The solar chemical composition is an important ingredient in our understanding of the formation, structure, and evolution of both the Sun and our Solar System. Furthermore, it is an essential refer ...

The Chemical Composition of the Sun

Data from the Global Oscillation Network Group (GONG) project and other helioseismic experiments provide a test for models of stellar interiors and for the thermodynamic and radiative properties, on which the models depend, of matter under the extreme conditions found in the sun. Current models are in agreement with the helioseismic inferences, which suggests, for example, that the disagreement between the predicted and observed fluxes of neutrinos from the sun is not caused by errors in the models. However, the GONG data reveal subtle errors in the models, such as an excess in sound speed just beneath the convection zone. These discrepancies indicate effects that have so far not been correctly accounted for; for example, it is plausible that the sound-speed differences reflect weak mixing in stellar interiors, of potential importance to the overall evolution of stars and ultimately to estimates of the age of the galaxy based on stellar evolution calculations.

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/272/5266/1286.full.pdf

The Current State of Solar Modeling

Neutron Stars 1: Equation of State and Structure

We are in the process of updating and extending the OPAL equation-of-state (EOS) and opacity data to include low-mass stars. The EOS part of that effort now is complete, and the results are described herein. The new data cover main-sequence stars having mass � 0.1 M� . As a result of the more extreme matter conditions encountered with low-mass stars, we have added new physics. The electrons are now treated as relativistic, and we have improved our treatment of molecules. We also consider the implications of the new results for helioseismology.

http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1086/341894/pdf

Updated and Expanded OPAL Equation-of-State Tables: Implications for Helioseismology

The solar photospheric oxygen abundance has been determined from (O I), O I, OH vibration-rotation and OH pure rotation lines by means of a realistic time-dependent, 3D, hydrodynamical model of the solar atmosphere. In the case of the O I lines, 3D non-LTE calculations have been performed, revealing significant departures from LTE as a result of photon loss es in the lines. We derive a solar oxygen abundance of log ǫO = 8.66 ± 0.05. All oxygen diagnostics yield highly consistent abundances, in sharp contrast with the results of classical 1D model atmospheres. This low value is in good agreement with measurements of the local interstellar medium and nearby B stars. This low abundance is also supported by the excellent correspondence between lines of very different line formation sensitivities, and between the observed and predicted line shapes and center-to-limb variations. Together with the corresponding down-ward revisions of the solar carbon, nitrogen and neon abundances, the resulting significant decrease in solar met al mass fraction to Z = 0.0126 can, however, potentially spoil the impressive agreement between predicted and observed sound speed in the solar interior determined from helioseismology.

/pdf/line-formation-in-solar-granulation-iv-o-i-o-i-and-oh-lines-g96vn8w33d.pdf

Line formation in solar granulation IV. (O I), O I and OH lines and the photospheric O abundance

A free-energy-minimization method for computing the dissociation and ionization equilibrium of a multicomponent gas is discussed. The adopted free energy includes terms representing the translational free energy of atoms, ions, and molecules; the internal free energy of particles with excited states; the free energy of a partially degenerate electron gas; and the configurational free energy from shielded Coulomb interactions among charged particles. Internal partition functions are truncated using an occupation probability formalism that accounts for perturbations of bound states by both neutral and charged perturbers. The entire theory is analytical and differentiable to all orders, so it is possible to write explicit analytical formulas for all derivatives required in a Newton-Raphson iteration; these are presented to facilitate future work. Some representative results for both Saha and free-energy-minimization equilibria are presented for a hydrogen-helium plasma with N(He)/N(H) = 0.10. These illustrate nicely the phenomena of pressure dissociation and ionization, and also demonstrate vividly the importance of choosing a reliable cutoff procedure for internal partition functions.

Werner Dappen

Papers

The equation of state for stellar envelopes. II - Algorithm and selected results