The Solar Photospheric Nitrogen Abundance: Determination with 3D and 1D Model Atmospheres

TL;DR

This paper determines the solar nitrogen abundance using advanced 3D hydrodynamical models, accounting for non-LTE and granulation effects, resulting in a refined abundance estimate of A(N) = 7.86 +/- 0.12.

Contribution

It introduces a new solar nitrogen abundance measurement using physically motivated 3D models and compares effects of non-LTE and granulation on the results.

Findings

Solar nitrogen abundance is A(N) = 7.86 +/- 0.12.

3D hydrodynamical models improve abundance accuracy.

Non-LTE and granulation effects significantly influence abundance estimates.

Abstract

We present a new determination of the solar nitrogen abundance making use of 3D hydrodynamical modelling of the solar photosphere, which is more physically motivated than traditional static 1D models. We selected suitable atomic spectral lines, relying on equivalent width measurements already existing in the literature. For atmospheric modelling we used the co 5 bold 3D radiation hydrodynamics code. We investigated the influence of both deviations from local thermodynamic equilibrium (non-LTE effects) and photospheric inhomogeneities (granulation effects) on the resulting abundance. We also compared several atlases of solar flux and centre-disc intensity presently available. As a result of our analysis, the photospheric solar nitrogen abundance is A(N) = 7.86 +/- 0.12.