The solar photospheric abundance of zirconium

Abstract

Zirconium (Zr), together with strontium and yttrium, is an important element in the understanding of the Galactic nucleosynthesis. In fact, the triad Sr-Y-Zr constitutes the first peak of s-process elements. Despite its general relevance not many studies of the solar abundance of Zr were conducted. We derive the zirconium abundance in the solar photosphere with the same CO5BOLD hydrodynamical model of the solar atmosphere that we previously used to investigate the abundances of C-N-O. We review the zirconium lines available in the observed solar spectra and select a sample of lines to determine the zirconium abundance, considering lines of neutral and singly ionised zirconium. We apply different line profile fitting strategies for a reliable analysis of Zr lines that are blended by lines of other elements. The abundance obtained from lines of neutral zirconium is very uncertain because these lines are commonly blended and weak in the solar spectrum. However, we believe that some lines of ionised zirconium are reliable abundance indicators. Restricting the set to Zr II lines, from the CO5BOLD 3D model atmosphere we derive A(Zr)=2.62+/-0.06, where the quoted error is the RMS line-to-line scatter.

Accepted for publication on Astronomische Nachrichten

References in corpus (4)

• The chemical composition of the Sun
• The forbidden 1082 nm line of sulphur: the photospheric abundance of sulphur in the Sun and 3D effects
• Formation of Zr I and II lines under non-LTE conditions of stellar atmospheres
• The solar photospheric abundance of hafnium and thorium. Results from CO5BOLD 3D hydrodynamic model atmospheres

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