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We present the simulation tools developed to aid the design phase of the Cassegrain U-Band Efficient Spectrograph (CUBES) for the Very Large Telescope (VLT), exploring aspects of the system design and evaluating the performance for different design configurations. CUBES aims to be the 'ultimate' ultraviolet (UV) instrument at the European Southern Observatory (ESO) in terms of throughput, with the goal to cover the bluest part of the spectrum accessible from the ground (300 nm to 400 nm) with the highest possible efficiency. Here we introduce the End-to-End (E2E) and the Exposure Time Calculator (ETC) tools. The E2E simulator has been developed with different versions to meet the needs of different users, including a version that can be accessed for use by the broader scientific community using a Jupyter notebook. The E2E tool was used by the system team to help define the Phase A baseline design of the instrument, as well as in scientific evaluation of a possible low-resolution mode. The ETC is a web-based tool through which the science community are able to test a range of science cases for CUBES, demonstrating its potential to push the limiting magnitude for the detection of specific UV-features, such as abundance estimates of beryllium in main sequence stars., Comment: Accepted for publication in Experimental Astronomy

In the era of Extremely Large Telescopes, the current generation of 8-10m facilities are likely to remain competitive at ground-UV wavelengths for the foreseeable future. The Cassegrain U-Band Efficient Spectrograph (CUBES) has been designed to provide high-efficiency (>40%) observations in the near UV (305-400 nm requirement, 300-420 nm goal) at a spectral resolving power of R>20,000 (with a lower-resolution, sky-limited mode of R ~ 7,000). With the design focusing on maximizing the instrument throughput (ensuring a Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) ~20 per high-resolution element at 313 nm for U ~18.5 mag objects in 1h of observations), it will offer new possibilities in many fields of astrophysics, providing access to key lines of stellar spectra: a tremendous diversity of iron-peak and heavy elements, lighter elements (in particular Beryllium) and light-element molecules (CO, CN, OH), as well as Balmer lines and the Balmer jump (particularly important for young stellar objects). The UV range is also critical in extragalactic studies: the circumgalactic medium of distant galaxies, the contribution of different types of sources to the cosmic UV background, the measurement of H2 and primordial Deuterium in a regime of relatively transparent intergalactic medium, and follow-up of explosive transients. The CUBES project completed a Phase A conceptual design in June 2021 and has now entered the detailed design and construction phase. First science operations are planned for 2028., SPIE proceedings, SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation 2022, Montr\'eal, Canada; 20 pages, 13 figures, 2 tables

CUBES (Cassegrain U-Band Efficient Spectrograph) is the recently approved high-efficiency VLT spectrograph aimed to observe the sky in the UV ground-based region (305-400 nm) with a high-resolution mode (~20K) and a low-resolution mode (~5K). In this paper we will briefly describe the requirements and the design of the several software packages involved in the project, namely the instrument control software, the exposure time calculator, the end-to-end simulator, and the data reduction software suite. We will discuss how the above mentioned blocks cooperate to build up a "software ecosystem" for the CUBES instrument, and to support the users from the proposal preparation to the science-grade data products., Comment: SPIE proceedings, SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation 2022, Montr\'eal, Canada

We present the baseline conceptual design of the Cassegrain U-Band Efficient Spectrograph (CUBES) for the Very Large Telescope. CUBES will provide unprecedented sensitivity for spectroscopy on a 8 - 10 m class telescope in the ground ultraviolet (UV), spanning a bandwidth of > 100 nm that starts at 300 nm, the shortest wavelength accessible from the ground. The design has been optimized for end-to-end efficiency and provides a spectral resolving power of R > 20000, that will unlock a broad range of new topics across solar system, Galactic and extraglactic astronomy. The design also features a second, lower-resolution (R \sim 7000) mode and has the option of a fiberlink to the UVES instrument for simultaneous observations at longer wavelengths. Here we present the optical, mechanical and software design of the various subsystems of the instrument after the Phase A study of the project. We discuss the expected performances for the layout choices and highlight some of the performance trade-offs considered to best meet the instrument top-level requirements. We also introduce the model-based system engineering approach used to organize and manage the project activities and interfaces, in the context that it is increasingly necessary to integrate such tools in the development of complex astronomical projects., Accepted for publication in Experimental Astronomy

