Exploring mass loss, low-Z accretion, and convective overshoot in solar models to mitigate the solar abundance problem

Understand

Solar models using the new lower abundances of Asplund et al.

• (2005, 2009) or Caffau et al.
• (2008, 2009) do not agree as well with helioseismic inferences as models that use the higher Grevesse & Noels (1993) or Grevesse & Sauval (1998) abundances.
• Adopting the new abundances leads to models with sound speed discrepancies of up to 1.4$%$ below the base of the convection zone (compared to discrepancies of less than 0.4$%$ with the old abundances), a convection zone that is too shallow, and a convection zone helium abundance that is too low.