Scientists at Uppsala University have revised their estimate of silver content in the Sun, finding it to be 55 percent higher than earlier calculations suggested. The discovery stems from development of a more sophisticated model of the solar atmosphere that better accounts for how silver atoms interact with light and surrounding materials. The finding has implications for understanding stellar composition and the chemical evolution of the galaxy.
Heavy elements such as silver, iron, and carbon make up only 1.5 percent of the Sun’s mass, yet they hold significant scientific value because they contain information about cosmic history and chemical development. These heavier elements are produced inside stars and released during stellar explosions before being incorporated into subsequent generations of stars, planets, and other cosmic material. Understanding the distribution and abundance of these elements helps astronomers trace the chemical evolution of the Milky Way.
The research team measured solar silver content using spectroscopy, analyzing how atoms in the solar atmosphere absorb light at specific wavelengths. Each element creates a distinctive pattern of dark spectral lines similar to a fingerprint. The new study employed a dynamic model of the Sun’s outer layers combined with improved atomic physics calculations to interpret these spectral patterns more accurately. Unlike previous methods, the approach accounts for non-equilibrium effects where light itself influences the silver atoms responsible for producing the absorption lines.
The revised calculation addresses a long-standing inconsistency in solar system chemistry. Earlier measurements had indicated the Sun contained substantially less silver than primitive meteorites formed from the same cloud of gas and dust approximately 4.6 billion years ago. The new estimate brings solar silver abundance into closer agreement with measurements from these ancient meteorites, resolving the discrepancy. Researchers plan to apply the same methodology to study other stars and trace silver formation and distribution throughout the Milky Way over time.
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