New Keck Spectra of Q0014+813: annulling the case for high deuterium abundances
| dc.creator | Tytler, David | |
| dc.creator | Burles, Scott | |
| dc.creator | Kirkman, David | |
| dc.date | 1996-12-12 | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2026-07-07T02:22:33Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2026-07-07T02:22:33Z | |
| dc.description | 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 high D/H ratio, since the others are more ambiguous and admit a wide range of D/H including zero. We present new high-resolution spectra with higher quality than those published. Deuterium has been reported in two Lyman limit systems (\zabs = 3.32, 2.80) along the line of sight. In both we find that the absorption is readily explained by H alone and that deuterium absorption is neither required nor suggested by the spectra. The three previous models with high D/H values (D/H $\approx 20 \times 10^{-5}$) are not compatible with the new data, and in some cases the differences are surprisingly large. Since the spectrum is compatible with all values of D/H from zero up to large upper limits, neither absorption system can be used to measure D/H, and previously cited values should be disregarded. There is now no case in which a high value of D/H has been established, and all data are compatible with low D/H. Deuterium has been seen and measured in only two QSOs (Q1937--1009 and Q1009+2956), both of which give low D/H. Several other QSOs give upper limits which are about ten times less sensitive. | |
| dc.description | 25 pages, 6 Figures, also available at http://nately.ucsd.edu/ ; submitted to the Astrophysical Journal | |
| dc.identifier | https://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/9612121 | |
| dc.identifier | http://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/9612121 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://salesiana.dossiersoluciones.com/handle/123456789/10916 | |
| dc.subject | Astrophysics | |
| dc.title | New Keck Spectra of Q0014+813: annulling the case for high deuterium abundances | |
| dc.type | text |