A NON-LTE STUDY OF SILICON ABUNDANCES IN GIANT STARS FROM THE Si i INFRARED LINES IN THE zJ -BAND

We investigate the feasibility of Si i infrared (IR) lines as Si abundance indicators for giant stars. We find that Si abundances obtained from the Si i IR lines based on the local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) analysis show large line-to-line scatter (mean value of 0.13 dex), and are higher than those from the optical lines. However, when non-LTE effects are taken into account, the line-to-line scatter reduces significantly (mean value of 0.06 dex), and the Si abundances are consistent with those from the optical lines. The typical average non-LTE correction of [Si/Fe] for our sample stars is about −0.35 dex. Our results demonstrate that the Si i IR lines could be reliable abundance indicators, provided that the non-LTE effects are properly taken into account.