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Deuterium Observations in our Galaxy - View A
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 25 May 2016
Abstract
Accurate measurements of the D/H ratio in our Galaxy provide critical tests of Galactic chemical evolution and constrain the primordial value of D/H. Very high quality ultraviolet spectra from the GHRS and STIS instruments on HST have been analyzed for lines of sight toward both early and late-type stars and hot white dwarfs. We will summarize the results that are being obtained for D/H along sightlines through the Local Interstellar Cloud (LIC) and other nearby warm clouds. All sightlines through the LIC are consistent with D/H = (1.53 ± 0.18) × 10−5. Whether or not significantly different values of D/H are present in other clouds within 100 pc of the Sun is not yet settled, but there is evidence that D/H is significantly lower in Orion (500 pc). We will describe the likely sources of systematic errors in determining D/H that must be understood and quantified when analyzing such ultraviolet spectra.
- Type
- 3. Abundances of D, 3He and 4He
- Information
- Symposium - International Astronomical Union , Volume 198: The Light Elements and their Evolution , 2000 , pp. 141 - 150
- Copyright
- Copyright © Astronomical Society of the Pacific 2000
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