Related papers: Colour-Magnitude Diagrams from microlensing projec…
We present microlensing calculations for a Galactic model based on Han & Gould (2003), which is empirically normalised by star counts. We find good agreement between this model and data recently published by the MACHO and OGLE…
We examine the left-right asymmetry in the cleaned COBE/DIRBE near-infrared data of the inner Galaxy and show (i) that the Galactic bar is probably not seen very nearly end-on, and (ii) that even if it is, it is not highly elongated. The…
We present an analysis of optical lightcurves of Small Magellanic Cloud Be-type stars. Observations show that (1) optical excess flux is correlated with near-IR excess flux indicating a similar mechanism and (2) the lightcurves can trace…
Most Galactic Globular Clusters (GCs) harbour multiple populations of stars (MPs), composed of at least two generations: the first characterized by a "standard" $\alpha$-enhanced metal mixture, as observed in field halo stars of the Milky…
We present detailed comparisons between high quality observational colour-magnitude diagrams (CMDs) of open star clusters and synthetic CMDs based on MonteCarlo numerical simulations. The comparisons account for all of the main parameters…
We investigate the environmental dependence of stellar population properties of galaxies in the local universe. Physical quantities related to the stellar content of galaxies are derived from a spectral synthesis method applied to a…
We performed a photometric multicolor survey of the core of the Canis Major over-density at l 244, -8.0, reaching V = 22 and covering 0.3 x 1 degree. The main aim is to unravel the complex mixture of stellar populations toward this Galactic…
The exploitation of the power and the spatial resolution of HST and new generation ground-based telescopes allows to measure with good precision the individual stars of galaxies in and beyond the Local Group. This leads to very successful…
This is a brief overview of the elemental abundance patterns that have been observed in the different Galactic stellar populations. Main focus is on studies that are based on high-resolution spectra of dwarf and subgiant stars, and in some…
The optical luminosity function is a fundamental characterization of the galaxy population. A combination of earlier redshift surveys with two new surveys allows the first accurate determination of the evolution of the luminosity function…
Evolutionary models of elliptical galaxies are constructed by using a new population synthesis code. Model parameters are calibrated to reproduce the observed colour-magnitude (CM) relation of Coma ellipticals in $V-K$ vs. $M_{V}$ diagram.…
(Abridged) We introduce a novel technique to construct spatially resolved maps of stellar mass surface density in galaxies based on optical and near IR imaging. We use optical/NIR colour(s) to infer effective stellar mass-to-light ratios…
The cornerstone mission of the European Space Agency, Gaia, has revealed properties of 260 000 white dwarfs in the Galaxy, allowing us for the first time to constrain the evolution of white dwarfs with a large sample. Complementary surveys…
The stellar populations of galaxies contain a wealth of detailed information. From the youngest, most massive stars, to almost invisible remnants, the history of star formation is encoded in the stars that make up a galaxy. Extracting some,…
Because we know little about the Galactic force-field away from the plane, the Galactic mass distribution is very ill-determined. I show that a microlensing survey of galaxies closer than 50 Mpc would enable us to map in three dimensions…
The Thesis is an attempt to combine data from three previously independent areas - the structure and kinematics of stellar populations of the Galaxy, photometric and dynamical models of galaxies, and models of the dynamical and physical…
A new method, AMORE - based on a genetic algorithm optimizer, is presented for the automated study of colour-magnitude diagrams. The method combines several stellar population synthesis tools developed in the last decade by or in…
We present deep near-IR photometry for Galactic bulge stars in Baade's Window, $(l,b) = (1.0\deg, -3.9\deg),$ and another minor axis field at $(l,b) = (0^\circ,-6^\circ)$. We combine our data with previously published photometry and…
We have analyzed a sample of 27,258 fundamental-mode RR Lyrae variable stars (type RRab) detected recently toward the Galactic bulge by the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment (OGLE) survey. The data support our earlier claim that…
It is now possible to measure detailed spectral indices for stellar populations in spiral disks. We propose to interpret these data using evolutionary synthesis models computed from the Star Formation Histories obtained from chemical…