Possible link between the distribution of atomic spectral lines and the radiation-matter-equilibrium in the early universe

Abstract

We report on the uncanny resemblance of the global distribution of all experimentally known atomic spectral lines to the Planckian spectral distribution associated with black body radiation at a temperature of $T\approx 9000\mathrm{K}$. This value coincides with the critical temperature of equilibrium between the respective densities of radiation and matter in the early universe.