This paper focuses on carbon that is one of the most abundant elements in the Universe and is of high importance in the field of nucleosynthesis and galactic and stellar evolution. Even nowadays, the origin of carbon and the relative importance of massive and low- to intermediate-mass stars in producing it is still a matter of debate. In this paper we aim at better understanding the origin of carbon by studying the trends of [C/H], [C/Fe],and [C/Mg] versus [Fe/H], and [Mg/H] for 2133 FGK dwarf stars from the fifth Gaia-ESO Survey internal data release (GES iDR5). The availability of accurate parallaxes and proper motions from Gaia DR2 and radial velocities from GES iDR5 allows us to compute Galactic velocities, orbits and absolute magnitudes and, for 1751 stars, ages via a Bayesian approach. Three different selection methodologies have been adopted to discriminate between thin and thick disk stars. In all the cases, the two stellar groups show different abundance ratios, [C/H], [C/Fe], and [C/Mg], and span different age intervals, with the thick disk stars being, on average, older than those in the thin disk. The behaviours of [C/H], [C/Fe], and [C/Mg] versus [Fe/H], [Mg/H], and age all suggest that C is primarily produced in massive stars like Mg. The increase of [C/Mg] for young thin disk stars indicates a contribution from low-mass stars or the increased C production from massive stars at high metallicities due to the enhanced mass loss. The analysis of the orbital parameters Rmed and |Zmax| support an "inside-out" and "upside-down" formation scenario for the disks of Milky Way., 27 pages, 15 figures

The trends of chemical abundances and abundance ratios observed in stars of different ages, kinematics, and metallicities bear the imprints of several physical processes that concur to shape the host galaxy properties. By inspecting these trends, we get precious information on stellar nucleosynthesis, the stellar mass spectrum, the timescale of structure formation, the efficiency of star formation, as well as any inward or outward flows of gas. In this paper, we analyse recent determinations of carbon-to-iron and carbon-to-oxygen abundance ratios in different environments (the Milky Way and elliptical galaxies) using our latest chemical evolution models that implement up-to-date stellar yields and rely on the tight constraints provided by asteroseismic stellar ages (whenever available). A scenario where most carbon is produced by rotating massive stars, with yields largely dependent on the metallicity of the parent proto-star clouds, allows us to fit simultaneously the high-quality data available for the local Galactic components (thick and thin discs) and for microlensed dwarf stars in the Galactic bulge, as well as the abundance ratios inferred for massive elliptical galaxies. Yet, more efforts are needed from both observers and theoreticians in order to base these conclusions on firmer grounds., Comment: 10 pages, 8 figures, 1 table, accepted for publication in A&A

The analysis of the wavelength-dependent albedo of exoplanets represents a direct way to provide insight of their atmospheric composition and to constrain theoretical planetary atmosphere modelling. Wavelength-dependent albedo can be inferred from the exoplanet's reflected light of the host star, but this is not a trivial task. In fact, the planetary signal may be several orders of magnitude lower ($10^{-4}$ or below) than the flux of the host star, thus making its extraction very challenging. Successful detection of the planetary signature of 51~Peg\,b has been recently obtained by using cross-correlation function (CCF) or autocorrelation function (ACF) techniques. In this paper we present an alternative method based on the use of Independent Component Analysis (ICA). In comparison to the above-mentioned techniques, the main advantages of ICA are that the extraction is \textit{"blind"} i.e. it does not require any \textit{a priori} knowledge of the underlying signals, and that our method allows us not only to detect the planet signal but also to estimate its wavelength dependence. To show and quantify the effectiveness of our method we successfully applied it to both simulated data and real data of an eclipsing binary star system. Eventually, when applied to real 51~Peg~+~51~Peg\,b data, our method extracts the signal of 51~Peg but we could not soundly detect the reflected spectrum of 51~Peg\,b mainly due to the insufficient $SNR$ of the input composite spectra. Nevertheless, our results show that with "ad-hoc" scheduled observations an ICA approach will be, in perspective, a very valid tool for studying exoplanetary atmospheres., Comment: 25 pages, 12 figures. Accepted to AJ

