Related papers: Deuterium abundances
An accurate value of the deuterium/hydrogen (D/H) ratio in the local interstellar medium (LISM) and a better understanding of the D/H variations with position in the Galactic disk can provide essential information on the primordial D/H…
We present new upper and lower bounds to the primordial abundances of deuterium and helium-3 based on observational data from the solar system and the interstellar medium. Independent of any model for the primordial production of the…
A very low primordial deuterium abundance of D/H = 1.5 10^{-5} has recently been proposed by Molaro et al. in the Lyman limit system with log(N_HI) = 18.1 cm^{-2} at z_a = 3.514 towards the quasar APM08279+5255. The D/H value was estimated…
A new method, based on simulated annealing technique and aimed at the inverse problem in the analysis of intergalactic or interstellar complex spectra of hydrogen and metal lines, is outlined. We consider the process of line formation in…
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 report a reanalysis of a near-pristine absorption system, located at a redshift z_abs=2.52564 toward the quasar Q1243+307, based on the combination of archival and new data obtained with the HIRES echelle spectrograph on the Keck…
Lyman series absorption features and corresponding metal lines in three high-resolution quasar spectra are fitted in the standard way with thermally broadened discrete redshift components. A candidate sample is assembled, of 10 velocity…
We discuss how measurements of fluctuations in the absorption of cosmic microwave background (CMB) photons by neutral gas during the cosmic dark ages, at redshifts z ~ 7--200, could reveal the primordial deuterium abundance of the Universe.…
Observations of deuterated species are useful in probing the temperature, ionization level, evolutionary stage, chemistry, and thermal history of astrophysical environments. The analysis of data from ALMA and other new telescopes requires…
Accurate measurements of interstellar deuterium abundances along lines of sight extending out to several hundred parsecs by FUSE and other instruments is making D/H a useful tool for understanding Galactic chemical evolution. We find that…
The amount of deuterium relative to hydrogen (D/H) in clouds with close to primordial abundance seen at high redshift in the spectra of distant quasars currently provides the best estimate of the baryonic density of the Universe. The first…
Observations show that the global deuterium-to-hydrogen ratio (D/H) in the local interstellar medium (ISM) is about 90% of the primordial ratio predicted by big bang nucleosynthesis. The high (D/H)$_{ISM}$ implies that only a small fraction…
We present a theoretical study of the deuterated species detectability in various types of extragalactic star-forming regions based on our predictions of chemical abundances. This work is motivated by the past and current attempts at…
We present results from 12 km/s resolution echelle spectroscopy of the bright $z=4.694$ QSO BR1202-0725. A preliminary analysis shows that high metallicity narrow line absorption clouds are present up to the redshift of the quasar. A damped…
The spectrum of quasar 0014+813 was the first in which deuterium was claimed to be observed, at first as a probable detection, and later ``confirmed''. It is important because it is the only case in which there is a serious likelihood of a…
During the next decade a tremendous advance will take place in instrumentation for spectroscopy of the interstellar medium. Major new facilities (ALMA, SOFIA, APEX, LMT, Herschel and others) will be constructed and commissioned, so that the…
We present our measurements of the deuterium to hydrogen ratio (D/H) in QSO absorption systems, which give D/H = 3.40 $\pm 0.25 \times 10^{-5}$ based on analysis of four independent systems. We discuss the properties of two systems which…
Deuterium-to-hydrogen (D/H) enrichments in molecular species provide clues about their original formation environment. The organic materials in primitive solar system bodies have generally higher D/H ratios and show greater D/H variation…
The sun and giant planets are generally thought to have the same helium abundance as that in the solar nebula from which they were formed 4.6 billion years ago. In contrast, the interstellar medium reflects current galactic conditions. The…
Measurements by dust detectors on interplanetary spacecraft appear to indicate a substantial flux of interstellar particles with masses exceeding 10^{-12}gram. The reported abundance of these massive grains cannot be typical of interstellar…