# Chemical Abundances in Stars

Start year
2010
Organizational Unit
Organizing institutions
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.

Principal investigator
Project staff
Collaborators
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.
C. del Burgo
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
1. Complete the installation and commissioning of HORuS on GTC
2. Discover two new stars with more than 100,000 times less iron than the Sun
3. Complete the classification of all the APOGEE spectra with K-means
4. Publish a complete collection of model stellar spectra for stars O to M
5. Identify the signature of chemical diffusion in the atmospheres of the stars in the cluster M67

### Related publications

• The Pristine survey - XIV. Chemical analysis of two ultra-metal-poor stars

Elemental abundances of the most metal-poor stars reflect the conditions in the early Galaxy and the properties of the first stars. We present a spectroscopic follow-up of two ultra-metal-poor stars ([Fe/H] < -4.0) identified by the survey Pristine: Pristine 221.8781+9.7844 and Pristine 237.8588+12.5660 (hereafter Pr 221 and Pr 237, respectively)

Lardo, C. et al.

12
2021
• Gaia Early Data Release 3. Updated radial velocities from Gaia DR2

Context. Gaia's Early Third Data Release (EDR3) does not contain new radial velocities because these will be published in Gaia's full third data release (DR3), expected in the first half of 2022. To maximise the usefulness of EDR3, Gaia's second data release (DR2) sources (with radial velocities) are matched to EDR3 sources to allow their DR2

Seabroke, G. M. et al.

9
2021
• HD 22496 b: The first ESPRESSO stand-alone planet discovery

Context. The ESPRESSO spectrograph is a new powerful tool developed to detect and characterize extrasolar planets. Its design allows an unprecedented radial velocity precision (down to a few tens of cm s−1) and long-term thermomechanical stability. Aims: We present the first stand-alone detection of an extrasolar planet by blind radial velocity

Lillo-Box, J. et al.

10
2021
• The Pristine survey XIII: uncovering the very metal-poor tail of the thin disc

We evaluate the rotational velocity of stars observed by the Pristine survey towards the Galactic anticentre spanning a wide range of metallicities from the extremely metal-poor regime ([Fe/H] < -3) to nearly solar metallicity. In the Galactic anticentre direction, the rotational velocity (Vϕ) is similar to the tangential velocity in the galactic

Fernández-Alvar, Emma et al.

11
2021
• Warm terrestrial planet with half the mass of Venus transiting a nearby star

In recent years, the advent of a new generation of radial velocity instruments has allowed us to detect planets with increasingly lower mass and to break the one Earth-mass barrier. Here we report a new milestone in this context by announcing the detection of the lowest-mass planet measured so far using radial velocities: L 98-59 b, a rocky planet

Demangeon, O. D. S. et al.

9
2021
• Symbiotic Stars in the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment Survey: The Case of LIN 358 and SMC N73 (LIN 445a)

LIN 358 and SMC N73 are two symbiotic binaries in the halo of the Small Magellanic Cloud, each composed of a hot white dwarf accreting from a cool giant companion. In this work, we characterize these systems using a combination of spectral energy distribution (SED)-fitting to the extant photometric data spanning a broad wavelength range (X-ray

Washington, Jasmin E. et al.

9
2021
• Understanding the Angular Momentum Evolution of T Tauri and Herbig Ae/Be Stars

We investigate a sample of six Herbig Ae/Be stars belonging to the Orion OB1 association, as well as 73 low-mass objects, members of the σ Orionis cluster, in order to explore the angular momentum evolution at early stages of evolution, and its possible connection with main-sequence Ap/Bp magnetic stars. Using FIES and HECTOCHELLE spectra, we

Pinzón, Giovanni et al.

9
2021
• HiPERCAM: a quintuple-beam, high-speed optical imager on the 10.4-m Gran Telescopio Canarias

HiPERCAM is a portable, quintuple-beam optical imager that saw first light on the 10.4-m Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC) in 2018. The instrument uses re-imaging optics and four dichroic beamsplitters to record $u_{\rm s}\, g_{\rm s}\, r_{\rm s}\, i_{\rm s}\, z_{\rm s}$ (320-1060 nm) images simultaneously on its five CCD cameras, each of 3.1-arcmin

Dhillon, V. S. et al.

10
2021
• The Pristine survey - XII. Gemini-GRACES chemo-dynamical study of newly discovered extremely metal-poor stars in the Galaxy

High-resolution optical spectra of 30 metal-poor stars selected from the Pristine survey are presented, based on observations taken with the Gemini Observatory GRACES spectrograph. Stellar parameters Teff and log g are determined using a Gaia DR2 colour-temperature calibration and surface gravity from the Stefan-Boltzmann equation. GRACES spectra

Kielty, Collin L. et al.

