Liquid Metallic Hydrogen II. A Critical Assessment of Current and Primordial Helium Levels in the Sun

Before a solar model becomes viable in astrophysics, one must consider how the elemental constitution of the Sun was ascertained, especially relative to its principle components: hydrogen and helium. Liquid metallic hydrogen has been proposed as a solar structural material for models based on condensed matter (e.g. Robitaille P.-M. Liquid Metallic Hydrogen: A Building Block for the Liquid Sun. Progr. Phys., 2011, v. 3, 60–74). There can be little doubt that hydrogen plays a dominant role in the universe and in the stars; the massive abundance of hydrogen in the Sun was established long ago. Today, it can be demonstrated that the near isointense nature of the Sun’s Balmer lines provides strong con rmatory evidence for a distinct solar surface. The situation relative to helium remains less conclusive. Still, helium occupies a prominent role in astronomy, both as an element associated with cosmology and as a byproduct of nuclear energy generation, though its abundances within the Sun cannot be reliably estimated using theoretical approaches. With respect to the determination of helium levels, the element remains spectroscopically silent at the level of the photosphere. While helium can be monitored with ease in the chromosphere and the prominences of the corona using spectroscopic methods, these measures are highly variable and responsive to elevated solar activity and nuclear fragmentation. Direct assays of the solar winds are currently viewed as incapable of providing de nitive information regarding solar helium abundances. As a result, insight relative to helium remains strictly based on theoretical estimates which couple helioseismological approaches to metrics derived from solar models. Despite their “state of the art” nature, helium estimates based on solar models and helioseismology are suspect on several fronts, including their reliance on solar opacities. The best knowledge can only come from the solar winds which, though highly variable, provide a wealth of data. Evaluations of primordial helium levels based on 1) the spectroscopic study of H-II regions and 2) microwave anisotropy data, remain highly questionable. Current helium levels, both within the stars (Robitaille J. C. and Robitaille P.-M. Liquid Metallic Hydrogen III. Intercalation and Lattice Exclusion versus Gravitational Settling, and Their Consequences Relative to Internal Structure, Surface Activity, and Solar Winds in the Sun. Progr. Phys., 2013, v. 2, in press) and the universe at large, appear to be overstated. A careful consideration of available observational data suggests that