Synthetic stellar and SSP libraries as templates for Gaia simulations

Abstract

ESA's Gaia mission will collect low resolution spectroscopy in the optical range for ∼10 9 objects. Complete and up-to-date libraries of synthetic stellar spectra are needed to built algorithms aimed to automatically derive the classification and the parametrization of this huge amount of data. In addition, libraries of stellar spectra are one of the main ingredients of stellar population synthesis models, aiming to derive the properties of unresolved stellar populations from their integrated light. We present (a) the newly computed libraries of synthetic spectra built by the Gaia community, covering the whole optical range (300-1100 nm) at medium-high resolution of (0.3 nm) for stars spanning the most different types, from M to O, from Apeculiar to Emission lines to White Dwarfs, and (b) the implementation of those libraries in our SSP code (Tantalo in The Initial Mass Function 50 Years Later, 327:235 2005), exploring different stellar evolution models.

Determining the Metallicity of Low-Mass Stars and Brown Dwarfs: Tools for Probing Fundamental Stellar Astrophysics, Tracing Chemical Evolution of the Milky Way and Identifying the Hosts of Extrasolar Planets

“…One of the primary tools for measuring metallicities of low-mass objects is the comparison of data to synthetic spectra (created using atmospheric models). Calculating such models is common practice (e.g., Sordo et al 2010) using modern atmosphere codes (Hauschildt & Baron 1999). For low-mass objects in general, it is crucial to account for dust formation in the atmosphere.…”