Solar System Abundances and Condensation Temperatures of the Elements

Abstract

Solar photospheric and meteoritic CI chondrite abundance determinations for all elements are summarized and the best currently available photospheric abundances are selected. The meteoritic and solar abundances of a few elements (e.g., noble gases, beryllium, boron, phosphorous, sulfur) are discussed in detail. The photospheric abundances give mass fractions of hydrogen (X = 0.7491), helium (Y = 0.2377), and heavy elements (Z = 0.0133), leading to Z/X = 0.0177, which is lower than the widely used Z/X = 0.0245 from previous compilations. Recent results from standard solar models considering helium and heavy-element settling imply that photospheric abundances and mass fractions are not equal to protosolar abundances (representative of solar system abundances). Protosolar elemental and isotopic abundances are derived from photospheric abundances by considering settling effects. Derived protosolar mass fractions are X0 = 0.7110, Y0 = 0.2741, and Z0 = 0.0149. The solar system and photospheric abundance tables are used to compute self-consistent sets of condensation temperatures for all elements.