The chemical make-up of the Sun: A 2020 vision

Abstract

The chemical composition of the Sun is a fundamental yardstick in astronomy, relative to which essentially all cosmic objects are referenced. We reassess the solar abundances of all 83 long-lived elements, using highly realistic solar modelling and state-of-the-art spectroscopic analysis techniques coupled with the best available atomic data and observations. Our new improved analysis confirms the relatively low solar abundances of C, N, and O obtained in our previous 3D-based studies: $\log\epsilon_{\text{C}}=8.46\pm0.04$, $\log\epsilon_{\text{N}}=7.83\pm0.07$, and $\log\epsilon_{\text{O}}=8.69\pm0.04$. The revised solar abundances for the other elements also typically agree well with our previously recommended values with just Li, F, Ne, Mg, Cl, Kr, Rb, Rh, Ba, W, Ir, and Pb differing by more than $0.05$ dex. The here advocated present-day photospheric metal mass fraction is only slightly higher than our previous value, mainly due to the revised Ne abundance from Genesis solar wind measurements: $X_{\rm surface}=0.7438\pm0.0054$, $Y_{\rm surface}=0.2423\pm 0.0054$, $Z_{\rm surface}=0.0139\pm 0.0006$, and $Z_{\rm surface}/X_{\rm surface}=0.0187\pm 0.0009$. Overall the solar abundances agree well with those of CI chondritic meteorites but we identify a correlation with condensation temperature such that moderately volatile elements are enhanced by $\approx 0.04$ dex in the CI chondrites and refractory elements possibly depleted by $\approx 0.02$ dex, conflicting with conventional wisdom of the past half-century. Instead the solar chemical composition resembles more closely that of the fine-grained matrix of CM chondrites. The so-called solar modelling problem remains intact with our revised solar abundances, suggesting shortcomings with the computed opacities and/or treatment of mixing below the convection zone in existing standard solar models.