Solar abundance of iridium

  1. Stephen Drake and
  2. Lawrence H. Aller
  1. Department of Astronomy, University of California, Los Angeles, Calif. 90024

Abstract

By a method of spectrum synthesis, which yields log gfA, where g is the statistical weight of the lower level, f is the oscillator strength, and A is the abundance, an attempt is made to deduce the solar iridium abundance from one relatively unblended, but fairly weak IrI line, λ 3220.78 Å. If the Corliss-Bozman f-value for this line is adopted, we find log A(Ir) = 0.82 on the scale log A(H) = 12.00. The discordance with the value found from carbonaceous chondrites may arise from faulty f-values or from difficulties arising from line blending in this far ultraviolet domain of the solar spectrum.

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