The solar oxygen abundance from an empirical three-dimensional model

Socas-Navarro, H.
Bibliographical reference

Astronomy and Astrophysics, Volume 577, id.A25, 8 pp.

Advertised on:
5
2015
Number of authors
1
IAC number of authors
1
Citations
14
Refereed citations
11
Description
The oxygen abundance in the solar photosphere, and consequently the solar metallicity itself, is still a controversial question with far-reaching implications in many areas of astrophysics. This paper presents a new determination obtained by fitting the forbidden O i line at 6300 Å with an observational 3D model. The approach presented here is novel because previous determinations were based either on 1D empirical stratifications or on 3D theoretical models. The resulting best-fit abundances are log ɛ(O) = 8.90 and log ɛ(Ni) = 6.15. Nevertheless, by introducing minor tweaks in the model and the procedure, it is possible to retrieve very different values, even down to log ɛ(O) = 8.70. This extreme sensitivity of the abundance to possible systematic effects is not specific to this particular work, but probably reflects the real uncertainty inherent to all abundance determinations based on a prescribed model atmosphere. As with the earlier version, the new 3D model is publicly available and may be downloaded from the CDS via anonymous ftp to http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (ftp://130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/qcat?J/A+A/577/A25
Related projects
Project Image
Magnetism, Polarization and Radiative Transfer in Astrophysics

Magnetic fields pervade all astrophysical plasmas and govern most of the variability in the Universe at intermediate time scales. They are present in stars across the whole Hertzsprung-Russell diagram, in galaxies, and even perhaps in the intergalactic medium. Polarized light provides the most reliable source of information at our disposal for the

Tanausú del
Pino Alemán