Titanium abundances in late-type stars : I. 1D non-local thermodynamic equilibrium modelling in benchmark dwarfs and giants

Context. The titanium abundances of late-type stars are important tracers of Galactic formation history. However, abundances inferred from TiI and TiII lines can be in stark disagreement in very metal-poor giants. Departures from local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) have a large impact on the minority neutral species and thus influence the ionisation imbalance, but satisfactory non-LTE modelling for both dwarfs and giants has not been achieved in the literature. Aims. The reliability of titanium abundances is reassessed in benchmark dwarfs and giants using a new non-LTE model 1D model atmospheres.Methods. A comprehensive model atom was compiled with a more extended level structure and newly published data for inelastic collisions between TiI and neutral hydrogen. Results. In 1D LTE, the TiI and TiII lines agree to within 0.06 dex for the Sun, Arcturus, and the very metal-poor stars HD 84937 and HD 140283. For the very metal-poor giant HD 122563, the TiI lines give an abundance that is 0.47 dex lower than that from TiII . The 1D non-LTE corrections can reach +0.4 dex for individual TiI lines and +0.1 dex for individual TiII lines, and they reduce the overall ionisation imbalance to -0.17 dex for HD 122563. However, the corrections also increase the imbalance for the very metal-poor dwarf and sub-giant to around 0.2 dex. Conclusions. Using 1D non-LTE reduces the ionisation imbalance in very metal-poor giants but breaks the balance of other very metal-poor stars, consistent with conclusions drawn in the literature. To make further progress, consistent 3D non-LTE models are needed. Correction in: Astronomy and Astrophysics, vol. 673, Article Number C1DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/202244788e