Provocative Questions for the Deuterium Session.

Analyses of spectra obtained with the Far Ultraviolet Spectrograph Explorer (FUSE) satellite, together with spectra from the Copernicus, Hubble Space Telescope (HST), and Interstellar Medium Absorption Profile Spectrograph (IMAPS) instruments reveal a very wide range in the observed deuterium/hydrogen (D/H) ratios for interstellar gas in the Galactic disk beyond the Local Bubble. For gas located beyond the Local Bubble but within several hundred parsecs, the observed D/H ratios differ by a factor of 4–5. A critically important question is what value or values of D/H in the local region of our Galaxy should be compared with chemical evolution models of the Galaxy and with the primordial deuterium abundance. Linsky et al. [Astrophys. J. 647, 1106 (2006)] argued that spatial variations in the depletion of deuterium onto dust grains can explain these local variations in the observed gas-phase D/H ratios. In this provacative introduction to the deuterium session, I ask six questions concerning analysis techniques and proposed results from the FUSE D/H program in the hope that the speakers and participants in this conference will give serious thought to the robustness of our present understanding of this important topic. In particular, is the deuterium depletion model valid? Is it only part of the explanation? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]