= Primordial deuterium as a baryon-density indicator
For the standard <Big Bang nucleosynthesis> parameter branch, a larger <baryon-to-photon ratio> increases the efficiency of nuclear reactions burning <deuterium> into heavier nuclei, reducing residual primordial D/H. Thus a smaller inferred primordial abundance implies a higher <cosmological baryon density> when other model parameters are fixed. <Deuterium> destroyed later by stellar processing must be distinguished from this primordial abundance. Coupling the inference to the <cluster baryon-fraction estimate of matter density> raises $\Omega_m$ at fixed cluster baryon fraction.
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