The Solar Argon Abundance

Abstract

The solar argon abundance cannot be directly derived by spectroscopic observations of the solar photosphere. The solar Ar abundance is evaluated from solar wind measurements, nucleosynthetic arguments, observations of B stars, HII regions, planetary nebulae, and noble gas abundances measured in Jupiter's atmosphere. These data lead to a recommended argon abundance of N(Ar) = 91,200(+/-)23,700 (on a scale where Si = 10^6 atoms). The recommended abundance for the solar photosphere (on a scale where log N(H) = 12) is A(Ar)photo = 6.50(+/-)0.10, and taking element settling into account, the solar system (protosolar) abundance is A(Ar)solsys = 6.57(+/-)0.10.