The Gaia-ESO Survey: The analysis of high-resolution UVES spectra of FGK-type stars

Figure: The observed stars in the effective temperature vs. surface gravity plane. The panels are divided by metallicity. The figure shows the distribution of the stars in different evolutionary stages per metallicity interval. Credit: R. Smiljanic.

The Survey recently reached an important milestone when the analysis of all spectra obtained up to the end of June 2013 was completed (1.5 years of observations). The analysis of the high-resolution spectra of FGK-type stars is described in a recent paper by R. Smiljanic (of the Nicolaus Copernicus Astronomical Center) and collaborators published in the Astronomy & Astrophysics journal (The Gaia-ESO Survey: The analysis of high-resolution UVES spectra of FGK-type stars (link opens in new window)). The importance of this milestone for the Survey made the paper one of the 2014 research highlights of the journal (link opens in new window).

This paper describes how the atmospheric parameters and elemental abundances were determined for 1301 FGK-type stars. This sample is already among the largest of its kind analyzed in a homogeneous way. These stars are mainly dwarfs in the solar neighborhood and giants in a few open clusters with ages above 100 Myr. Abundances were determined for 24 chemical elements: C, N, O, Na, Mg, Al, Si, Ca, Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Y, Zr, Mo, Ba, Nd, and Eu. The list includes elements formed in all nucleosynthetic channels. The results will enable significant advances in the areas of stellar evolution and Milky Way formation and evolution. Many other publications based on these results have already been published or are under preparation.