GES 2014: Gaia-Eso Survey Second Science Meeting

Scientific Rationale:

The Gaia-ESO Survey (GES) is currently half way to achieve its goal to collect spectra for 100 000 stars over a period of five years. The survey is providing an homogeneous overview of the distributions of kinematics and elemental abundances for the major components of the Milky Way, namely the bulge, the thick and the thin discs and the halo . In addition to the field component, a very significant sample of open star clusters, covering all accessible clusters ages and stellar masses, as well as a handful of globular clusters are being observed.

This Gaia-Eso Survey Second Science Meeting is perfectly timed to present and discuss new results arising from the second internal data release. Given the already significant data volume and the current more mature stage of the GES data analysis, we expect a variety of scientifically interesting results on a wide range of topics proposed within the Survey:

• Local Field Dwarfs (UVES parallels)
• Bulge and Inner Galaxy
• Thick Disc
• Halo
• Thin Disc Kinematics
• Calibrations and Standards
• Cluster Membership
• Cluster Kinematics
• Cluster Abundances
• Stellar Evolution
• Cluster-Field Analyses
• Technical and Methods
• Any other project

By the time of the meeting, several studies based on the first data release will be already published and many based on the second data release will be ready to verify previous work and reveal new findings on the different subjects.

Like in the first science meeting, in addition to the interest of the new science results, this conference will also allow some discussion on the survey progress, data analysis methods, challenges, and synergies with other surveys (e.g. SkyMapper), etc. This will be an ideal occasion for the different groups within the survey to meet and discuss their progress, difficulties and ways forward and ensure a better and better progress of the Survey.

Scientific Organizing Committee

• Guisi Micela (co-Chair)
• Sérgio Sousa (co-Chair)
• Sofia Feltzing
• Alejandra Recio-Blanco
• Karin Lind
• Carlos Allende Prieto
• Ronny Blomme
• Germano Sacco
• Rodolfo Smiljanic

Local Organizing Committee

• Vardan Adibekyan (co-Chair)
• Isa Brandão
• Elisa Delgado-Mena (co-Chair)
• Marco Montalto
• Manuel Monteiro
• Paulo Peixoto
• Elsa Silva
• Sérgio Sousa

For all information concerning the important dates, registration and abstract submission forms, registration fee payment information, venue and lodging visit https://www.astro.up.pt/investigacao/conferencias/ges2014/.

For any queries please contact the LOC at ges2014(at)astro.up.pt.