Research project BL/33/IN22 (Research action BL)
The network unites 4 Belgian and 5 Indian partners internationally renowned for excellence in spectroscopy (Ap1). The goal is to optimize the scientific exploitation of celestial object observations obtained with the Indo-Belgian and other telescopes accessible within the consortium. In this context, the collaborations will favour long-term stays (from a few weeks to a few months) of (young) scientists to share instrumental and scientific expertise. The focus is twofold:
(1) improve the data quality of existing instruments and prepare the data products of the second-generation spectrographs (Ap2),
(2) use these newly-processed data to probe the chemical composition of solar system bodies, and stars at different evolutionary stages and metallicity regimes.
To reach a sufficient accuracy on the chemical composition of these objects, the need for well-calibrated, well-reduced spectra is crucial. This project focuses on complementary science topics that require state-of-the-art data reduction:
Solar system science: Comets are the remnants of the formation of the solar system. Their study allows us to better understand the origins of the solar system and planet formation. Particularly, when comets are close to the Sun and release ice from their nucleus forming the typical coma/atmosphere, the study of their composition allows one to probe the composition of the solar nebula. The observations and telescope/instrument setup will be optimized to accommodate the specificities of moving targets, and the data reduction will take care of the extended nature of comets. The flux from various molecular bands in the visible will be measured and transformed to production rates (and relative abundances to water) of the various species using specific models (Ap3/WP1).
Stellar science: With birth masses (Mini) higher than 2 solar masses (M⊙), intermediate- and high-mass stars are fundamental cosmic engines. Intermediate-mass stars (2M⊙
The study of the chemical abundances of stars with different evolutionary stages and metallicities represents one direction to tackle many open questions about stellar evolution but that requires well-calibrated, well-reduced spectra of single and multiple objects. With those data, ongoing and planned projects shared between the different partners would address key topics for stellar evolution (Ap3/WP2-WP4) such as nucleosynthesis in intermediate-mass stars (s/i/r-processes), fundamental parameters of stars in multiple systems using spectral disentangling (with pulsating stars, undergoing mass transfer,...) and stellar winds of massive stars.
The networking includes work visits for 3 Belgian and 6 Indian experts (51 weeks in total). These activities will further strengthen the Indo-Belgian collaboration and its visibility (Ap3/WP5), enhance the efficiency/output of BIPASS science, and will provide better data products for the telescopes within the consortium, leading to long-lasting partnerships.
