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C. M. Oliveira (Johns Hopkins University)
We use data obtained with FUSE and HST to probe the abundance of deuterium in the local interstellar medium. The abundance of deuterium, relative to hydrogen, in the local interstellar medium provides a lower limit to the primordial abundance of deuterium, which is a key figure in testing the predictions of the standard big bang nucleosynthesis theory. In addition, measurements of the abundance of deuterium in the local interstellar medium are an important consistency check to test chemical evolution codes and their underlying assumptions.
We present an analysis of six lines of sight probing different regions of the local interstellar medium, with varying amounts of molecular hydrogen. We compute the ratios, whenever possible, of D I/H I, N I/H I, O I/H I, D I/N I, D I/O I, and O I/N I. We find that our results are in agreement with previously published results, derived with FUSE data, probing similar lines of sight. Using the results derived in this work together with previously published FUSE ratios for the local interstellar medium we compute revised FUSE mean ratios.
This work is based on data obtained for the Guaranteed Time Team by the NASA-CNES-CSA FUSE mission operated by The Johns Hopkins University. Financial support for this work has been provided in part by NASA contract NAS5-32985 to Johns Hopkins University.
The author(s) of this abstract have provided an email address for comments about the abstract: oliveira@pha.jhu.edu
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Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 35#5
© 2003. The American Astronomical Soceity.