The GALAH Survey: Non-LTE departure coefficients for large spectroscopic surveys
A. M. Amarsi, K. Lind, Y. Osorio, T. Nordlander, M. Bergemann, H. Reggiani, E. X. Wang, S. Buder, M. Asplund, P. S. Barklem, A. Wehrhahn, Á. Skúladóttir, C. Kob… 展开作者
A. M. Amarsi, K. Lind, Y. Osorio, T. Nordlander, M. Bergemann, H. Reggiani, E. X. Wang, S. Buder, M. Asplund, P. S. Barklem, A. Wehrhahn, Á. Skúladóttir, C. Kobayashi, A. I. Karakas, X. D. Gao, J. Bland-Hawthorn, G. M. De Silva, J. Kos, G. F. Lewis, S. L. Martell, S. Sharma, J. D. Simpson, D. B. Zucker, K. Čotar, J. Horner, the GALAH collaboration
备注：
19 pages, 25 figures, 2 tables, arXiv abstract abridged; accepted for publication in A&A
Massive sets of stellar spectroscopic observations are rapidly becoming available and these can be used to determine the chemical composition and evolution of the Galaxy with unprecedented precision. One of the major challenges in this endeavour involves constructing realistic models of stellar spectra with which to reliably determine stellar abundances. At present, large stellar surveys commonly use simplified models that assume that the stellar atmospheres are approximately in local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE). To test and ultimately relax this assumption, we have performed non-LTE calculations for $13$ different elements (H, Li, C, N, O, Na, Mg, Al, Si, K, Ca, Mn, and Ba), using recent model atoms that have physically-motivated descriptions for the inelastic collisions with neutral hydrogen, across a grid of $3756$ 1D MARCS model atmospheres that spans $3000\leq T_{\mathrm{eff}}/\mathrm{K}\leq8000$, $-0.5\leq\log{g/\mathrm{cm\,s^{-2}}}\leq5.5$, and $-5\leq\mathrm{[Fe/H]}\leq1$. We present the grids of departure coefficients that have been implemented into the GALAH DR3 analysis pipeline in order to complement the extant non-LTE grid for iron. We also present a detailed line-by-line re-analysis of $50126$ stars from GALAH DR3. We found that relaxing LTE can change the abundances by between $-0.7\,\mathrm{dex}$ and $+0.2\,\mathrm{dex}$ for different lines and stars. Taking departures from LTE into account can reduce the dispersion in the $\mathrm{[A/Fe]}$ versus $\mathrm{[Fe/H]}$ plane by up to $0.1\,\mathrm{dex}$, and it can remove spurious differences between the dwarfs and giants by up to $0.2\,\mathrm{dex}$. The resulting abundance slopes can thus be qualitatively different in non-LTE, possibly with important implications for the chemical evolution of our Galaxy.
Open cluster members are coeval and share the same initial bulk chemical compositions. Consequently, differences in surface abundances between members of a cluster that are at different evolutionary stages can be used to study the effects of mixing and internal chemical processing. We carry out an abundance analysis of seven elements (Li, O, Na, Mg, Al, Si, Fe) in 66 stars belonging to the open cluster M67, based on high resolution GALAH spectra, 1D MARCS model atmospheres, and, for the first time for a large sample of M67 stars, non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (non-LTE) radiative transfer…
We present a detailed study of the non-Local Thermodynamic Equilibrium (non-LTE) formation of the high-excitation neutral oxygen 777 nm triplet in MARCS model atmospheres representative of late-type stars with spectral types F to K. We carried out the calculations using the statistical equilibrium code MULTI, including estimates of the impact on elemental abundance analysis. The atomic model employed includes, in particular, recent quantum-mechanical electron collision data. We confirm that the O I triplet lines form under non-LTE conditions in late-type stars, suffering negative abundance cor…
Non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (non-LTE) line formation for Ca I-Ca II, Ti I-Ti II, and Fe I-Fe II is considered in model atmospheres of giant stars with an effective temperature of 4000 K $\le$ Teff $\le$ 5000 K and a metal abundance of -4 $\le$ [Fe/H] $\le$ 0. The departures from LTE are analyzed depending on atmospheric parameters. We present the non-LTE abundance corrections for 28 lines of Ca I, 42 lines of Ti I, 54 lines of Ti II, and 262 lines of Fe I and a three-dimensional interpolation code to obtain the non-LTE correction online (http://spectrum.inasan.ru/nLTE/) for an individu…
We present a study of departures from Local Thermodynamic Equilibrium (LTE) in the formation of infra-red lines of Na I, Mg I, Al I, S I, K I and Sr II in unevolved stars of spectral types F,G,K and metallicities around the solar metallicity. The purpose of this investigation is to identify lines of these species that can be safely treated with the LTE approximation in the infra-red spectra of these types of stars. We employ a set of 40 stars observed with the GIANO spectrograph at the 3.5 m Telescopio Nazionale Galileo (TNG) and previously investigated by Caffau et al. We were able to identif…