9
2021
• The Pristine Inner Galaxy Survey (PIGS) III: carbon-enhanced metal-poor stars in the bulge

The most metal-deficient stars hold important clues about the early buildup and chemical evolution of the Milky Way, and carbon-enhanced metal-poor (CEMP) stars are of special interest. However, little is known about CEMP stars in the Galactic bulge. In this paper, we use the large spectroscopic sample of metal-poor stars from the Pristine Inner

Arentsen, Anke et al.

7
2021
• An extension of the MILES library with derived T<SUB>eff</SUB>, log g, [Fe/H], and [α/Fe]

Extragalactic astronomy and stellar astrophysics are intrinsically related. In fact, the determination of important galaxy properties such as stellar masses, star formation histories, or chemical abundances relies on the ability to model their stellar populations. One important ingredient of these models is stellar libraries. Empirical libraries

García Pérez, A. E. et al.

8
2021
• sMILES: a library of semi-empirical MILES stellar spectra with variable [α/Fe] abundances

We present a new library of semi-empirical stellar spectra that is based on the empirical Medium resolution Isaac Newton Library of Empirical Spectra (MILES) library. A new, high-resolution library of theoretical stellar spectra is generated that is specifically designed for use in stellar population studies. We test these models across their full

6
2021
• The APOGEE Data Release 16 Spectral Line List

The updated H-band spectral-line list (from λ15000-17000) adopted by the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE) for the SDSS-IV Data Release 16 (DR16) is presented in this work. The APOGEE line list is a combination of atomic and molecular lines, with data drawn from laboratory, theoretical, and astrophysical sources

Smith, Verne V. et al.

6
2021
• Six transiting planets and a chain of Laplace resonances in TOI-178

Determining the architecture of multi-planetary systems is one of the cornerstones of understanding planet formation and evolution. Resonant systems are especially important as the fragility of their orbital configuration ensures that no significant scattering or collisional event has taken place since the earliest formation phase when the parent

Leleu, A. et al.

5
2021
• The pristine dwarf-galaxy survey - III. Revealing the nature of the Milky Way globular cluster Sagittarius II

We present a new spectroscopic study of the faint Milky Way satellite Sagittarius II. Using multiobject spectroscopy from the Fibre Large Array Multi-Element Spectrograph, we supplement the data set of Longeard et al. with 47 newly observed stars, 19 of which are identified as members of the satellite. These additional member stars are used to put

Longeard, Nicolas et al.

5
2021
• Probing 3D and NLTE models using APOGEE observations of globular cluster stars

Context. Hydrodynamical (or 3D) and non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (NLTE) effects are known to affect abundance analyses. However, there are very few observational abundance tests of 3D and NLTE models. Aims: We developed a new way of testing the abundance predictions of 3D and NLTE models, taking advantage of large spectroscopic survey data

Masseron, T. et al.

3
2021
• The atmosphere of HD 209458b seen with ESPRESSO. No detectable planetary absorptions at high resolution

We observed two transits of the iconic gas giant HD 209458b between 380 and 780 nm, using the high-resolution ESPRESSO spectrograph. The derived planetary transmission spectrum exhibits features at all wavelengths where the parent star shows strong absorption lines, for example, Na I, Mg I, Fe I, Fe II, Ca I, V I, Hα, and K I. We interpreted these

Casasayas-Barris, N. et al.

3
2021
• Analysis of Previously Classified White Dwarf-Main-sequence Binaries Using Data from the APOGEE Survey

We present analyses of near-infrared spectroscopic data from the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE) survey for 45 previously confirmed or candidate white dwarf-main-sequence (WDMS) binaries identified by the optical Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) and LAMOST surveys. Among these 45 systems, we classify three as having

Corcoran, Kyle A. et al.

3
2021
• Fundamental physics with ESPRESSO: Towards an accurate wavelength calibration for a precision test of the fine-structure constant

Observations of metal absorption systems in the spectra of distant quasars allow one to constrain a possible variation of the fine-structure constant throughout the history of the Universe. Such a test poses utmost demands on the wavelength accuracy and previous studies were limited by systematics in the spectrograph wavelength calibration. A

Schmidt, Tobias M. et al.

2
2021
• ESPRESSO high-resolution transmission spectroscopy of WASP-76 b

Aims: We report on ESPRESSO high-resolution transmission spectroscopic observations of two primary transits of the highly irradiated, ultra-hot Jupiter-sized planet, WASP-76b. We investigated the presence of several key atomic and molecular features of interest that may reveal the atmospheric properties of the planet. Methods: We extracted two

Tabernero, H. M. et al.

2
2021

### Related talks

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### Related conferences

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Related projects
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High-resolution spectrograph for the 10-m Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC) based on components from UES, a spectrograph which was in use at the 4.2-m William Herschel Telescope (WHT) between 1992 and 2001.

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Allende Prieto
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

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Type
State