Low-temperature Rosseland opacities

Abstract

A new, comprehensive set of low-temperature opacity data has been assembled. From this basic data set, Rosseland and Planck mean opacities have been computed for temperatures between 12,500 and 700 K. In addition to the usual continuous absorbers, atomic line absorption (with more than 8 million lines), molecular line absorption (with nearly 60 million lines), and grain absorption and scattering (by silicates, iron, carbon, and SiC) have been accounted for. The absorption due to lines is computed monochromatically and included in the mean with the opacity sampling technique. Grains are assumed to form in chemical equilibrium with the gas and to form into a continuous distribution of ellipsoids. Agreement of these opacities with other recent tabulations of opacities for temperatures above 5000 K is excellent. It is shown that opacities which neglect molecules become unreliable for temperatures below 5000 K. Triatomic molecules become important absorbers at 3200 K. Similarly, grains must be included in the computation for temperatures below 1700 K.