The OI 777 nm lines are among the most commonly used diagnostics for the oxygen abundances in the atmospheres of FGK-type stars. However, they form in conditions that are far from local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE). We explore the departures from LTE of atomic oxygen, and their impact on OI lines, across the Stagger-grid of three-dimensional hydrodynamic model atmospheres. For the OI 777 nm triplet we find significant departures from LTE. These departures are larger in stars with larger effective temperatures, smaller surface gravities, and larger oxygen abundances. We present grids of pred…
We perform non-LTE calculations of lithium in late-type stars for a wide range of stellar parameters, including quantum mechanical cross-sections for collisions with neutral hydrogen and the negative hydrogen ion. Non-LTE abundance corrections for the lithium resonance line at 670.7nm and the subordinate line at 610.3nm, are calculated using 1D MARCS model atmospheres spanning a grid Teff=[4000,8000]K, log(g)=[1.0,5.0], and [Fe/H]=[0.0,-3.0], for lithium abundances in the range A(Li)=[-0.3,4.2]. The competing effects of ultraviolet over-ionization and photon losses in the resonance line govern…
The Galactic Archaeology with HERMES (GALAH) survey is a large-scale stellar spectroscopic survey of the Milky Way and designed to deliver chemical information complementary to a large number of stars covered by the $Gaia$ mission. We present the GALAH second public data release (GALAH DR2) containing 342,682 stars. For these stars, the GALAH collaboration provides stellar parameters and abundances for up to 23 elements to the community. Here we present the target selection, observation, data reduction and detailed explanation of how the spectra were analysed to estimate stellar parameters and…
We performed non-LTE calculations for O I with the plane-parallel model atmospheres for a set of stellar parameters corresponding to A-K type stars. The model atom of Przybilla et al. (2000) was updated using the best theoretical and experimental atomic data available so far. Non-LTE leads to strengthening the O I lines, and the difference between the non-LTE and LTE abundances (non-LTE correction) is negative. The departures from LTE grow toward higher effective temperature and lower surface gravity. In the entire temperature range and log g = 4, the non-LTE correction does not exceed 0.05 de…
The paper describes the modelling of the structure and spectra of the hot accretion spots on the surface of young stars with taking into account departures from LTE for hydrogen and helium. It has been found that the existence of the ram pressure of the in-falling gas at the outer boundary of the hot spot leads to the Stark broadening of the hydrogen line profiles up to FWHM of about 1000 km/s at the considered accretion parameters. It is shown that taking into account departures from LTE for atoms and ions of carbon and oxygen does not lead to noticeable changes in the structure of the hot sp…
The ensemble of chemical element abundance measurements for stars, along with precision distances and orbit properties, provides high-dimensional data to study the evolution of the Milky Way. With this third data release of the Galactic Archaeology with HERMES (GALAH) survey, we publish 678 423 spectra for 588 571 mostly nearby stars (81.2% of stars are within <2 kpc), observed with the HERMES spectrograph at the Anglo-Australian Telescope. This release (hereafter GALAH+ DR3) includes all observations from GALAH Phase 1 (bright, main, and faint survey, 70%), K2-HERMES (17%), TESS-HERMES (5%), …
The Ca~II H \& K lines are among the few features available to infer the metallicity of extremely metal-poor stars from medium-resolution spectroscopy. Unfortunately, these lines can overlap with absorption produced in the intervening interstellar medium, introducing systematic errors in the derived metallicities. The strength of the Ca~II infrared triplet lines can also be measured at extremely low metallicities, and it is not affected by interstellar absorption, but suffers significant departures from Local Thermodynamical Equilibrium (LTE). We investigate the feasibility of adopting the Ca~…
