Serendipitous discovery of the faint solar twin Inti 1

TL;DR

This paper reports the discovery and detailed analysis of Inti 1, a faint solar twin, comparing its atmospheric parameters and chemical abundances to the Sun and a known solar twin, revealing similarities and minor differences.

Contribution

It presents the first detailed chemical and physical characterization of the faint solar twin Inti 1, expanding the sample of solar twins to fainter magnitudes and exploring their abundance patterns.

Findings

Inti 1 is a faint solar twin with similar age and mass to the Sun.

Inti 1's abundance pattern is close to solar, with slight refractory enhancement.

Inti 1 can serve as a calibration standard for photometric systems.

Abstract

Methods. We determine the atmospheric parameters and differential abundances using high-resolution ($R \approx 50 000$), high signal-to-noise (S/N $\approx$ 110 - 240 per pixel) Keck HIRES spectra for our solar twin candidate, the previously known solar twin HD 45184, and the Sun. Results. For the bright solar twin HD 45184, we found $T_{\rm{eff}} = 5864 \pm 9$ K, log $g = 4.45 \pm 0.03$ dex, $v_{t} = 1.11 \pm 0.02$ $\rm{km\ {s}}^{-1}$, and [Fe/H]$ = 0.04 \pm 0.01$ dex, which are in good agreement with previous works. The star Inti 1 has atmospheric parameters $T_{\rm{eff}} = 5837 \pm 11$ K, log $g = 4.42 \pm 0.03$ dex, $v_{t} = 1.04 \pm 0.02$ $\rm{km\ {s}}^{-1}$, and [Fe/H]$ = 0.07 \pm 0.01$ dex that are higher than solar. The age and mass of the solar twin HD 45184 (3 Gyr and 1.05 $\rm{M_{\odot}}$) and the faint solar twin Inti 1 (4 Gyr and 1.04 $\rm{M_{\odot}}$) were estimated using isochrones. The differential analysis shows that HD 45184 presents an abundance pattern that is similar to typical nearby solar twins; this means this star has an enhanced refractory relative to volatile elements, while Inti 1 has an abundance pattern closer to solar, albeit somewhat enhanced in refractories. The abundance pattern of HD 45184 and Inti 1 could be reproduced by adding $\approx 3.5\ \rm{M_{\oplus}}$ and $\approx 1.5\ \rm{M_{\oplus}}$ of Earth-like material to the convective zone of the Sun. Conclusions. The star Inti 1 is a faint solar twin, therefore, it could be used to calibrate the zero points of different photometric systems. The distant solar twin Inti 1 has an abundance pattern similar to the Sun with only a minor enhancement in the refractory elements. It would be important to analyze other distant solar twins to verify whether they share the Sun's abundance pattern or if they are enhanced in refractories, as is the case in the majority of nearby solar twins.