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Cesare Chiosi answers a few questions about this month's new hot paper in field of
Space Science.
From
•>>May 2002
Field: Space Science
Article Title:
"Evolutionary tracks and isochrones for low- and intermediate-mass stars: From 0.1.5 to 7 M-circle dot and from Z=0.0004 to 0.03"
Authors: Girardi, L;Bressan, A;Bertelli, G;Chiosi, C
Journal: ASTRON ASTROPHYS SUPPL SERIES
Volume: 141
Page: 371-383
Year: FEB 2000
* Univ Padua, Dipartimento Astron, Vicolo Osserv 5, I-35122
Padua, Italy.
* Univ Padua, Dipartimento Astron, I-35122 Padua, Italy.
* Max Planck Inst Astrophys, D-85740 Garching, Germany.
* Univ Fed Rio Grande Sul, Inst Fis, BR-91501970 Porto
Alegre, RS, Brazil.
* Osservatorio Astron Padova, I-35122 Padua, Italy.
* CNR, I-00185 Rome, Italy.
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 Why do you think your paper is highly cited?
This paper belongs to a series of articles published by my group
that are dedicated to providing the scientific community with
state-of-the-art stellar models and related isochrones, integrated
magnitude and colors of single stellar populations. These are the
building blocks of populations synthesis going from simple star
clusters to galaxies. The series started with the article by Bertelli
et al. (1994, AAS 106, 275) and has been constantly evolving
over the years. The last article of this series is only recently in
print in AAS by Girardi et al (2202, astro-ph/0205080).
In addition to this we have also provided homogeneous sets of chemical
yields (ejecta) from single stars that are a key ingredient in studies
of the chemical evolution of galaxies.
Does it describe a new discovery or new methodology that's useful
to others?
The merit of these studies is in their accuracy and homogeneity as
well as in their extensive applicability to a wide range of
astrophysical problems.
Can you give us some background on this research?
Over the years, we have concentrated on three primary areas of
work. The first undertakes studies of stellar structure to better
understand how a star is made, how it evolves over time, and how far
current theories are able to interpret observational data such as the
HRD of star clusters. The second covers the application of the results
of the first step to studies of composite stellar populations in
nearby galaxies in which the stellar content can be resolved in
individual objects so that the morphology of the HRD can be used to
trace back the history of star formation and chemical enrichment. The
third aims to predict or compare integrated properties of large
stellar assemblies when they cannot be individually resolved because
they are too far away and with the aid of this to trace the past
history of star formation in galaxies of the local Universe and at
high red-shift.
Could you summarize the significance of your paper in layman's
terms?
This paper and other articles written by our group have contributed
to an understanding of both the structure and evolution, limited to
the hydrostatic, quiet phases, of stars of any mass and initial
chemical composition.
Cesare Chiosi, Chair
Professor of Theoretical Astrophysics
University of Padova, Department of Astronomy
Vicolo Osservatorio 2
35122 Padova, Italy
2001 to date, director of the department for the coordination of
national research of the National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF-NIFA)
since January 2002, member of the "Istituto Veneto di Scienze
Lettere ed Arti."
Research Activity:
Stellar structure and evolution, stellar instability, stellar
populations, chemical, spectral and photometric evolution of galaxies,
galaxy dynamics, galaxy formation, galaxy ages.
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ESI Special Topics,
May 2002
Citing URL - http://www.esi-topics.com/nhp/comments/may-02-CesareChiosi.html
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