We present a high resolution synthetic spectral library, INTRIGOSS, designed for studying FGK stars. The library is based on atmosphere models computed with specified individual element abundances via ATLAS12 code. Normalized SPectra (NSP) and surface Flux SPectra (FSP), in the 4830-5400 A, wavelength range, were computed with the SPECTRUM code. INTRIGOSS uses the solar composition by Grevesse et al. 2007 and four [alpha/Fe] abundance ratios and consists of 15,232 spectra. The synthetic spectra are computed with astrophysical gf-values derived by comparing synthetic predictions with a very high SNR solar spectrum and the UVES-U580 spectra of five cool giants. The validity of the NSPs is assessed by using the UVES-U580 spectra of 2212 stars observed in the framework of the Gaia-ESO Survey and characterized by homogeneous and accurate atmospheric parameter values and by detailed chemical compositions. The greater accuracy of NSPs with respect to spectra from the AMBRE, GES_Grid, PHOENIX, C14, and B17 synthetic spectral libraries is demonstrated by evaluating the consistency of the predictions of the different libraries for the UVES-U580 sample stars. The validity of the FSPs is checked by comparing their prediction with both observed spectral energy distribution and spectral indices. The comparison of FSPs with SEDs derived from ELODIE, INDO--U.S., and MILES libraries indicates that the former reproduce the observed flux distributions within a few percent and without any systematic trend. The good agreement between observational and synthetic Lick/SDSS indices shows that the predicted blanketing of FSPs well reproduces the observed one, thus confirming the reliability of INTRIGOSS FSPs., 32 pages, 12 figures

A new synthetic library of spectral feature indices, Lick/Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), for stellar population studies is presented. Lick/SDSS is computed from synthetic spectra with resolving power R = 1800 to fully exploit the content of the spectroscopic SDSS-DR7 stellar database. The Lick/SDSS system is based on the Lick/IDS one complemented with a UV index in the wavelength region of Ca II H and K lines. The system is well suited to study {alpha}-element abundances in F, G, and K stars. The reliability of synthetic indices in reproducing the behaviors of observational ones with effective temperature, surface gravity, overall metallicity, and {alpha}-element abundances is tested by using empirical stellar libraries (ELODIE, INDO-U.S., and MILES) and the SDSS-DR7 spectroscopic database. The importance of using the same temperature scale in comparing theoretical and observational indices is discussed. The full consistency between Lick/SDSS and observational indices derived from the above mentioned stellar libraries is assessed. The comparison with indices computed from SDSS-DR7 spectra evidences good consistency for 'dwarf' stars and significant disagreement for 'giant' stars due to systematic overestimation of the stellar T {sub eff} by the SEGUE Stellar Parameter Pipeline.

The knowledge of the albedo of an exoplanet can be a very good source of information about its physical and chemical characteristics; however, it is normally very difficult to separate the planet albedo from the star spectrum, as the amplitude of the planet spectrum is much lower than that of its star, and the two spectra are acquired together, as it is not possible to spatially separate them. Here we present an algorithm for the estimation of the planet albedo, which exploits the amplitude modulation of the planet spectrum during its orbit around the star and works also if no eclipses are present. Results are presented using simulated spectra of the CoRoT-1 b system.

A sample of 119 F, G, and K solar neighborhood stars, selected under the condition [Fe/H] > 0.00, is investigated in order to detect which of them, if any, present α-enhanced characteristics. According to the kinematics, the sample represents stars of the thin-disk component of the Galaxy. The search of α-enhanced characteristics is performed by adopting an already tested procedure that does not require previous knowledge of the stellar main atmospheric parameters. The analysis is based on the comparison of spectral indices in the Lick IDS system, coming from different observational data sets, with synthetic ones computed with solar-scaled abundances and with α-element enhancement. The main result of the analysis is the extreme paucity (likely just one in 119) of α-enhanced stars in our sample, thus suggesting [α/Fe] = 0.0 for thin-disk stars with [Fe/H] > 0.00. This result, which is in agreement with the standard evolutionary picture of the disk of the Galaxy, is compared with recent results from high-resolution analysis reported in the literature. The role of the atmospheric parameter assumptions in the analysis of high-resolution spectroscopic data is discussed, and a possible explanation of discrepant results about α-enhancement for stars with [Fe/H] > 0.00 is presented.