Mg is the alpha element of choice for Galactic population and chemical evolution studies as it is easily detectable in all late-type stars. Such studies require precise elemental abundances, and thus departures from LTE need to be accounted for. Our goal is to provide reliable departure coefficients and equivalent widths in non-LTE, and for reference in LTE, for diagnostic lines of Mg studied in late-type stars. These can be used e.g., to correct LTE spectra and abundances. Using the model atom built and tested in the preceding paper in this series, we performed non-LTE radiative transfer calc…
The overlap between the spectroscopic Galactic Archaeology with HERMES (GALAH) survey & $Gaia$ provides a high-dimensional chemodynamical space of unprecedented size. We present a first analysis of a subset of this overlap, of 7066 dwarf, turn-off, & sub-giant stars. [...] We investigate correlations between chemical compositions, ages, & kinematics for this sample. Stellar parameters & elemental abundances are derived from the GALAH spectra with the spectral synthesis code SME. [...] We report Li, C, O, Na, Mg, Al, Si, K, Ca, Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Y, as well as Ba & we note that …
Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias（加那利群岛天体物理研究所）；Departamento de Astrofísica, Universidad de La Laguna（拉古纳大学天体物理系）
The computational cost of fast non-LTE synthesis is one of the challenges that limits the development of 2D and 3D inversion codes. It also makes the interpretation of observations of lines formed in the chromosphere and transition region a slow and computationally costly process, which limits the inference of the physical properties on rather small fields of view. Having access to a fast way of computing the deviation from the LTE regime through the departure coefficients could largely alleviate this problem. We propose to build and train a graph network that quickly predicts the atomic level…
Non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (NLTE) line formation for neutral and singly-ionized iron is considered through a range of stellar parameters characteristic of cool stars. A comprehensive model atom for Fe I and Fe II is presented. Our NLTE calculations support the earlier conclusions that the statistical equilibrium (SE) of Fe I shows an underpopulation of Fe I terms. However, the inclusion of the predicted high-excitation levels of Fe I in our model atom leads to a substantial decrease in the departures from LTE. As a test and first application of the Fe I/II model atom, iron abundances …
Spectroscopic measurements of iron abundances are prone to systematic modelling errors. We present 3D non-LTE calculations across 32 STAGGER-grid models with effective temperatures from 5000 K to 6500 K, surface gravities of 4.0 dex and 4.5 dex, and metallicities from $-$3 dex to 0 dex, and study the effects on 171 Fe I and 12 Fe II optical lines. In warm metal-poor stars, the 3D non-LTE abundances are up to 0.5 dex larger than 1D LTE abundances inferred from Fe I lines of intermediate excitation potential. In contrast, the 3D non-LTE abundances can be 0.2 dex smaller in cool metal-poor stars …
The new version of TLUSTY allows for the calculation of restricted NLTE in cool stars using pre-calculated opacity tables. We demonstrate that TLUSTY gives consistent results with MULTI, a well-tested code for NLTE in cool stars. We use TLUSTY to perform LTE and a series of NLTE calculations of Na, Mg, K and Ca using all combinations of 1, 2, 3 and the 4 elements mentioned above simultaneously in NLTE. In this work we take into account how departures from LTE in one element can affect others through changes in the opacities due to NLTE. We find that atomic Mg, which provides strong UV opacity,…
The current analysis is dedicated to a detailed investigation of the non-Local Thermodynamic Equilibrium (NLTE) effects influencing the formation of the Fe I 6173 A line, which is widely used by many instruments including the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) on-board the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) and the Polarimetric and Helioseismic Imager on board the Solar Orbiter. We synthesize the Stokes profiles in a snapshot of a three dimensional magnetohydrodynamic simulation of the solar photosphere under both LTE and NLTE conditions. The simulation cube contains a sunspot and a plage re…
As one of the most important elements in astronomy, iron abundance determinations need to be as accurate as possible. We investigate the accuracy of spectroscopic iron abundance analyses using archetypal metal-poor stars. We perform detailed 3D non-LTE radiative transfer calculations based on 3D hydrodynamic Stagger model atmospheres, and employ a new model atom that includes new quantum-mechanical neutral hydrogen collisional rate coefficients. With the exception of the red giant HD122563, we find that the 3D non-LTE models achieve Fe i/Fe ii excitation and ionization balance as well as not h…
