Big-bang Nucleosynthesis ― Thermonuclear History in the Early Universe

The book reviews theories of nucleosynthesis in big-bang cosmology. It introduces the standard model of cosmology, astronuclear reactions, numerical techniques for nucleosynethsis, and describes in detail the theories that go beyond the standard models, enabling readers to grasp the physics of big-bang nucleosynthesis on the basis of cosmology, general relativity and nuclear physics. In addition, the authors provide insights into the theoretical constrains required by observations. As a consequence, readers find out that big-bang nucleosynthesis still has windows opened to another cosmology.

Although the book focuses on highly advanced topics, it is concisely written and mathematical derivations are explained step-by-step, making it accessible to graduate readers. Thus it is a short monograph appealing to a variety of readers interested in nucleosynthesis of big-bang cosmology.

Masa-aki Hashimoto, a professor at the Department of Physics, Kyushu University, is a theorist in astrophysics, focusing on nuclear astronomy, stellar structure and evolution, supernovae, accretion disks, and cosmology. He received his Ph.D. in physics from Waseda University in 1983. He was a research fellow at Waseda University, an educational lecturer at Utsunomiya University, a post-doctoral fellow at Brookhaven National Laboratory, a guest scientist at Max-Plank Institute for Astrophysics, a guest scientist at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique and a research associate at Institute of Computational Fluid Dynamics. He was then appointed as associate professor at the Department of Physics, Kyushu University in 1990, and promoted to his current position in 1999.

Riou Nakamura, a lecturer at Kurume Institute of Technology and National Institute of Technology, Kurume College, is a theoretical astrophysicist, focusing on observational cosmology. He received his Ph.D. in science from the Department of Physics, Kyushu University. After his Ph.D. program, he served as a member of the technical staff at the Graduate School of Science, Kyushu University until 2013. In 2011 and 2013, he was appointed as lecturer at Kurume Institute of Technology, and a lecturer at National Institute of Technology, Kurume College, respectively, and continues these positions. Between 2012 and 2017, he was also a lecturer at Fukuoka International College of Health and Walfare.

E. P. Berni Ann Thushari, a research technician, is a theorist in cosmology. She received her B.Sc. (Hons) in mathematical physics from the University of Kelaniya, and her M.Sc. and Ph.D. in physics from Kyushu University, in 2006, 2009 and 2012, respectively. She was a post-doctoral researcher at the Department of Physics, Kyushu University until 2013, and was appointed to her current position in 2014.

Kenzo Arai, a professor emeritus at the Department of Physics, Kumamoto University, is a theorist in astrophysics, with an interest in cosmology, nuclear astrophysics, black hole physics and accretion disks. He received his Ph.D. in astronomy from Tohoku University in 1973. During his carrier, he was a lecturer and associate professor at the Department of Physics, Kumamoto University, and was appointed as professor at the Department of Physics, Kumamoto University in 1999. From 1979 to 1980, he was also a visiting researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics. He has served in his current position since his retirement in 2011.