Synthetic Lick indices computed with solar scaled abundances and with α-element enhancement are presented and compared with predictions from both theoretical computations (Tripicco & Bell; Thomas, Maraston, & Bender; Barbuy et al.) and empirical fitting functions (de Freitas Pacheco). We propose selected combinations of indices capable of singling out α-enhanced stars without requiring previous knowledge of their main atmospheric parameters. By applying this approach to the 460 stars in the Worthey et al. catalog, we detected a list of 82 candidate α-enhanced stars. The confirmation of α-enhancement was obtained by searching the literature for individual element abundance determinations from high-resolution spectroscopy for a subsample of 34 stars. Preliminary discussion of the properties of the detected α-enhanced stars with respect to their [Fe/H] values and kinematics is presented.

New visual spectrophotometric observations of non-supergiant solar neighborhood stars are combined with IUE Newly Extracted Spectra (INES) energy distributions in order to derive their overall metallicities, [M/H]. This fundamental parameter, together with effective temperature and apparent angular diameter, is obtained by applying the flux-fitting method while surface gravity is derived from the comparison with evolutionary tracks in the theoretical H-R diagram. Trigonometric parallaxes for the stars of the sample are taken from the Hipparcos Catalogue. The quality of the flux calibration is discussed by analyzing a test sample via comparison with external photometry. The validity of the method in providing accurate metallicities is tested on a selected sample of G-type stars with well-determined atmospheric parameters from recent high-resolution spectral analysis. The extension of the overall procedure to the determination of the chemical composition of all the INES non-supergiant G-type stars with accurate parallaxes is planned in order to investigate their atmospheric temperature structure.

We present FEROS--Lick/SDSS, an empirical database of Lick/SDSS spectral indices of FGK stars to be used in population synthesis projects for discriminating different stellar populations within the integrated light of galaxies and globular clusters. From about 2500 FEROS stellar spectra obtained from the ESO Science Archive Facility we computed line--strength indices for 1085 non--supergiant stars with atmospheric parameter estimates from the AMBRE project. Two samples of 312 {\it dwarfs} and of 83 {\it subgiants} with solar chemical composition and no significant $\alpha$--element abundance enhancement are used to compare their observational indices with the predictions of the Lick/SDSS library of synthetic indices. In general, the synthetic library reproduces very well the behaviour of observational indices as a function of temperature, but in the case of low temperature ($T_{\rm eff}$ $\lesssim $5000\,K) dwarfs; low temperature subgiants are not numerous enough to derive any conclusion. Several possible causes of the disagreement are discussed and promising theoretical improvements are presented., Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures, Accepted 2014 April 28 for publication in MNRAS

The main results of a program of systematic comparison between observed and computed UV spectral energy distributions of field G-type stars are illustrated. We constructed the UV observed energy distributions for 53 G stars, starting from the IUE Uniform Low Dispersion Archive (ULDA) and computed the corresponding theoretical fluxes by using the atmospheric parameters from the Catalogue of [Fe/H] Determinations (1996 edition) and a Kurucz grid of model fluxes. From the comparison between observations and classical models, a UV excess shortward of 2000 A is evident for all the program stars. The UV continuum in the region 1600-2000 A can be described by synthetic fluxes computed from semiempirical models based on the temperature minimum concept. Values for the Tmin/Teff ratio on the order of 0.80 are suitable for the interpretation of the observed fluxes. The residual discrepancies shortward of 1600 A are suggested to be effects of the chromosphere, on the basis of a comparison with the Maltby et al. semiempirical model of the Sun.

We analyzed a sample of about 2500 stars extracted from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey with T eff in the range 4750÷6500 K and log g greater than 1.5. Atmospheric parameter estimates are obtained by comparing observed and synthetic spectral indices. The dependence of the α-enhancement phenomenon on stellar metallicity and on Galactic position is investigated.

