Related papers: Atomic Deuterium/Hydrogen in the Galaxy
We present a detailed analysis of the H_2 and HD absorption lines detected in the Damped Lyman-alpha (DLA) system at z_abs=2.3377 towards the quasar Q1232+082. We show that this intervening cloud has a covering factor smaller than unity and…
Primordial evaluations of the deuterium abundance should provide one of the best tests of Big Bang nucleosynthesis models. Space as well as ground based observations seem however to result in different values. This asks for more…
Pulsar dispersion measures (DMs) have been used to model the electron density of the interstellar medium (ISM) in the Galactic disk as a plane-parallel medium, despite significant scatter in the DM-distance distribution and strong evidence…
Deuterons are the most abundant secondary cosmic ray species in the Galaxy, but their study has been severely limited due to experimental challenges. In an era with new experiments and high-precision measurements in cosmic rays, having a…
We present a measurement of the deuterium to hydrogen ratio in a quasar absorption system at redshift z = 3.57 towards QSO 1937-1009. We use a two component fit, with redshifts determined from unsaturated metal lines, to fit the hydrogen…
We determine the D/H ratio in the interstellar medium toward the DO white dwarf PG0038+199 using spectra from the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE), with ground-based support from Keck HIRES. We employ curve of growth, apparent…
A broad array of interstellar absorption features that appear in the ultraviolet spectra of bright sources allows us to measure the abundances and ionization states of many important heavy elements that exist as free atoms in the…
Mapping stars and gas in nearby galaxies is fundamental for understanding their growth and the impact of their environment. This issue is addressed by comparing the stellar "edges" of galaxies $D_{\rm stellar}$, defined as the outermost…
(Abridged) The water deuterium fractionation (HDO/H$_2$O abundance ratio) has traditionally been used to infer the amount of water brought to Earth by comets. Measuring this ratio in deeply-embedded low-mass protostars makes it possible to…
In our current galaxy formation paradigm, high-redshift galaxies are predominantly fuelled by accretion of cool, metal-poor gas from the intergalactic medium. Hydrodynamical simulations predict that this material should be observable in…
We report the detection of interstellar hydrogen deuteride (HD) toward the supernova remnant IC443, and the tentative detection of HD toward the Herbig Haro objects HH54 and HH7 and the star forming region GGD37 (Cepheus A West). Our…
The ratio of deuterium to hydrogen (D/H ratio) of Solar System bodies is an important clue to their formation histories. Here we fit a Neptunian atmospheric model to Gemini Near Infrared Spectrograph (GNIRS) high spectral resolution…
Much of the interstellar medium in disk galaxies is in the form of neutral atomic hydrogen, H I. This gas can be in thermal equilibrium at relatively low temperatures, T < 300 K (the cold neutral medium, or CNM) or at temperatures somewhat…
The relative abundance of deuterium and hydrogen is a potent tracer of planet formation and evolution. Jupiter and Saturn have protosolar atmospheric D/H ratios, a relic of substantial gas accretion from the nebula, while the atmospheres of…
We report the discovery of deuterium absorption in the very metal-poor ([Fe/H] = -2.88) damped Lyman-alpha system at z_abs = 3.06726 toward the QSO SDSS J1358+6522. On the basis of 13 resolved D I absorption lines and the damping wings of…
Atomic Hydrogen-21 cm transition (HI) is an excellent tracer to study and understand the properties of the atomic gas in the Galaxy. Using the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope (WSRT), we observed 12 quasar sightlines to detect galactic…
Physical conditions within DLAs can reveal the star formation history, determine the chemical composition of the associated ISM, and hence document the first steps in the formation of present day galaxies. Here we present calculations that…
The metallicity and gas density dependence of interstellar depletions, the dust-to-gas (D/G), and dust-to-metal (D/M) ratios have important implications for how accurately we can trace the chemical enrichment of the universe; either by…
The D/H ratio in interstellar gas varies on scales of a few hundred pc in the local Milky Way, with D/H values ranging from ~7 ppm to ~22 ppm. The reduction in D/H relative to the primordial value of D/H (~ 26 ppm) is usually attributed to…
We present a measurement of the D/H abundance ratio in a metal-poor damped Lyman alpha (DLA) system along the sightline of QSO SDSS1558-0031. The DLA system is at redshift z = 2.70262, has a neutral column density of log(NHI)=20.67+/-0.05…