hoyle suggested that they were cooked inside stars, starting with nucleosynthesis of neutrons and protons. In the same decade George Gamow argued that in a hot big bang universe in the first few minutes, the ambient conditions were suitable for formation of nuclei. This paper will review the progress of both these ideas and show that a reasonable compromise between these ideas can be found today.