On the Relative Abundance of the Elements

Abstract

The theory of the neutron capture process for the formation of the elements has been reformulated, taking into account the radioactive decay of neutrons as well as the expansion of the universe. However, the calculations have been carried out for the case of a static universe. Satisfactory agreement between this theory and observed relative abundances has been obtained with the assumption that the density of matter was 5\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}${10}^{\ensuremath{-}9}$ g/${\mathrm{cm}}^{3}$ at the start of the capture process.