Non-LTE Determination of the Silicon Abundance Using a Three-dimensional Hydrodynamical Model of the Solar Photosphere

Confrontations of spectroscopic observations with local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) spectral syntheses in a three-dimensional (3D) hydrodynamical model of the solar photosphere led to a downward revision of the photospheric and meteoritic silicon abundances. Here we derive the photospheric silicon abundance taking into account non-LTE (NLTE) effects in the same 3D model. We show that the above-mentioned downward revision of the silicon abundance is caused by using the LTE approximation in the context of 3D modeling, an experimental scale of oscillator strengths, and a small number of Si I lines. We demonstrate that no revision of the solar silicon abundance is required if NLTE effects are taken into account and one uses a "solar" oscillator strength scale and an extended list of Si I lines. The NLTE abundance value we find by fitting the equivalent widths of 65 Si I lines is A ^NLTE _Si = 7.549 ± 0.016. This value agrees well with the silicon abundance that had been recommended earlier by Grevesse & Sauval and Lodders for the solar photosphere and CI chondrite meteorites.