We present the scientific case for an Adaptive Optics Visual Echelle Spectrograph and Imager Coronograph (AVES-IMCO) that we propose as a visitor instrument for the secondary port of N AOS at the VLT. We show that such an instrument would be ideal for intermediate resolution (R=16,000) spectroscopy of faint sky-limited objects down to a magnitude of V=24.0 and will complement very effectively the near-IR imaging capabilities of CONICA. We present examples of science programmes that could be carried out with such an instrument and which cannot be addressed with existing VLT instruments. We also report on the result of a two-year design study of the instrument, with specific reference to its use as parallel instrument of NAOS.

Using the UVBLUE library of synthetic stellar spectra we have computed a set of mid-UV line and continuum spectroscopic indices. We explore their behavior in terms of the leading stellar parameters [T_eff,log(g)]. The overall result is that synthetic indices follow the general trends depicted by those computed from empirical databases. Separately we also examine the index sensitivity to changes in chemical composition, an analysis only feasible under a theoretical approach. In this respect, lines indices FeI3000, BL3096 and MgI2852 and the continuum index 2828/2921 are the least sensitive features, an important characteristic to be taken into account for the analyses of integrated spectra of stellar systems. We also quantify the effects of instrumental resolution on the indices and find that indices display variations up to 0.1 mag in the resolution interval between 6-10 angstrom of FWHM. We discuss the extent to which synthetic indices are compatible with indices measured in spectra collected by the International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE). Five line and continuum indices (FeI3000, 2110/2570, 2828/2921, S2850, and S2850L) display a remarkable good correlation with observations. The rest of the indices are either underestimated or overestimated, however, two of them, MgWide and BL3096, display only marginal discrepancies. For 11 indices we give the coefficients to convert synthetic indices to the IUE system. This work represents the first attempt to synthesize mid-UV indices from high resolution theoretical spectra and foresees important applications for the study of the ultraviolet morphology of old stellar aggregates., Comment: 20 pages, 6 figures; accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal

We report on the status of AVES, the Adaptive-optics Visual Echelle Spectrograph proposed for the secondary port of the Nasmyth Adaptive Optics System (NAOS) recently installed at the VLT. AVES is an intermediate resolution (R ≈ 16,000) high-efficiency fixed- format echelle spectrograph which operates in the spectral band 500 - 1,000 nm. In addition to a high intrinsic efficiency, comparable to that of ESI at Keck II, it takes advantage of the adaptive optics correction provided by NAOS to reduce the sky and detector contribution in background-limited observations of weak sources, thus allowing a further magnitude gain with respect to comparable non-adaptive optics spectrographs. Simulations show that the instrument will be capable of reaching a magnitude V = 22.5 at S/N > 10 in two hours, two magnitudes weaker than GIRAFFE at the same resolution and 3 magnitudes weaker than the higher resolution UVES spectrograph. Imaging and coronographic functions have also been implemented in the design. We present the results of the final design study and we dicuss the technical and operational issues related to its implementation at the VLT as a visitor instrument. We also discuss the possibility of using a scaled-up non-adaptive optics version of the same design as an element of a double- or triple-arm intermediate-resolution spectrograph for the VLT. Such an option looks attractive in the context of a high-efficiency large-bandwidth (320 - 1,500 nm) spectrograph ("fast-shooter") being considered by ESO as a 2nd-generation VLT instrument.

We present a preliminary design study for an adaptive optics visual echelle spectrograph and imager/coronograph for use as parallel instrument of the Nasmyth Adaptive Optics System (NAOS) on unit UT3 of the VLT. The spectrograph is intended for intermediate resolution spectroscopy of faint sources. It could be used for observations of late-type dwarfs in distant Galactic clusters and in galaxies of the local group as well as for spectroscopy of extra galactic objects like quasars and Lyman break galaxies down to a limiting magnitude of V equals 22.5. The implementation of an imaging gand coronograph mode increases the versatility of the instrument and its scientific objectives. The instrument takes advantage of Adaptive Optics at visible wavelengths both for imaging and spectroscopy. With NAOS at the VLT, the light concentration in these bands will be above approximately 60 percent of the flux in a 0.3 arcsec aperture for typical Paranal conditions. Simulations show that a gain of more than one magnitude with respect to compatible non-adaptive optical spectrography will be possible for sky- and/or detector limited observations. In addition, the smaller diffraction limit in the optical than in the IR will allow a significant gain in imaging and coronography as well. Finally, the instrument will allow gathering unprecedented experience on the performances of AO at visible wavelengths, which will be fundamental for further development of AO systems, in particular for very large telescopes.

