Start year
2010
Organizational Unit
Organizing institutions
Grants related:
General
Description
Stellar spectroscopy allows us to determine the properties and chemical compositions of stars. From this information for stars of different ages in the Milky Way, it is possible to reconstruct the chemical evolution of the Galaxy, as well as the origin of the elements heavier than boron, created mainly in stellar interiors. It is also possible to study stellar formation, and the formation of the Galaxy, from the signature of the Galactic potential on the stellar orbits, and the distributions of mass, ages, and the abundance of heavy elements.
Obtaining high-resolution spectra, as necessary for studies of chemical compositions, requires advanced and efficient instrumentation. This is particularly true for research that calls for large stellar samples, which demands the observation of hundreds or thousands of sources simultaneously. Efficiency requires that the data processing and analysis are performed in an automated way.
The interpretation of spectra is based on physical models of the atmospheres of the stars, from where the light that we observe escapes the stars. The main ingredients for building such models are the fluid dynamics, and the properties of the atoms, ions, and molecules, especially regarding their interactions with the radiation coming from the stellar interior.
Once we have a plausible model, it is possible to compute in detail how the radiation propagates through the stellar atmosphere, and the emergent spectrum, which can then be iteratively compared with the observations to refine the model.
This project covers three different research fronts:
- Improving model atmospheres and simulations of stellar spectra.
- Developing tools for acquisition, reduction, and analysis of spectroscopic observations, in particular for the determination of chemical abundances in stars.
- Designing, preparing, and executing spectroscopic studies of stars aimed at understanding a) the most relevant aspects of the physics of stellar atmospheres, b) the formation and evolution of stars, c) the origin of the chemical elements, and d) the formation, structure, and evolution of the Milky Way galaxy.
Members
Principal investigator
Carlos
Allende Prieto
Project staff
Prof.
Rafael
Rebolo López
Yeisson Fabián
Martínez Osorio
Thomas
Masseron
Collaborators
Andrés
Asensio Ramos
Juan
Calvo Tovar
Jorge
Casares Velázquez
Martín
López Corredoira
José Alfonso
López Aguerri
Claudio
Dalla Vecchia
Domingo Aníbal
García Hernández
Ramón
García López
Fabio
Tenegi Sanginés
FRANCISCO SHU
KITAURA JOYANES
Jonay Isai
González Hernández
Olga María
Zamora Sánchez
Pablo
Rodríguez Gil
Dr.
I. Hubeny
Dr.
D.L. Lambert
Dr.
L. Koesterke
Dr.
I. Ramirez
Dr.
M. Shetrone
Dr.
J.J. Hermes
Dr.
D. E. Winget
Dr.
B. Castanheira
Dr.
M. Asplund
Dr.
W. Brown
Dr.
M. Kilic
Dr.
S. Majewski
Dr.
R. Schiavon
Dr.
J. Holtzman
Dr.
H.G. Ludwig
Dr.
T. Beers
Dr.
V. S. Smith
Dr.
Y. Sun Lee
Dr.
M. Cropper
Dr.
D. Kawata
Dr.
M. P. Ruffoni
Dr.
J. C. Pickering
Dr.
K. Cunha
Dr.
C. Rockosi
Dr.
Andrew Cooper
Dr.
Boris Gaensicke
Results
- Complete the installation and commissioning of HORuS on GTC
- Discover two new stars with more than 100,000 times less iron than the Sun
- Complete the classification of all the APOGEE spectra with K-means
- Publish a complete collection of model stellar spectra for stars O to M
- Identify the signature of chemical diffusion in the atmospheres of the stars in the cluster M67
Scientific activity
Related publications
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The Open Cluster Chemical Abundances and Mapping Survey. IV. Abundances for 128 Open Clusters Using SDSS/APOGEE DR16The Open Cluster Chemical Abundances and Mapping (OCCAM) survey aims to constrain key Galactic dynamical and chemical evolution parameters by the construction of a large, comprehensive, uniform, infrared-based spectroscopic data set of hundreds of open clusters. This fourth contribution from the OCCAM survey presents analysis using Sloan DigitalDonor, John et al.
