The Library
On the impact of spectral template uncertainties in synthetic stellar populations
Tools
Byrne, C. M. and Stanway, Elizabeth R. (2023) On the impact of spectral template uncertainties in synthetic stellar populations. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 521 (4). pp. 4995-5012. doi:10.1093/mnras/stad832 ISSN 1365-2966.
|
PDF
WRAP-on-impact-spectral-template-uncertainties-synthetic-stellar-populations-23.pdf - Accepted Version - Requires a PDF viewer. Available under License Creative Commons Attribution 4.0. Download (8Mb) | Preview |
Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stad832
Abstract
Uncertainties in stellar population models, both in terms of stellar evolution and stellar spectra, translate into uncertainties in our interpretation of stellar populations in galaxies, since stars are the source of most of the light we receive from them. Observations by JWST are revealing high-redshift galaxies in great detail, which must then be compared to models. One significant source of uncertainty is in the stellar spectra used to generate composite spectra of stellar populations, which are then compared to data. Confidence in theoretical models is important to enable reliable determination of the properties of these galaxies such as their ages and star formation history. Here we present a comparison of spectral synthesis carried out with 6 different stellar spectral libraries using the Binary Population and Spectral Synthesis (bpass) framework. In photometric colours, the differences between theoretical libraries are relatively small (<0.10 mag), similar to typical observational uncertainties on individual galaxy observations. Differences become more pronounced when detailed spectroscopic properties are examined. Predictions for spectral line indices can vary significantly, with equivalent widths differing by a factor of two in some cases. With these index strengths, some of the libraries yield predictions of ages and metallicities which are unphysical. Many spectral libraries lack wavelength coverage in the ultraviolet, which is of growing importance in the era of JWST observations of distant galaxies, whose flux is dominated by hot, young stars.
Item Type: | Journal Article | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Subjects: | Q Science > QB Astronomy | ||||||||
Divisions: | Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine > Science > Physics | ||||||||
SWORD Depositor: | Library Publications Router | ||||||||
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | Stars -- Populations, Galaxies, Double stars -- Evolution | ||||||||
Journal or Publication Title: | Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society | ||||||||
Publisher: | Oxford University Press (OUP) | ||||||||
ISSN: | 1365-2966 | ||||||||
Official Date: | 3 April 2023 | ||||||||
Dates: |
|
||||||||
Volume: | 521 | ||||||||
Number: | 4 | ||||||||
Page Range: | pp. 4995-5012 | ||||||||
DOI: | 10.1093/mnras/stad832 | ||||||||
Status: | Peer Reviewed | ||||||||
Publication Status: | Published | ||||||||
Access rights to Published version: | Open Access (Creative Commons) | ||||||||
Copyright Holders: | © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Royal Astronomical Society | ||||||||
Date of first compliant deposit: | 3 April 2023 | ||||||||
Date of first compliant Open Access: | 4 April 2023 | ||||||||
RIOXX Funder/Project Grant: |
|
Request changes or add full text files to a record
Repository staff actions (login required)
View Item |
Downloads
Downloads per month over past year