The possibility of designing and running an AO system working in the visible for observations with a large diameter telescope is still under debate due to the large number of sub-pupils required to properly sample the incoming WaveFront. On the other hand, the situation is much more relaxed in the IR, where r0 is much larger, and several systems are forthcoming or already in operation. Morossi et al. proposed to support IR AO system with on-line multi-aperture selection devices. They showed that the image quality of a ground-based telescope in the visual could be improved by means of pupil segmentation and on-line multi- sub-aperture selection notwithstanding the large D/r0 ratio.© (1999) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

By using a procedure based on the Bayesian probability theory we computed reliable and self–consistent estimates of absolute magnitude and age for about 2000 FKG spectral-type stars from SDSS–DR5, ELODIE, and INDO–US surveys, with effective temperature, surface gravity, and metallicity values homogeneously derived.

Spectra of FGK stars were selected from the SDSS–DR5 spectroscopic database to investigate the Age-Metallicity relation and the [Fe/H] and [α/Fe] vertical gradients in the Milky Way. Atmospheric parameters and [α/Fe] were derived by comparing synthetic and measured Lick/SDSS spectral indices. Results were checked and complemented by analyzing solar neighbourhood stars. Spectroscopic distances and ages were obtained for a subsample of ~2000 stars using theoretical isochrones via a Bayesian approach. The resulting Age-Metallicity diagram and the [Fe/H] and [α/Fe] vertical gradients are presented.

The possibility of improving the image quality of the Italian “Telescopio Nazionale Galileo (TNG)” by means of on-line image selection via a fast shutter is discussed. The different performances obtainable with different shutter speeds, selection rates and sharpness criteria are derived by the analysis of temporal series of simulated short exposure images of atmospheric speckles. The speckles are obtained by drifting large format phase screens of von Karman statistics over the telescope pupil. The phase screens are generated by FFT transforming a white noise of controlled quality and by adding subharmonics to approximate the low frequency pattern. Particular attention is devoted to the identification of the most suitable merit function(s) for on-line image selection and to the comparison of the achievable image quality improvements with those obtainable through off-line selection and co-addition post-processing techniques.

Within the last decade, the declassification of adaptive optics techniques and systems developed for defense purposes opened new opportunities to the astronomical community. Since the military resolution requirements are not qualitatively different from the astronomical ones, astronomers may profit from the quite sizable investments already made. On the other hand, the astronomical observations are much more demanding than the military ones with respect to the required accuracy, stability and sensitivity. In 1994, after contacts made during an adaptive optics meeting in Munich, we started a joint project to observe the ejected matter from the luminous blue variable (LBV) P-Cygni with the AMOS compensated imaging system (CIS). In this paper we describe the problems encountered and the experience gained in more than two years of operations with CIS. The satisfactory results obtained so far prompted us to plan a more ambitious program. We aim to profit from the acquired know-how for preparing a proposal of astronomical observations designed in such a way of taking the utmost advantage of the capabilities of the new USAF AEOS adaptive optics system.

Our current knowledge of production and destruction of light elements in astrophysical processes suggests that deuterium is produced during Big Bang nucleosynthesis and destroyed when cycled through stars. Primordial deuterium abundance can be determined by measuring the D/H ratio in a variety of astrophysical environments with different degrees of chemical evolution: the D/H ratio of unprocessed material directly gives the primordial value, while the ratio in processed material is expected to be lower and consistent with the predictions of galactic chemical evolution models. Here we focus our attention on deuterium abundance determinations of chemically processed material such as the interstellar gas in our Galaxy. Up to now, most of the determinations of deuterium abundance have been performed in the solar system or in local interstellar clouds. However, the overall accuracy of the measurements in local clouds is still insufficient to probe evolutionary trends. New D/H measurements in clouds at different locations in our Galaxy would be necessary to establish this issue, while interstellar measurements in nearby galaxies would give further constraints on the deuterium evolution in different galactic environments. With this goal in mind we have evaluated the capability of the Lyman channel of the SPECTRUM UV Rowland spectrography in determining deuterium column density in distant interstellar clouds. Three packages have been used to obtain realistic predicted spectra and to derive `observed' column densities: (1) the MIDAS package `CLOUD', to generate theoretical interstellar absorption profiles; (2) the `Synth' package developed in the IRAF environment by two of the authors to simulate spectroscopic observations of point sources obtainable with an astronomical spectrograph, (3) the FITLYMAN package inside the Lyman context of MIDAS to derive `observed' column densities from predicted spectra. The minimum exposure times, tmin, required to obtain a approximately 0.1 dex accuracy in the `observed' column densities, were derived by varying the input interstellar hydrogen column density. As a result, we show that the Lyman channel of the SPECTRUM UV Rowland spectrograph is up to the task of deriving accurate H and D column densities of low and medium column density interstellar clouds while it fails for N(HI) >= 1021 atoms cm-2.© (1996) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