We investigated the copper abundances for $64$ late-type stars in the Galactic disk and halo with effective temperatures from $5400$ K to $6700$ K and [Fe/H] from $-1.88$ to $-0.17$. For the first time, the copper abundances are derived using both local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) and non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (non-LTE) calculations. High resolution ($R > 40,000$), high signal-to-noise ratio ($S/N > 100$) spectra from the FOCES spectrograph are used. The atmospheric models are calculated based on the MAFAGS opacity sampling code. All the abundances are derived using the spectrum …
We present new ultra-metal-poor (UMP) stars parameters with [Fe/H]<-4.0 based on line-by-line non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (NLTE) abundances using an up-to-date iron model atom with a new recipe for non-elastic hydrogen collision rates. We study the departures from LTE in their atmospheric parameter and show that they can grow up to ~1.0 dex in [Fe/H], 150K in Teff and 0.5 dex in log g toward the lowest metallicities. Accurate NLTE atmospheric stellar parameters, in particular [Fe/H] being signifcantly higher, are the first step to eventually providing full NLTE abundance patterns that …
Mg is often traced in late-type stars using lines of neutral magnesium, which is expected to be subject to departures from LTE. The astrophysical importance of Mg as well as its relative simplicity from an atomic physics point of view, makes it a prime target and test bed for detailed ab initio non-LTE modelling in stellar atmospheres. For the low-lying states of Mg i, electron collision data were calculated using the R-matrix method. Calculations for collisional broadening by neutral hydrogen were also performed where data were missing. These calculations, together with data from the literatu…
We investigate the non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (NLTE) analysis for \ion{Cu}{1} lines with the updated model atom that includes quantum-mechanical rate coefficients of Cu\,$+$\,H and Cu$^+$\,$+$\,H$^-$ inelastic collisions from the recent study of Belyaev et al. (2021). The influence of these data on NLTE abundance determinations has been performed for six metal-poor stars in a metallicity range of $-$2.59\,dex$\,\le$\,[Fe/H]\,$\le$\,$-$0.95\,dex. For \ion{Cu}{1} lines, the application of accurate atomic data leads to a decrease in the departure from LTE and lower copper abundances comp…
We present new abundances derived from Cu I, Cu II, Zn I, and Zn II lines in six warm (5766 < Teff < 6427 K), metal-poor (-2.50 < [Fe/H] < -0.95) dwarf and subgiant (3.64 < log g < 4.44) stars. These abundances are derived from archival high-resolution ultraviolet spectra from the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph on board the Hubble Space Telescope and ground-based optical spectra from several observatories. Ionized Cu and Zn are the majority species, and abundances derived from Cu II and Zn II lines should be largely insensitive to departures from local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE). We…
Carbon abundances in late-type stars are important in a variety of astrophysical contexts. However C i lines, one of the main abundance diagnostics, are sensitive to departures from local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE). We present a model atom for non-LTE analyses of C i lines, that uses a new, physically-motivated recipe for the rates of neutral hydrogen impact excitation. We analyse C i lines in the solar spectrum, employing a three-dimensional (3D) hydrodynamic model solar atmosphere and 3D non-LTE radiative transfer. We find negative non-LTE abundance corrections for C i lines in the sola…
We present the non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (non-LTE) calculations for O I with the updated model atom that includes quantum-mechanical rate coefficients for O I + H I inelastic collisions from the recent study of Barklem (2018). The non-LTE abundances from the O I lines were determined for the Sun and 46 FG stars in a wide metallicity range, -2.6 < [Fe/H] < 0.2. An application of accurate atomic data leads to larger departures from LTE and lower oxygen abundances compared to that for the Drawin's theoretical approximation. For the infrared O I 7771-5 A triplet lines, the change in the …
