A new study from Uppsala University shows the Sun contains 55 percent more silver than earlier models indicated. The revised estimate aligns the Sun's silver levels more closely with those in ancient meteorites. Researchers used an advanced model of the solar atmosphere to reach the updated figure.
Researchers at Uppsala University analyzed sunlight using spectroscopy and a dynamic model of the Sun's outer layers. They accounted for non-equilibrium effects where light influences silver atoms, producing a higher abundance estimate.
Sema Caliskan, who led the work as a PhD student at the Department of Physics and Astronomy, said the findings improve understanding of the Sun as a reference point for other stars and cosmic material. The results resolve a prior mismatch with meteorites formed from the same material 4.6 billion years ago.
The calculations ran on the Tetralith supercomputer at Linköping University. Caliskan noted plans to apply the method to other stars to trace silver's origins in the Milky Way.
The study appears in the journal Astronomy.