I have just obtained an initial estimate of the solar Na abundance based on my thermal equilibrium model (see my website http://www.thewhightstuff.co.uk and previous posts to the BAA). The method doesn’t use a conventional “curve of growth” approach rather it calculates photon capture cross-sections from the equlibrium functions (Planck and Boltzmann) and atomic Einstein A coefficients.
The results (log10(Na/H)+12) come out considerably higher than conventionally accepted i.e. 7 to 8 (There is some doubt on the normalisation of the data I am using – see the Forum post “request for data”) rather than a value around 6. However I understand there is still some controversy over stellar chemical abundances and there is a News article on the Astronomy Now website titled “The Lithium Problem” in which conventional estimates of the Lithium concentration in low metallicity stars are a factor of 20 or more below that predicted by Big Bang theory. So there is the possibility that the conventional method systematically underestimates abundances, alternatively I could have got something wrong!
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This topic was modified 2 days, 13 hours ago by
Ken Whight.
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This topic was modified 2 days, 12 hours ago by
Ken Whight.