We present a preliminary local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) abundance analysis of the template halo red giant HD122563 based on a realistic, three-dimensional (3D), time-dependent, hydrodynamical model atmosphere of the very metal-poor star. We compare the results of the 3D analysis with the abundances derived by means of a standard LTE analysis based on a classical, 1D, hydrostatic model atmosphere of the star. Due to the different upper photospheric temperature stratifications predicted by 1D and 3D models, we find large, negative, 3D-1D LTE abundance differences for low-excitation OH and…
Two distinct halo populations were found in the solar neighborhood by a series of works. They can be clearly separated by [alpha\Fe] and several other elemental abundance ratios including [Cu/Fe]. Very recently, a non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (non-LTE) study revealed that relatively large departures exist between LTE and non-LTE results in copper abundance analysis. We aim to derive the copper abundances for the stars from the sample of Nissen et al (2010) with both LTE and non-LTE calculations. Based on our results, we study the non-LTE effects of copper and investigate whether the hig…
Physically realistic models of stellar spectra are needed in a variety of astronomical studies, from the analysis of fundamental stellar parameters, to studies of exoplanets and stellar populations in galaxies. Here we present a new version of the widely-used radiative transfer code Turbospectrum, which we update with the capacity to perform spectrum synthesis for lines of multiple chemical elements in Non-Local Thermodynamic Equilibrium (NLTE). We use the code in the analysis of metallicites and abundances of the Gaia FGK benchmark stars, using one-dimensional MARCS atmospheric models and the…
Non-local thermodynamical equilibrium (non-LTE) line formation for neutral and singly-ionized iron is considered through a range of spectral types when the effective temperature varies from 6500 K up to 8500 K, the gravity from log g = 4 down to log g = 3, and the metallicity is solar one. The non-LTE calculations were performed with a comprehensive model atom for iron which was treated in our earlier paper (Mashonkina et al. 2011, A&A, 528, A87). The departures from LTE lead to systematically depleted total absorption in the Fe I lines and positive abundance corrections, in qualitative agreem…
We performed the non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (non-LTE) calculations for Ti I-II with the updated model atom that includes quantum-mechanical rate coefficients for inelastic collisions with hydrogen atoms. We have calculated for the first time the rate coefficients for bound-bound transitions in inelastic collisions of titanium atoms and ions with hydrogen atoms and for the charge-exchange processes: Ti I + H <-> Ti II + H- and Ti II + H <-> Ti III + H-. The influence of these data on non-LTE abundance determinations has been tested for the Sun and four metal-poor stars. For Ti I and Ti…
In this work we present first results of our current project aimed at combining the 3D hydrodynamical stellar atmosphere approach with non-LTE (NLTE) spectral line synthesis for a number of key chemical species. We carried out a full 3D-NLTE spectrum synthesis of the oxygen IR 777 nm triplet, using a modified and improved version of our NLTE3D package to calculate departure coefficients for the atomic levels of oxygen in a CO5BOLD 3D hydrodynamical solar model atmosphere. Spectral line synthesis was subsequently performed with the Linfor 3D code. In agreement with previous studies, we find tha…
We present results of the spectroscopic study of the chemically peculiar star BD+30$^\circ$549 which is bona-fide member of young NGC 1333 star forming region. We found that the star possesses negligible rotation and helium-weak spectroscopic pattern with strongly enhanced Si II and Si III lines. The fundamental parameters of the star $T_{eff}$=13100~K and $\log (L/L_{\odot})$=2.1 indicate its age of about 2.7 Myr and position on the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram at the end of the Pre-Main Sequence evolutionary track, close to the Zero Age Main Sequence. Abundance analysis reveals the modest def…
This review paper outlines background information and covers recent advances made via the analysis of spectra and images of prominence plasma and the increased sophistication of non-LTE (ie when there is a departure from Local Thermodynamic Equilibrium) radiative transfer models. We first describe the spectral inversion techniques that have been used to infer the plasma parameters important for the general properties of the prominence plasma in both its cool core and the hotter prominence-corona transition region. We also review studies devoted to the observation of bulk motions of the promine…
