| 1. |
- Gent, Matthew Raymond, et al.
(author)
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The SAPP pipeline for the determination of stellar abundances and atmospheric parameters of stars in the core program of the PLATO mission
- 2022
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In: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 658
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We introduce the SAPP (Stellar Abundances and atmospheric Parameters Pipeline), the prototype of the code that will be used to determine parameters of stars observed within the core program of the PLATO space mission. The pipeline is based on the Bayesian inference and provides effective temperature, surface gravity, metallicity, chemical abundances, and luminosity. The code in its more general version has a much wider range of potential applications. It can also provide masses, ages, and radii of stars and can be used with stellar types not targeted by the PLATO core program, such as red giants. We validate the code on a set of 27 benchmark stars that includes 19 FGK-type dwarfs, 6 GK-type subgiants, and 2 red giants. Our results suggest that combining various observables is the optimal approach, as this allows the degeneracies between different parameters to be broken and yields more accurate values of stellar parameters and more realistic uncertainties. For the PLATO core sample, we obtain a typical uncertainty of 27 (syst.) +/- 37 (stat.) K for T-eff, 0.00 +/- 0.01 dex for log g, 0.02 +/- 0.02 dex for metallicity [Fe/H], -0.01 +/- 0.03 R-circle dot for radii, -0.01 +/- 0.05 M-circle dot for stellar masses, and -0.14 +/- 0.63 Gyr for ages. We also show that the best results are obtained by combining the nu(max) scaling relation with stellar spectra. This resolves the notorious problem of degeneracies, which is particularly important for F-type stars.
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| 2. |
- Graham, Nicholas A. J., et al.
(author)
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Climate Warming, Marine Protected Areas and the Ocean-Scale Integrity of Coral Reef Ecosystems
- 2008
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In: PLOS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 3:8, s. e3039-
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Coral reefs have emerged as one of the ecosystems most vulnerable to climate variation and change. While the contribution of a warming climate to the loss of live coral cover has been well documented across large spatial and temporal scales, the associated effects on fish have not. Here, we respond to recent and repeated calls to assess the importance of local management in conserving coral reefs in the context of global climate change. Such information is important, as coral reef fish assemblages are the most species dense vertebrate communities on earth, contributing critical ecosystem functions and providing crucial ecosystem services to human societies in tropical countries. Our assessment of the impacts of the 1998 mass bleaching event on coral cover, reef structural complexity, and reef associated fishes spans 7 countries, 66 sites and 26 degrees of latitude in the Indian Ocean. Using Bayesian meta-analysis we show that changes in the size structure, diversity and trophic composition of the reef fish community have followed coral declines. Although the ocean scale integrity of these coral reef ecosystems has been lost, it is positive to see the effects are spatially variable at multiple scales, with impacts and vulnerability affected by geography but not management regime. Existing no-take marine protected areas still support high biomass of fish, however they had no positive affect on the ecosystem response to large-scale disturbance. This suggests a need for future conservation and management efforts to identify and protect regional refugia, which should be integrated into existing management frameworks and combined with policies to improve system-wide resilience to climate variation and change.
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| 3. |
- Roederer, Ian U., et al.
(author)
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The discovery space of ELT-ANDES. Stars and stellar populations
- 2024
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In: Experimental Astronomy. - 0922-6435. ; 57:2
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The ArmazoNes high Dispersion Echelle Spectrograph (ANDES) is the optical and near-infrared high-resolution echelle spectrograph envisioned for the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT). We present a selection of science cases, supported by new calculations and simulations, where ANDES could enable major advances in the fields of stars and stellar populations. We focus on three key areas, including the physics of stellar atmospheres, structure, and evolution; stars of the Milky Way, Local Group, and beyond; and the star-planet connection. The key features of ANDES are its wide wavelength coverage at high spectral resolution and its access to the large collecting area of the ELT. These features position ANDES to address the most compelling questions and potentially transformative advances in stellar astrophysics of the decades ahead, including questions which cannot be anticipated today.
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