| Characterizing the relationship between stars, gas, and metals -elements heavier than helium - is a critical component of understanding the cosmic metal cycle. In this talk I will provide an overview of the chemical make-up and dust content across cosmic times. Early accounting of the total metal budget found an order of magnitude shortfall in the comoving density of observed metals compared with those expected to be produced by the stellar content of the Universe. I will revisit this 20-year old "missing metals problem" and introduce new calculations of the dust content of the Universe up to early times. Together, these results provide an increasingly accurate description of the metal cycle which plays many crucial roles in transforming the bare pristine Universe left after the Big Bang intothe rich and diverse Universe in which we live today. |
