Comment on "Deep mixing of 3He: reconciling Big Bang and stellar nucleosynthesis".
Eggleton et al. (Reports, 8 December 2006, p. 1580) reported on a deep-mixing mechanism in low-mass stars caused by a Rayleigh-Taylor instability that destroys all of the helium isotope 3He produced during the star's lifetime. Observations of 3He in planetary nebulae, however, indicate that some stars produce prodigious amounts of 3He. This is inconsistent with the claim that all low-mass stars should destroy 3He.
Balser
Dana S
DS
National Radio Astronomy Observatory, 520 Edgemont Road, Charlottesville, VA 22903-2475, USA. dbalser@nrao.edu
Rood
Robert T
RT
Bania
T M
TM