Related papers: Ages of stars: Methods and uncertainties
Essentially everything of astronomical interest is either part of a galaxy, or from a galaxy, or otherwise relevant to the origin or evolution of galaxies. Diverse examples are that the isotropic composition of meteorites provides clues to…
Horizontal branch (HB) stars play a particularly important role in the "age debate," since they are at the very center of the long-standing "second parameter" problem. In this review, I discuss some recent progress in our understanding of…
Chemical clocks, based on age-sensitive stellar abundance ratios, offer a powerful and scalable approach to reconstruct the formation history of the Milky Way. This white paper outlines how wide-field, high-resolution spectroscopy can…
During the last century, with the development of modern physics in such diverse fields as thermodynamics, statistical physics, and nuclear and particle physics, the basic principles of the evolution of stars have been successfully well…
The mean ages of early-type galaxies obtained from the analysis of optical spectra, give a mean age of 8 Gyr at z = 0, with 40% being younger than 6 Gyr. Independent age determinations are possible by using infrared spectra (5-21 microns),…
Helioseismology has provided very detailed information about the solar interior, and extensive data on a large number of stars, although at less detail, are promised by the ongoing and upcoming asteroseismic projects. In the solar case…
The Milky Way is the only galaxy for which we can resolve individual stars at all evolutionary phases, from the Galactic center to the outskirt. The last decade, thanks to the advent of near IR detectors and 8 meter class telescopes, has…
We have asked a number of researchers to compile their lists of the top 10 problems in the field of massive stars. This paper is a compilation of these lists. We attempted to survey observers and theorists and those studying all…
The interpretation of pulsation data for Sun-like stars is currently facing challenges quite similar to those faced by white dwarf modelers ten years ago. The observational requirements for uninterrupted long-term monitoring are beginning…
The stellar population of the Milky Way bulge is thoroughly studied, with a plethora of measurements from virtually the full suite of instruments available to astronomers. It is thus perhaps surprising that alongside well-established…
The standard cosmological model ($\Lambda$-CDM) predicts that galaxies are built through hierarchical assembly on cosmological timescales$^{1,2}$. The Milky Way, like other disc galaxies, underwent violent mergers and accretion of small…
The combination of huge databases of galaxy spectra and advances in evolutionary synthesis models in the past few years has renewed interest in an old question: How to estimate the star formation history of a galaxy out of its integrated…
Last couple of decades have been the golden age for cosmology. High quality data confirmed the broad paradigm of standard cosmology but have thrusted upon us a preposterous composition for the universe which defies any simple explanation,…
In the Milky Way, the thick disk can be defined using individual stellar abundances, kinematics, or age; or geometrically, as stars high above the mid-plane. In nearby galaxies, where only a geometric definition can be used, thick disks…
Imagine we could do asteroseismology of large samples of OB-type stars by using just one spectrum per target. That would be great! But this is probably a crazy and stupid idea. Or maybe not. Maybe we have the possibility to open a new…
In the first two years of operation JWST has delivered key new insights into the formation and evolution of galaxies in the early Universe. By combining imaging with spectroscopy, we discovered and characterised the first generation of…
We present a new technique for accurately determining the ages of starbursts in post-starburst galaxies. In particular, it uses the strength of the Ca II H + H$\epsilon$ absorption feature relative to that of Ca II K to separate the effects…
Studying star formation in spiral arms tells us not only about the evolution of star formation, and molecular clouds, but can also tell us about the nature of spiral structure in galaxies. I will address both these topics using the results…
Accurate characterization of stellar populations is of prime importance to correctly understand the formation and evolution process of our Galaxy. The field of asteroseismology has been particularly successful in such an endeavor providing…
We discuss recent observations of stars located close to the symmetry plane of the Milky Way, and examine them in the context of theories of Galaxy formation and evolution. The kinematics, ages, and compositions of thin disk stars in the…