Ag I model atom and the 3D non-LTE solar silver abundance
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| Format: | Preprint |
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2026
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| _version_ | 1866911654634061824 |
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| author | Caliskan, Sema Amarsi, Anish M. Jönsson, Per Grevesse, Nicolas Sahoo, Bijaya K. |
| author_facet | Caliskan, Sema Amarsi, Anish M. Jönsson, Per Grevesse, Nicolas Sahoo, Bijaya K. |
| contents | Silver is an important light neutron-capture element whose stellar abundances help constrain the origin of the weak r-process. The Sun is an important reference point for such studies; moreover, being a moderately volatile element in CI chondrites, the solar silver abundance is interesting as a diagnostic for the debated Sun-CI abundance vs. condensation temperature trend. These studies require accurate silver abundances that go beyond the commonly used assumptions of 1D atmospheres and local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE); however, no consistent 3D non-LTE analysis of silver has been available to date. We present a new Ag I model atom built from carefully curated radiative and collisional data, including newly computed oscillator strengths using an ab initio multi-configurational Hartree-Fock method and inelastic hydrogen collision rates based on a combined asymptotic and free-electron model approach. We assess modelling uncertainties via targeted sensitivity tests, finding the results most sensitive to hydrogen collision data. Applying the model to the solar Ag I 328 and 338 nm resonance lines, we find severe positive abundance corrections from coupled 3D and non-LTE effects. Using revised equivalent width measurements, we derive a recommended solar 3D non-LTE silver abundance of 1.15 +/- 0.08. This is an increase of 0.19 dex relative to the current reference value. Our ab initio model significantly reduces the discrepancy with the meteoritic value from 0.25 to 0.06 dex; moreover, this residual offset is consistent with recent results for other moderately volatile elements. The Sun provides the benchmark test for the first Ag I non-LTE model atom presented here. In subsequent work, this model will be applied to determine 3D non-LTE silver abundances in metal-poor dwarfs and giants, enabling improved constraints on Galactic chemical evolution and weak r-process nucleosynthesis. |
| format | Preprint |
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arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2605_05356 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Ag I model atom and the 3D non-LTE solar silver abundance Caliskan, Sema Amarsi, Anish M. Jönsson, Per Grevesse, Nicolas Sahoo, Bijaya K. Solar and Stellar Astrophysics Silver is an important light neutron-capture element whose stellar abundances help constrain the origin of the weak r-process. The Sun is an important reference point for such studies; moreover, being a moderately volatile element in CI chondrites, the solar silver abundance is interesting as a diagnostic for the debated Sun-CI abundance vs. condensation temperature trend. These studies require accurate silver abundances that go beyond the commonly used assumptions of 1D atmospheres and local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE); however, no consistent 3D non-LTE analysis of silver has been available to date. We present a new Ag I model atom built from carefully curated radiative and collisional data, including newly computed oscillator strengths using an ab initio multi-configurational Hartree-Fock method and inelastic hydrogen collision rates based on a combined asymptotic and free-electron model approach. We assess modelling uncertainties via targeted sensitivity tests, finding the results most sensitive to hydrogen collision data. Applying the model to the solar Ag I 328 and 338 nm resonance lines, we find severe positive abundance corrections from coupled 3D and non-LTE effects. Using revised equivalent width measurements, we derive a recommended solar 3D non-LTE silver abundance of 1.15 +/- 0.08. This is an increase of 0.19 dex relative to the current reference value. Our ab initio model significantly reduces the discrepancy with the meteoritic value from 0.25 to 0.06 dex; moreover, this residual offset is consistent with recent results for other moderately volatile elements. The Sun provides the benchmark test for the first Ag I non-LTE model atom presented here. In subsequent work, this model will be applied to determine 3D non-LTE silver abundances in metal-poor dwarfs and giants, enabling improved constraints on Galactic chemical evolution and weak r-process nucleosynthesis. |
| title | Ag I model atom and the 3D non-LTE solar silver abundance |
| topic | Solar and Stellar Astrophysics |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.05356 |