Deuterium Abundance Toward WD2211-495: Results from the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) Mission

We present a deuterium abundance analysis of the line of sight toward the white dwarf WD2211-495 observed with the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE). Numerous interstellar lines are detected on the continuum of the stellar spectrum. A thorough analysis was performed through the simultaneous fit of interstellar absorption lines detected in the four FUSE channels of multiple observations with different slits. We excluded all saturated lines in order to reduce possible systematic errors on the column density measurements. We report the determination of the average interstellar D/O and D/N ratios along this line of sight at the 95% confidence level: D/O = 4.0 +/-1.2 *10^-2; D/N = 4.4 +/-1.3 *10^-1. In conjunction with FUSE observations of other nearby sight lines, the results of this study will allow a deeper understanding of the present-day abundance of deuterium in the local interstellar medium and its evolution with time.