Carbon and oxygen are key tracers of the Galactic chemical evolution; in particular, a reported upturn in [C/O] towards decreasing [O/H] in metal-poor halo stars could be a signature of nucleosynthesis by massive Population III stars. We reanalyse carbon, oxygen, and iron abundances in thirty-nine metal-poor turn-off stars. For the first time, we take into account three-dimensional (3D) hydrodynamic effects together with departures from local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) when determining both the stellar parameters and the elemental abundances, by deriving effective temperatures from 3D non…
Context. Computing spectra from 3D simulations of stellar atmospheres when allowing for departures from local thermodynamic equilibrium (non-LTE) is computationally very intensive. Aims. We develop a machine learning based method to speed up 3D non-LTE radiative transfer calculations in optically thick stellar atmospheres. Methods. Making use of a variety of 3D simulations of the solar atmosphere, we trained a convolutional neural network, SunnyNet, to learn the translation from LTE to non-LTE atomic populations. Non-LTE populations computed with an existing 3D code were considered as the true…
This study shows that the statistical equilibrium of Si II in the atmosphere of a B3 IV type star iota Her is extremely sensitive to a variation in photoionization cross-sections for the Si II levels. The difference in abundances derived from absorption lines of Si II between applying the data from two equal accuracy sources, namely, the Opacity Project (OP) and the NORAD database, amounts to 0.18 dex, on average. Using the hydrogenic approximation for photoionization cross-sections, we obtain the departure coefficients for the Si II \eu{4s}{2}{S}{}{} level, the source function for Si II 6371 …
The non-LTE line formation for Al I and Si I was calculated with model atmospheres corresponding to F-G-K type stars of different metallicity. To account for inelastic collisions with H I, for the first time we applied the cross sections calculated by Belyaev et al. using model approaches within the formalism of the Born-Oppenheimer quantum theory. For Al I non-LTE leads to overionization in the line formation layers and to weakened spectral lines, in line with earlier non-LTE studies. However, in contrast to the previuos studies, our results predict smaller magnitude of the non-LTE effects fo…
We present a new iron abundance analysis of the hyper metal-poor star HE$~$1327-2326, based on Fe II lines detected in its UV spectral range for the first time. In a Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS) spectrum, five new Fe II lines could be measured. A Si I line was also detected for the first time. We determine a 1D Local Thermodynamic Equilibrium (LTE) Fe II abundance of [Fe II/H] = -5.99$\pm$0.25. We also investigate departures from LTE for both Fe I and Fe II lines. Guided by 3D Non-LTE (NLTE) analyses of other well-studied metal-poor stars, we identify potential "residual" 3D effects in HE…
Payne4GAIN: NLTE Corrections for Red Giants in Milky Way Mapper using H-Band Neural Network Emulators
University of Chicago（芝加哥大学）；Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics, University of Chicago（芝加哥大学卡弗里宇宙物理学研究所）；Joint Institute for Nuclear Astrophysics（联合核天体物理研究所）；Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie（马克斯·普朗克天文学研究所）；Heidelberg University（海德堡大学）；University of Florida（佛罗里达大学）；The Ohio State University（俄亥俄州立大学）；Center for Computational Astrophysics, Flatiron Institute（平顿研究所计算天体物理中心）；Monash University（蒙纳士大学）；University of Colorado（科罗拉多大学）；Universidad Bernardo O’Higgins（贝尔纳多·奥希金斯大学）
M dwarfs are key targets for high-resolution spectroscopic analyses due to a high incidence of these stars in the solar neighbourhood and their importance as exoplanetary hosts. Several methodological challenges make such analyses difficult, leading to significant discrepancies in the published results. We compare M dwarf parameters derived by recent high-resolution near-infrared studies with each other and with fundamental stellar parameters. We also assess to what extent deviations from local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) for Fe and K influence the outcome of these studies. We carry out li…
