Solar abundance of iridium

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, lambda 3220.78 A. 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.