On the Variation of Deuterium and Oxygen Abundances in the Local Interstellar Medium

Abstract

The first observations of deuterium and oxygen in the Local Interstellar Medium (LISM) obtained with the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) can be used to search for local abundance variations. While the very limited sample of these first data may be consistent with no variations, they do offer a hint of anti-correlated variations between D/H and O/H. If confirmed by more data (which will require independently determined, accurate HI column densities), these hints suggest that observations of interstellar gas within a few kpc of the solar neighborhood will reveal clear signs of the evolution of the abundance of deuterium from there and then (the Big Bang), to here and now (the Local Interstellar Medium of the Galaxy).

21 pages, 9 figures, 5 equations, matches final version (minor changes) to appear in ApJ, v586, n2, April 1, 2003

References in corpus (3)

• Optical Recombination Lines of Heavy-elements in Giant Extragalactic HII Regions
• Abundances of Deuterium, Nitrogen, and Oxygen toward HZ 43A: Results from the FUSE Mission
• Interstellar Deuterium, Nitrogen, and Oxygen Abundances Toward BD +28 4211: Results from the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer

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• Theoretical study of deuteronated PAHs as carriers for IR emission features in the ISM
• The D/H Ratio in the Interstellar Medium toward the White Dwarf PG0038+199
• Mid-infrared vibrational study of deuterium-containing PAH variants
• Deuterated Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in the Interstellar Medium: The C--D Band Strengths of Mono-Deuterated Species
• On the deuterium abundance and the importance of stellar mass loss in the interstellar and intergalactic medium
• The Deuterium, Oxygen, and Nitrogen Abundance Toward LSE 44