Advertised on:
52020 -
The Extreme CNO-enhanced Composition of the Primitive Iron-poor Dwarf Star J0815+4729We present an analysis of high-resolution Keck/HIRES spectroscopic observations of J0815+4729, an extremely carbon-enhanced, iron-poor dwarf star. These high-quality data allow us to derive a metallicity of [Fe/H] = −5.49 ± 0.14 from the three strongest Fe i lines and to measure a high [Ca/Fe] = 0.75 ± 0.14. The large carbon abundance of A(C) = 7González Hernández, Jonay I. et al.
Advertised on:
12020 -
Stellar Characterization of M Dwarfs from the APOGEE Survey: A Calibrator Sample for M-dwarf MetallicitiesWe present spectroscopic determinations of the effective temperatures, surface gravities, and metallicities for 21 M dwarfs observed at high resolution (R ∼ 22,500) in the H band as part of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS)-IV Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE) survey. The atmospheric parameters and metallicities areSouto, Diogo et al.
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22020 -
Stellar atmospheric parameters of FGK-type stars from high-resolution optical and near-infrared CARMENES spectraWith the purpose of assessing classic spectroscopic methods on high-resolution and high signal-to-noise ratio spectra in the near-infrared wavelength region, we selected a sample of 65 F-, G-, and K-type stars observed with CARMENES, the new, ultra-stable, double-channel spectrograph at the 3.5 m Calar Alto telescope. We computed their stellarMarfil, E. et al.
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32020 -
Signatures of the Galactic bar in high-order moments of proper motions measured by GaiaOur location in the Milky Way provides an exceptional opportunity to gain insight on the galactic evolution processes, and complement the information inferred from observations of external galaxies. Since the Milky Way is a barred galaxy, the study of motions of individual stars in the bulge and disc is useful to understand the role of the bar. ThePalicio, Pedro A. et al.
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22020 -
The Pristine Survey - VIII. The metallicity distribution function of the Milky Way halo down to the extremely metal-poor regimeThe Pristine survey uses narrow-band photometry to derive precise metallicities down to the extremely metal-poor regime ( [Fe/H] < -3), and currently consists of over 4 million FGK-type stars over a sky area of ̃ 2500 deg^2. We focus our analysis on a subsample of ̃80 000 main-sequence turn-off stars with heliocentric distances between 6 and 20 kpcYouakim, K. et al.
Advertised on:
32020 -
Metallicity and α-Element Abundance Gradients along the Sagittarius Stream as Seen by APOGEEUsing 3D positions and kinematics of stars relative to the Sagittarius (Sgr) orbital plane and angular momentum, we identify 166 Sgr stream members observed by the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE) that also have Gaia DR2 astrometry. This sample of 63/103 stars in the Sgr trailing/leading arm is combined with an APOGEEHayes, Christian R. et al.
Advertised on:
12020 -
A detailed non-LTE analysis of LB-1: Revised parameters and surface abundancesContext. It has recently been proposed that LB-1 is a binary system at 4 kpc consisting of a B-type star of 8 M ☉ and a massive stellar black hole (BH) of 70 M ☉. This finding challenges our current theories of massive star evolution and formation of BHs at solar metallicity. Aims: Our objective is to derive the effective temperature, surfaceSimón-Díaz, S. et al.
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22020 -
ESPRESSO highlights the binary nature of the ultra-metal-poor giant HE 0107-5240Context. The vast majority of the known stars of ultra low metallicity ([Fe/H] < -4.5) are known to be enhanced in carbon, and belong to the "low-carbon band" (A(C) = log(C/H)+12 ≤ 7.6). It is generally, although not universally, accepted that this peculiar chemical composition reflects the chemical composition of the gas cloud out of which theseBonifacio, P. et al.
Advertised on:
12020 -
Physical parameters of red supergiants in dwarf irregular galaxies in the Local GroupContext. Increasing the statistics of evolved massive stars in the Local Group enables investigating their evolution at different metallicities. During the late stages of stellar evolution, the physics of some phenomena, such as episodic and systematic mass loss, are not well constrained. For example, the physical properties of red supergiantsBritavskiy, N. E. et al.
Advertised on:
112019 -
Homogeneous analysis of globular clusters from the APOGEE survey with the BACCHUS code - II. The Southern clusters and overviewWe investigate the Fe, C, N, O, Mg, Al, Si, K, Ca, Ce, and Nd abundances of 2283 red giant stars in 31 globular clusters from high-resolution spectra observed in both the northern and Southern hemisphere by the SDSS-IV APOGEE-2 survey. This unprecedented homogeneous data set, largest to date, allows us to discuss the intrinsic Fe spread, the shapeMészáros, Szabolcs et al.