The titanium abundances of late-type stars are important tracers of Galactic formation history. However, abundances inferred from Ti I and Ti II lines can be in stark disagreement in very metal-poor giants. Departures from local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) have a large impact on the minority neutral species and thus influences the ionisation imbalance, but satisfactory non-LTE modelling for both dwarfs and giants has not been achieved in previous literature. The reliability of titanium abundances is reassessed in benchmark dwarfs and giants using a new non-LTE model and one-dimensional (1D…
An analysis of the CH molecule in non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (NLTE) is performed for the physical conditions of cool stellar atmospheres typical of red giants (log g = 2.0, Teff = 4500 K) and the Sun. The aim of the present work is to explore whether the G-band of the CH molecule, which is commonly used in abundance diagnostics of Carbon-Enhanced Metal-Poor (CEMP) stars, is sensitive to NLTE effects. LTE and NLTE theoretical spectra are computed with the MULTI code. We use one-dimensional (1D) LTE hydrostatic MARCS model atmospheres with parameters representing eleven red giant stars …
Context. Departures from local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) distort the calcium abundance derived from stellar spectra in various ways, depending on the lines used and the stellar atmospheric parameters. The collection of atomic data adopted in non-LTE (NLTE) calculations must be sufficiently complete and accurate. Aims. We derive NLTE abundances from high-quality observations and reliable stellar parameters using a model atom built afresh for this work, and check the consistency of our results over a wide wavelength range with transitions of atomic and singly ionised calcium. Methods. We b…
Aluminium plays a key role in studies of the chemical enrichment of the Galaxy and of globular clusters. However, strong deviations from LTE (non-LTE) are known to significantly affect the inferred abundances in giant and metal-poor stars. We present NLTE modeling of aluminium using recent and accurate atomic data, in particular utilizing new transition rates for collisions with hydrogen atoms, without the need for any astrophysically calibrated parameters. For the first time, we perform 3D NLTE modeling of aluminium lines in the solar spectrum. We also compute and make available extensive gri…
We investigated the off-limb spicules observed in the Mg II h and k lines by IRIS in a solar polar coronal hole. We analyzed the large dataset of obtained spectra to extract quantitative information about the line intensities, shifts, and widths. The observed Mg II line profiles are broad and double-peaked at lower altitudes, broad but flat-topped at middle altitudes, and narrow and single-peaked with the largest Doppler shifts at higher altitudes. We use 1D non-LTE vertical slab models (i.e. models which consider departures from Local Thermodynamic Equilibrium) in single-slab and multi-slab c…
The OI 777 nm triplet is a key diagnostic of oxygen abundances in the atmospheres of FGK-type stars; however it is sensitive to departures from local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE). The accuracy of non-LTE line formation calculations has hitherto been limited by errors in the inelastic O+H collisional rate coefficients: several recent studies have used the so-called Drawin recipe, albeit with a correction factor $\mathrm{S_{H}}$ that is calibrated to the solar centre-to-limb variation of the triplet. We present a new model oxygen atom that incorporates inelastic O+H collisional rate coefficie…
Iron plays a crucial role in studies of late-type stars. In their atmospheres, Fe I is the minority species and its lines are subject to the departures from LTE. In contrast, one believes that LTE is a realistic approximation for Fe II lines. The main source of the uncertainties in the non-LTE (NLTE) calculations for cool atmospheres is a treatment of inelastic collisions with hydrogen atoms. We investigate the effect of Fe I + H I and Fe II + H I collisions and their different treatment on the Fe I/Fe II ionisation equilibrium and Fe abundance determinations for Galactic halo benchmark stars …
Aiming at testing the validity of our magnesium atomic model and investigating the effects of non-local thermodynamical equilibrium (NLTE) on the formation of the H-band neutral magnesium lines, we derive the differential Mg abundances from selected transitions for 13 stars either adopting or relaxing the assumption of local thermodynamical equilibrium (LTE). Our analysis is based on high-resolution and high signal-to-noise ratio H-band spectra from the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE) and optical spectra from several instruments. The absolute differences between…
