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Published on 05 December 2014
Vol. 573
In section 9. The Sun
The elemental composition of the Sun I. The intermediate mass elements Na to Ca
by P. Scott, N. Grevesse, M. Asplund, et al. A&A 573, A25
The elemental composition of the Sun II. The iron group elements Sc to Ni
by P. Scott, M. Asplund, N. Grevesse, M. Bergemann, and A. J. Sauval A&A 573, A26
The elemental composition of the Sun. III. The heavy elements Cu to Th
by N. Grevesse, P. Scott, M. Asplund, and A. J. Sauval A&A 573, A27
The chemical composition of the Sun is an essential piece of reference data for astronomy, cosmology,
astroparticle physics, space physics, and geophysics: elemental abundances of essentially all astronomical objects
refer to the solar composition, and basically every process involving the Sun depends on its
composition. In this set of three papers, the authors present a comprehensive redetermination of
the solar composition for the intermediate-mass elements (Na to Ca) in Paper I, all the iron group
nuclei (Sc to Ni) in Paper II, and the heavy elements (from Cu to Th) in Paper III. In these papers
the authors present the most accurate, homogeneous, and reliable results possible by employing a
highly realistic 3D hydrodynamic model of the solar photosphere, which has successfully passed an
arsenal of observational tests. They also carefully assess each transition probability, partition function, isotopic and hyperfine-splitting constant, and the observed spectrum of every line, making certain to only
employ the best possible input data. This analysis provides a complete description and update of the results presented
in Asplund, Grevesse, Sauval, & Scott (2009, ARA&A), including full details of all the lines and input data used.