IS THE SUN LIGHTER THAN THE EARTH? ISOTOPIC CO IN THE PHOTOSPHERE, VIEWED THROUGH THE LENS OF THREE-DIMENSIONAL SPECTRUM SYNTHESIS
- Center for Astrophysics and Space Astronomy, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309 (United States)
- Department of Earth and Space Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, CA (United States)
- Zentrum fuer Astronomie der Universitaet Heidelberg, Heidelberg (Germany)
We consider the formation of solar infrared (2-6 {mu}m) rovibrational bands of carbon monoxide (CO) in CO5BOLD 3D convection models, with the aim of refining abundances of the heavy isotopes of carbon ({sup 13}C) and oxygen ({sup 18}O, {sup 17}O), to compare with direct capture measurements of solar wind light ions by the Genesis Discovery Mission. We find that previous, mainly 1D, analyses were systematically biased toward lower isotopic ratios (e.g., R {sub 23} {identical_to} {sup 12}C/{sup 13}C), suggesting an isotopically 'heavy' Sun contrary to accepted fractionation processes that were thought to have operated in the primitive solar nebula. The new 3D ratios for {sup 13}C and {sup 18}O are R {sub 23} = 91.4 {+-} 1.3 (R {sub Circled-Plus} = 89.2) and R {sub 68} = 511 {+-} 10 (R {sub Circled-Plus} = 499), where the uncertainties are 1{sigma} and 'optimistic'. We also obtained R {sub 67} = 2738 {+-} 118 (R {sub Circled-Plus} = 2632), but we caution that the observed {sup 12}C{sup 17}O features are extremely weak. The new solar ratios for the oxygen isotopes fall between the terrestrial values and those reported by Genesis (R {sub 68} = 530, R {sub 67} = 2798), although including both within 2{sigma} error flags, and go in the direction favoring recent theories for the oxygen isotope composition of Ca-Al inclusions in primitive meteorites. While not a major focus of this work, we derive an oxygen abundance, {epsilon}{sub O} {approx} 603 {+-} 9 ppm (relative to hydrogen; log {epsilon} {approx} 8.78 on the H = 12 scale). The fact that the Sun is likely lighter than the Earth, isotopically speaking, removes the necessity of invoking exotic fractionation processes during the early construction of the inner solar system.
- OSTI ID:
- 22167626
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 765, Issue 1; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0004-637X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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