Skip to content
DraconiticResearch
Search Sources API
197,785 studies31 sourcesUpdated just now
Peer-reviewedCC BY 4.0The Astrophysical Journal

The Sun’s Chemical Peculiarity: Disentangling Galactic Chemical Evolution and Planetary Engulfment in Solar Twins

  • Mia Babatsikos1,2
  • Fan Liu3,1
  • Amanda Karakas1
  • Ilya Mandel1,2
  • Lachlan Passenger1,2
  • Megan Bedell4
  • Sharon X. Wang5
  • Zimo Cheng5
5 affiliations
  1. 1Monash University
  2. 2OzGrav: Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery
  3. 3National Astronomical Observatories
  4. 4Center for Computational Astrophysics
  5. 5Tsinghua University
Open at sourcePDFDOICite

Abstract

Recent observational studies have suggested that the Sun may be chemically peculiar relative to the majority of solar twins. Here, we reanalyze high-resolution, high signal-to-noise spectra of 79 nearby solar twins using a differential spectroscopic approach and Bayesian framework to test whether the Sun’s chemical peculiarity arises from Galactic chemical evolution (GCE) or planetary ingestion. Using the spectroscopic tool Korg , we obtain highly precise, validated atmospheric parameters and abundances for 18 elements, with an average abundance precision of 0.015 dex (3.5%). Employing an independent Bayesian indicator, we disentangle GCE and planetary engulfment signatures from other processes influencing stellar composition, including intrinsic abundance scatter. Our results indicate that the chemical peculiarity of the Sun relative to the average solar twin is largely driven by GCE effects, with 62.3% ± 5.8% of our sample exhibiting abundance patterns well-described by GCE trends. We further identify 2–6 solar-twin candidates exhibiting chemical signatures consistent with planetary engulfment that warrant further investigation. These findings reinforce the importance of accounting for GCE effects when interpreting solar-twin abundance patterns, and suggest that the Sun may not be chemically peculiar relative to the majority of solar twins.

Versions

Related

  1. Disentangling chemical evolution histories with phylogenetic trees
    R. Canales, P. Jofré, C. Aguilera-Gómez +6
    Astronomy & AstrophysicsPeer-reviewedPublisher termsGalaxiesCrossref
  2. Intermediate- and high-resolution optical spectroscopy on the nascent planetary nebula Vy 2-2: Evidence of binary-star evolution
    Roldán A. Cala, Luis F. Miranda, José F. Gómez +2
    Astronomy & AstrophysicsPeer-reviewedPublisher termsSolar & stellar physicsCrossref
  3. Planet formation in chemically diverse and evolving discs II. Chemical fingerprints in planetary atmospheres
    E. Pacetti, D. Turrini, E. Schisano +13
    arXivPreprintCC BY 4.0Full textPlanetary science & exoplanetsarXiv
  4. ORCHARD : A General Planetary Evolution Code
    Roberto Tejada Arevalo, Adam Burrows, Ankan Sur +1
    The Astrophysical JournalPeer-reviewedCC BY 4.0Full text5 citedPlanetary science & exoplanetsCrossrefOpenAlex
  5. Formation and Evolution of [Wolf-Rayet] Planetary Nebulae through a Late Thermal Pulse
    J B Rodríguez-González, R Orozco-Duarte, J A Toalá +5
    Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical SocietyPeer-reviewedCC BY 4.0Full textSolar & stellar physicsCrossref

Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{babatsikos2026suns,
  title = {{The Sun’s Chemical Peculiarity: Disentangling Galactic Chemical Evolution and Planetary Engulfment in Solar Twins}},
  author = {Mia Babatsikos and Fan Liu and Amanda Karakas and Ilya Mandel and Lachlan Passenger and Megan Bedell and Sharon X. Wang and Zimo Cheng},
  journal = {The Astrophysical Journal},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.3847/1538-4357/aea561},
  url = {https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/aea561},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - The Sun’s Chemical Peculiarity: Disentangling Galactic Chemical Evolution and Planetary Engulfment in Solar Twins
AU  - Mia Babatsikos
AU  - Fan Liu
AU  - Amanda Karakas
AU  - Ilya Mandel
AU  - Lachlan Passenger
AU  - Megan Bedell
AU  - Sharon X. Wang
AU  - Zimo Cheng
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/09
JO  - The Astrophysical Journal
DO  - 10.3847/1538-4357/aea561
UR  - https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/aea561
AB  - Recent observational studies have suggested that the Sun may be chemically peculiar relative to the majority of solar twins. Here, we reanalyze high-resolution, high signal-to-noise spectra of 79 nearby solar twins using a differential spectroscopic approach and Bayesian framework to test whether the Sun’s chemical peculiarity arises from Galactic chemical evolution (GCE) or planetary ingestion. Using the spectroscopic tool Korg , we obtain highly precise, validated atmospheric parameters and abundances for 18 elements, with an average abundance precision of 0.015 dex (3.5%). Employing an independent Bayesian indicator, we disentangle GCE and planetary engulfment signatures from other processes influencing stellar composition, including intrinsic abundance scatter. Our results indicate that the chemical peculiarity of the Sun relative to the average solar twin is largely driven by GCE effects, with 62.3% ± 5.8% of our sample exhibiting abundance patterns well-described by GCE trends. We further identify 2–6 solar-twin candidates exhibiting chemical signatures consistent with planetary engulfment that warrant further investigation. These findings reinforce the importance of accounting for GCE effects when interpreting solar-twin abundance patterns, and suggest that the Sun may not be chemically peculiar relative to the majority of solar twins.
SN  - 0004-637X
SN  - 1538-4357
ER  -