A Galactic Perspective on the (Unremarkable) Relative Refractory Depletion Observed in the Sun

Over the last two decades, the Sun has been observed to be depleted in refractory elements as a function of elemental condensation temperature (\tcond) relative to $\sim 80\%$ of its counterparts. We assess the impact of Galactic chemical evolution (GCE) on refractory element--\tcond\ trends for 109,500 unique solar analogs from the GALAH, APOGEE, Gaia RVS, and \cite{bedell18} surveys. We find that a star's \feh\ and \alphafe\ are indicators of its \tcond\ slope (\rsq\ = $15 \pm 5$, $23 \pm 10\%$ respectively) while \teff\ and \logg\ contribute more weakly (\rsq\ = $9 \pm 5$, $13 \pm 16\%$). The Sun's abundance pattern resembles that of more metal-rich (0.1 dex) and $α$-depleted stars ($-0.02$ dex), suggesting a connection to broader GCE trends. To more accurately model stars' nucleosynthetic signatures, we apply the K-process model from \cite{Griffith24}, which casts each star's abundance pattern as a linear combination of core-collapse and Type Ia supernovae contributions. We find the Sun appears chemically ordinary in this framework, lying within $0.5σ$ of the expected solar analog abundance distribution. We show that refractory element--\tcond\ trends arise because elements with higher \tcond\ have higher contributions from core-collapse supernovae. Refractory element depletion trends primarily reflect nucleosynthetic enrichment patterns shaped by GCE and local ISM inhomogeneities, with these processes accounting for $93\%$ of the observed variation within 2$σ$. This work highlights how abundance diversity due to local and global chemical enrichment may often mask and mimic population-scale signatures of planet-related processes.

Publication Details

Journal
ArXiv.org
Published
2025-09-03
Primary Topic
Geochemistry and Geologic Mapping
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
Controls
|||
ALL TIME
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
article

A Galactic Perspective on the (Unremarkable) Relative Refractory Depletion Observed in the Sun

ArXiv.org
Geochemistry and Geologic Mapping
article

A Galactic Perspective on the (Unremarkable) Relative Refractory Depletion Observed in the Sun

article en

Abstract

Over the last two decades, the Sun has been observed to be depleted in refractory elements as a function of elemental condensation temperature (\tcond) relative to $\sim 80\%$ of its counterparts. We assess the impact of Galactic chemical evolution (GCE) on refractory element--\tcond\ trends for 109,500 unique solar analogs from the GALAH, APOGEE, Gaia RVS, and \cite{bedell18} surveys. We find that a star's \feh\ and \alphafe\ are indicators of its \tcond\ slope (\rsq\ = $15 \pm 5$, $23 \pm 10\%$ respectively) while \teff\ and \logg\ contribute more weakly (\rsq\ = $9 \pm 5$, $13 \pm 16\%$). The Sun's abundance pattern resembles that of more metal-rich (0.1 dex) and $α$-depleted stars ($-0.02$ dex), suggesting a connection to broader GCE trends. To more accurately model stars' nucleosynthetic signatures, we apply the K-process model from \cite{Griffith24}, which casts each star's abundance pattern as a linear combination of core-collapse and Type Ia supernovae contributions. We find the Sun appears chemically ordinary in this framework, lying within $0.5σ$ of the expected solar analog abundance distribution. We show that refractory element--\tcond\ trends arise because elements with higher \tcond\ have higher contributions from core-collapse supernovae. Refractory element depletion trends primarily reflect nucleosynthetic enrichment patterns shaped by GCE and local ISM inhomogeneities, with these processes accounting for $93\%$ of the observed variation within 2$σ$. This work highlights how abundance diversity due to local and global chemical enrichment may often mask and mimic population-scale signatures of planet-related processes.

ArXiv.org
Openalex Percentile: Top 48%
Geochemistry and Geologic Mapping
AI Navigator

Ask Laika to Summarize, Analyze, and Connect papers live on the map.

Summarize Papers & Methodologies

Extract key findings, datasets, and comparative methods across publications.

Benchmark Rankings & Visual Analytics

Rank top research institutions, authors, funders, topics, and journals by Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) and paper volume with instant charts.

Connect Distant Disciplines

Bridge topological clusters on the map to find hidden collaborative intersections.