We use data obtained with the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE)
to determine the interstellar abundances of DI, NI, OI, FeII, and H2 along the
sigh tlines to WD1034+001, BD+393226, and TD132709. Our main focus is on
determining the D/H, N/H, O/H, and D/O ratios along these sightlines, with log
N(H) > 20.0, that probe gas well outside of the Local Bubble. Hubble Space
Telescope (HST) and International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) archival data are
used to determine the HI column densities along the WD1034+001 and TD132709
sightlines, respectively. For BD+393226, a previously published N(HI) is used.
We find (D/H)x10^5 = 2.14 + 0.53 - 0.45, 1.17 + 0.31 - 0.25, and 1.86 + 0.53 -
0.43, and (D/O)x10^2 = 6.31 + 1.79 - 1.38, 5.62 + 1.61 - 1.31, and 7.59 + 2.17
- 1.76, for the WD1034+001, BD+393226, and TD132709 sightlines, respectively
(all 1 si gma). The scatter in these three D/H ratios exemplifies the scatter
that has been found by other authors for sightlines with column densities in
the range 19.2 < log N(H) < 20.7. The D/H ratio toward WD1034+001 and all the
D/O ratios derived here are inconsistent with the Local Bubble value and are
some of the highest in the literature. We discuss the implications of our
measurements for the determination of the present-epoch abundance of deuterium,
and for the different scenarios that try to explain the D/H variations. We
present a study of D/H as a function of the average sightline gas density,
using the ratios derived in this work as well as ratios from the literature,
which suggests that D/H decreases with increasing gas volume density. Similar
behaviors by other elements such Fe and Si have been interpreted as the result
of depletion into dust grains.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Ap