The Maksutov scheme for the compensation of an aspheric concave mirror by means of a single spherical mirror is described. The residual longitudinal spherical aberration and the corresponding Zernike polynomial coefficient are computed. The optical error budget for the scheme, as obtained from the analytical computations and by means of the CODE V program for design and engineering of optical systems, is presented. The application of such a scheme to the verification of the figuring of the hyperbolic primary mirror (D equals 1.70 m) of the T-170 Telescope to be launched on board of the Russia/Ukraine/Italy/Germany SPECTRUM UV satellite is discussed.© (1994) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

We analyzed the spectra of 17,600 F, G, and K stars extracted from the seventh Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release (SDSS-DR7) database in order to derive [α/Fe], [Ca/Fe], and [Mg/Fe] ratios. Particular attention has been devoted to estimating homogeneous and self-consistent atmospheric parameter values, T eff, log g, and [Fe/H], by comparing synthetic and observational Lick/SDSS indices. We present results for the sub-sample of more than 4000 spectra whose overall quality allowed us to derive fairly accurate stellar atmospheric parameter values and, therefore, reliable abundance ratios. A Monte Carlo approach was adopted to evaluate both the errors in the observational Lick/SDSS indices and in the derived parameter estimates. The analysis of the trends of [Ca/Fe] and [Mg/Fe] versus [Fe/H] pointed out that (1) the [Ca/Fe] and [Mg/Fe] ratios increase with decreasing [Fe/H] with different slopes reaching maximum average levels of +0.25 and +0.40 dex at [Fe/H] –1.75, respectively; (2) our sample contains, at a given [Fe/H], stars characterized by significantly different amounts of α-enhancement, thus belonging to different Galactic populations; and (3) the analyzed sample shows a predominance of thick disk stars for [Fe/H] > – 0.5 and the presence of stars belonging to the high-α halo population for –2.0 < [Fe/H]

Context. Theoretical results showed the possibility that neutron capture elements were produced in the early Universe by two different sources: a frequent s-process source hosted by rotating massive stars, and a rare r-process source hosted most likely by neutron star mergers. The two sources produce barium with different isotopic compositions. Aims. We aim to investigate the lines of barium in two halo stars, HD 6268 and HD 4306. The spectra present an exquisite quality, both in terms of resolution (R > 100'000) and signal-to-noise (400). Due to hyperfine splitting (hfs) effects, barium lines are expected to show slightly different profiles depending on the barium isotopic fraction. Methods. We applied a standard local thermodynamic equilibrium synthesis of the barium lines. We compared the synthetic results assuming an s-process isotopic pattern or an r-process isotopic pattern for the two barium lines for each star that exhibited hfs. We also applied a methodology, less dependent on the accuracy of the theoretical Ba hfs structure, that transforms the lines of HD 4306 into those we would observe if its atmospheric parameter values (i.e. Teff, log g, micro- and macro-turbulence, Vsin i, and Ba abundance) were the same as those of HD 6268. Results. With both methods, our results show that the barium lines with hfs effects of HD 4306 are in agreement with an s-process composition and the lines in HD 6268 have a different profile, which is most likely linked to the presence of an r-process isotopic pattern. Conclusions. Two lines of barium of HD 6268 and HD 4306 seem to confirm the theoretical expectation that both r-process events and also s-process contribution by rotating massive stars have polluted the ancient halo of our Galaxy., 13 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics