An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics
English-French-Persian

The first heavy → isotope of → hydrogen (²H), the → nucleus of which consists of one → proton and one → neutron. Like hydrogen, the deuterium atom has one electron, and therefore has similar chemical properties to hydrogen, forming, e.g., → heavy water (HDO). Deuterium is generated only during → Big Bang nucleosynthesis. It is destroyed in stars through the reaction D + p → ³He + γ (→ deuterium burning). As there is no net source of deuterium in stars, its abundance has decreased steadily since the → Big Bang, and any value measured today must be a lower limit on the primordial value. However, → fractionation processes lead to local → deuterium enhancements; see → deuterium abundance for more details. Theoretical models of Big Bang nucleosynthesis predict D/H to be (2.61 ± 0.15) x 10^-5 (Steigman et al. 2007, MNRAS 378, 576) and this is closely matched by measurements from intergalactic Dα line absorption observations toward high-redshift quasars that give 2.53±0.04 x 10^-5 (Cooke et al. 2014, ApJ 781, 31).
See also: → deuterated, → deuterated species, → deuterium enrichment, → deuterium enrichment factor, → deuterium fractionation, → deuteron.

From Gk. deutero-, combining form of deuterios "second" + -ium suffix occurring in scientific coinages on a Latin model. Coined in 1933 by U.S. chemist Harold C. Urey (1893-1981).

The number of → deuterium (D) atoms with respect to → hydrogen (H) in an astrophysical object. Deuterium is a primordial product of → Big Bang nucleosynthesis. According to theoretical models, the primordial D/H ratio is estimated to be (2.61 ± 0.15) x 10^-5 (Steigman et al. 2007, MNRAS 378, 576). Nuclear reactions in stars convert D into He tending to a lower D/H ratio in the → interstellar medium over time (→ deuterium burning). However, chemical and physical → fractionation processes can produce local → enhancements in the D/H ratio. For example, low-temperature ion-molecule reactions in → molecular cloud cores can enhance the D/H ratio in icy grains by as much as two orders of magnitude above that observed in the interstellar medium.
The D/H ratio in the → solar nebula, estimated from observations of CH₄ in → Jupiter and → Saturn, is 2.1 ± 0.4 x 10^-5, assuming that these gaseous planets obtained most of their hydrogen directly from solar nebula gas. This estimate is consistent with → protosolar D/H value inferred from the → solar wind implanted into lunar soils. Moreover, the D/H ratio derived from the interstellar Dα line (which is displaced from the → Lyman alpha line of ¹H at 1216 Å by -0.33 Å) is 1.6 x 10^-5 (Linsky et al. 1995, ApJ 451, 335).
High D/H ratios (relative to Earth's water) are measured spectroscopically from water in three comets (all from the → Oort cloud): → Halley (3.2 ± 0.1 x 10^-4), → Hyakutake (2.9 ± 1.0 x 10^-4), and → Hale-Bopp (3.3 ± 0.8 x 10^-4). These are all about twice the D/H ratio for terrestrial water (1.49 x 10^-4) and about 15 times the value for the above-mentioned solar nebula gas. Note that → carbonaceous chondrites have the highest water abundance of all → meteorites. Their D/H ratios range from 1.20 x 10^-4 to 3.2 x10^-4 with a case at (7.3 ± 1.2) x10^-4.
Different authors interpret the high comet ratios in very different ways. Some consider the high D/H ratio as evidence against a cometary origin of most of the terrestrial water. Others, on the contrary, argue that comets are the main reservoir of deuterium-rich water that raised the terrestrial D/H a factor of six above the protosolar value.
For more details see "Sources of Terrestrial and Martian Water" by Campins, H. and Drake, M. (2010) in "Water & life: the unique properties of H20" Eds. R. Lynden-Bell et al. CRC Press, pp. 221- 234.

→ deuterium; → abundance.

The fusion of a deuterium nucleus with a proton which produces the lightest isotope of helium: D + H → ³He + γ. Deuterium burning occurs in stellar cores at a temperature exceeding 10⁶ K. The onset of deuterium burning marks the end of the → protostellar collapse. It is the only → nuclear reaction that occurs in → brown dwarfs. In normal stars, it is the second step in the → proton-proton chain which leads to the formation of ⁴He, allowing stars to arrive on the → main sequence.

→ deuterium; → burning.

The → enrichment of deuterium (D) with respect to → hydrogen (H) in → Solar System molecules when compared with the D/H ratio in the → interstellar → solar nebula. H-bearing molecules in → comets, → planets, and → chondrite  → meteorites show a systematic D enrichment relative to the → molecular hydrogen of the solar nebula. Because there is no nuclear source for D in the Universe, the observed → isotopic enrichment must have its origin in chemical reactions having faster reaction rates for D than for H. In the Solar nebula the → isotopic fractionation of D between → water and H followed the reversible reaction:
H₂O + HD ⇔ HDO + H₂.
At low temperatures, this reaction favors the concentration of D in HDO. In the → interstellar medium grain chemistry plays a crucial role in D enrichment. See also → enrichment factor.
Apart from → deuterium fractionation, D could be enriched through another mechanism. Since molecular hydrogen (H₂) is more → volatile than molecular deuterium (D₂), D/H ratio could increase in certain planets that orbit near their star.

→ deuterium; → enrichment.

The ratio between the D/H value in → water and in → molecular hydrogen, as expressed by:
f = [(1/2)HDO/H₂O]/[(1/2)HD/H₂] = (D/H)_H2O/(D/H)_H2.
When f> 1, there is → deuterium enrichment.

→ deuterium; → enrichment; → factor.

The difference between the deuterium (D)/hydrogen (H) → abundance → ratio in an object with respect to that representing a standard or mean value for that type of objects. Same as → isotope fractionation of deuterium. In the gas phase chemistry many of the D fractionation reactions produce an excess of D atoms relative to → hydrogen atoms. Deuterium fractionation in → interstellar cloud cores, → protostars, and → Solar System bodies is frequently used to infer important aspects of their physical and chemical histories. For example, the → deuterium enhancement in the Earth's sea water, with respect to the cosmic abundance, has been interpreted as being due to → enrichment by → comet-like → planetesimals colliding with the young Earth.

→ deuterium; → fractionation.