A comparison of methods for photospheric abundance determinations in K-type stars

Abstract

We have performed a detailed abundance analysis of six inactive K-type stars using high-resolution optical spectra. We have used three different techniques and compared the results obtained in order to establish their respective merits and faults. The two spectroscopic methods give consistent results suggesting that non-LTE effects are small, whereas the 'mixed' spectroscopic-photometric method leads to photospheric parameters and abundances systematically lower than those obtained with the other two. We have also determined the stars' positions in H-R diagrams and made a comparison between the gravities derived from the ionization equilibrium of the iron lines and from the evolutionary tracks: the agreement is reasonably good. © 2006 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.