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22020 -
The Pristine survey - VI. The first three years of medium-resolution follow-up spectroscopy of Pristine EMP star candidatesWe present the results of a 3-yr long, medium-resolution spectroscopic campaign aimed at identifying very metal-poor stars from candidates selected with the CaHK, metallicity-sensitive Pristine survey. The catalogue consists of a total of 1007 stars, and includes 146 rediscoveries of metal-poor stars already presented in previous surveys, 707 newAguado, David S. et al.
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122019 -
IMF radial gradients in most massive early-type galaxiesUsing new long-slit spectroscopy obtained with X-Shooter at ESO-VLT, we study, for the first time, radial gradients of optical and near-infrared initial mass function (IMF)-sensitive features in a representative sample of galaxies at the very high mass end of the galaxy population. The sample consists of seven early-type galaxies (ETGs) at z ̃ 0.05La Barbera, F. et al.
Advertised on:
112019 -
Machine learning in APOGEE. Identification of stellar populations through chemical abundancesContext. The vast volume of data generated by modern astronomical surveys offers test beds for the application of machine-learning. In these exploratory applications, it is important to evaluate potential existing tools and determine those that are optimal for extracting scientific knowledge from the available observations. Aims: We explore theGarcia-Dias, Rafael et al.
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92019 -
The Gaia-ESO survey: Calibrating a relationship between age and the [C/N] abundance ratio with open clustersContext. In the era of large high-resolution spectroscopic surveys such as Gaia-ESO and APOGEE, high-quality spectra can contribute to our understanding of the Galactic chemical evolution by providing abundances of elements that belong to the different nucleosynthesis channels, and also by providing constraints to one of the most elusiveCasali, G. et al.
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92019 -
H-band discovery of additional second-generation stars in the Galactic bulge globular cluster NGC 6522 as observed by APOGEE and GaiaWe present an elemental abundance analysis of high-resolution spectra for five giant stars spatially located within the innermost regions of the bulge globular cluster NGC 6522 and derive Fe, Mg, Al, C, N, O, Si, and Ce abundances based on H-band spectra taken with the multi-object APOGEE-north spectrograph from the SDSS-IV Apache Point ObservatoryFernández-Trincado, J. G. et al.
Advertised on:
72019 -
ExoMol molecular line lists - XXXIII. The spectrum of Titanium OxideAccurate line lists are crucial for correctly modelling a variety of astrophysical phenomena, including stellar photospheres and the atmospheres of extrasolar planets. This paper presents a new line database TOTO for the main isotopologues of titanium oxide (TiO): ^{46}Ti^{16}O, ^{47}Ti^{16}O, ^{48}Ti^{16}O, ^{49}Ti^{16}O, and ^{50}Ti^{16}O. The ^McKemmish, Laura K. et al.
Advertised on:
92019 -
Stellar spectral models compared with empirical dataThe empirical MILES stellar library is used to test the accuracy of three different, state-of-the-art, theoretical model libraries of stellar spectra. These models are widely used in the literature for stellar population analysis. A differential approach is used so that responses to elemental abundance changes are tested rather than absolute levelsKnowles, A. T. et al.
Advertised on:
62019 -
Chemical analysis of CH stars - III. Atmospheric parameters and elemental abundancesElemental abundances of CH stars can provide observational constraints for theoretical studies on the nucleosynthesis and evolution of low- and intermediate-mass stars. However, available abundance data in literature are quite scanty. In our pursuit to generate a homogeneous data base of elemental abundances of CH stars we have performed a detailedPurandardas, M. et al.
Advertised on:
72019 -
High-resolution spectroscopy of Boyajian's star during optical dimming eventsBoyajian's star is an apparently normal main-sequence F-type star with a very unusual light curve. The dipping activity of the star, discovered during the Kepler mission, presents deep, asymmetric, and aperiodic events. Here we present high-resolution spectroscopic follow-up during some dimming events recorded post-Kepler observations, from groundMartínez González, M. J. et al.
Advertised on:
62019
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SEVERO OCHOA 2016 - 2019
The IAC is an internationalized Spanish research centre aiming to achieve major advances in the understanding of the laws that govern the origin and evolution of the various forms of matter/energy in the Universe. Outstanding results are expected in key areas of research such as Solar physics, Sun-Earth connections, Exoplanetary systems, Solar
Rafael
Rebolo López
