What is the deuterium bottleneck?
A)Deuterium had to form before helium could form, but deuterium is easily destroyed, thus preventing the formation of helium.
B)Deuterium absorbs neutrons efficiently, thus producing heavier and heavier isotopes of hydrogen instead of heavier elements such as helium.
C)Deuterium had to form before helium could form, but deuterium is almost impossible to create, thus preventing the formation of helium.
D)Helium is used up in the formation of deuterium. However, deuterium is difficult to create, thus leaving us with large amounts of helium.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The deuterium bottleneck refers to the fact that deuterium had to form before helium could form in the early universe, but deuterium is easily destroyed, which slows down the formation of helium. This bottleneck ultimately resulted in a low abundance of helium in the universe compared to what would have been expected based on the amount of hydrogen present.

What Is the Deuterium Bottleneck