Related papers: Review: progress in NLTE calculations and their ap…
Over the last years a new generation of model atmosphere codes, which include the effects of metal line-blanketing of millions of spectral lines in NLTE, has been used to re-determine the properties of massive stars through quantitative…
The possibility of significant systematic errors due to the use of 1D homogeneous atmospheres in lithium-abundance determinations of cool stars motivates a study of non-local-thermodynamic-equilibrium (NLTE) effects on Li I line formation…
Hydrogen Balmer lines are commonly used as spectroscopic effective temperature diagnostics of late-type stars. However, the absolute accuracy of classical methods that are based on one-dimensional (1D) hydrostatic model atmospheres and…
Mg is the alpha element of choice for Galactic population and chemical evolution studies as it is easily detectable in all late-type stars. Such studies require precise elemental abundances, and thus departures from LTE need to be accounted…
The OI 777 nm lines are among the most commonly used diagnostics for the oxygen abundances in the atmospheres of FGK-type stars. However, they form in conditions that are far from local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE). We explore the…
We present a homogeneous set of accurate atmospheric parameters for a complete sample of very and extremely metal-poor stars in the dwarf spheroidal galaxies (dSphs) Sculptor, Ursa Minor, Sextans, Fornax, Bo\"otes I, Ursa Major II, and Leo…
Multi-dimensional unified model atmospheres with winds of massive stars have so far been studied under the assumption of equal flux, Planck, and energy weighted mean opacities, which effectively means these models have been in local…
Elemental abundance ratios as tracers of stellar populations are discussed with emphasis on F, G, and K stars providing a `fossil' record of the chemical evolution of the Galaxy. Most abundance studies have been based on homogeneous 1D…
Yttrium (Y), a key s-process element, is commonly used in nucleosynthesis studies and as a Galactic chemical clock when combined with magnesium (Mg). We study the applicability of the previously assumed LTE line formation assumption in Y…
As one of the most important elements in astronomy, iron abundance determinations need to be as accurate as possible. We investigate the accuracy of spectroscopic iron abundance analyses using archetypal metal-poor stars. We perform…
From exploratory studies and theoretical expectations it is known that simplifying approximations in spectroscopic analysis (LTE, 1D) lead to systematic biases of stellar parameters and abundances. These biases depend strongly on surface…
The measurement of stellar properties such as chemical compositions, masses and ages, through stellar spectra, is a fundamental problem in astrophysics. Progress in the understanding, calculation and measurement of atomic properties and…
These lectures are intended to present a simple but relatively complete description of the theory needed to understand the formation of lines in non-local thermodynamical equilibrium (NLTE), without appealing to any previous knowledge…
Spectra of late-type stars are usually analyzed with static model atmospheres in local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) and a homogeneous plane-parallel or spherically symmetric geometry. The energy balance requires particular attention, as…
Aims: Hydrogen and helium line spectra are crucial diagnostic features for the quantitative analysis of OB stars. We compute synthetic spectra based on a hybrid non-LTE approach in order to test the ability of these models to reproduce…
Spectral analysis by means of NLTE model atmospheres has presently arrived at a high level of sophistication. High-resolution spectra of central stars of planetary nebulae can be reproduced in detail from the infrared to the X-ray…
Detailed non-LTE calculations for red supergiant stars are presented to investigate the influence of NLTE on the formation of atomic iron and titanium lines in the J-band. With their enormous brightness at J-band red supergiant stars are…
Non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (non-LTE) line formation for Ca I-Ca II, Ti I-Ti II, and Fe I-Fe II is considered in model atmospheres of giant stars with an effective temperature of 4000 K $\le$ Teff $\le$ 5000 K and a metal abundance…
LTE abundances of light elements in extremely metal-poor (EMP) stars have been previously derived from high quality spectra. New derivations, free from the NLTE effects, will better constrain the models of the Galactic chemical evolution…
Several results indicate that the atmospheric temperature of the ultra-hot Jupiter KELT-9b in the main line formation region is a few thousand degrees higher than predicted by self-consistent models. We test whether non-local thermodynamic…