Non-LTE corrections for determinations of europium abundances in F-G-K stars in a broad metallicity range

TL;DR

This paper refines the method for determining europium abundances in F-G-K stars by incorporating non-LTE effects, leading to more accurate and consistent abundance measurements across different spectral lines.

Contribution

The study updates the Eu II model atom with recent collision data and provides publicly available non-LTE correction grids for stellar abundance analysis.

Findings

Abandoning LTE assumptions improves consistency between Eu II lines.

Non-LTE corrections reduce statistical errors in Eu abundance measurements.

Corrections are applicable across a range of stellar parameters for galactic evolution studies.

Abstract

Europium plays a key role in studies of nucleosynthesis in the rapid (r-) process of neutron capture nuclear reactions and the evolution of the r-process element abundances in galaxies. We refine the method for analyzing the Eu~II lines in stellar spectra by updating the Eu~II model atom with recent data on the rate coefficients for inelastic processes in the Eu II + H I collisions. The method was tested by deriving abundances from the Eu~II 4129 A and 6645 A lines in the Sun and five reference stars with well determined atmospheric parameters and high-resolution spectra available. It was shown that abandoning the local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) assumption allows the abundances from the two lines to be matched within the error bars, while the difference in the LTE abundances amounts to -0.09 dex for the Sun and -0.07 dex to -0.18 dex for the metal-poor stars. Accounting for the departures from LTE (non-LTE effects) for Eu~II leads to reducing the statistical errors of the derived stellar Eu abundances. The non-LTE abundance corrections for 11 lines of Eu~II were calculated for a grid of the plane-parallel MARCS model atmospheres with effective temperatures, surface gravities, and metallicities relevant to F-G-K type stars. They are publicly available and can be applied for improving stellar Eu abundances in studies of the galactic chemical evolution.