Dottorato - PhD thesis
Area Tematica: RSN 2: Stelle, popolazioni stellari e mezzo interstellare
Referente: Emanuele Spitoni, (
Titolo: Galactic Archaeology in Trieste
Decorrenza: 30.05.2025
Descrizione: Galactic Archaeology is a complex and exciting subject. By observing stars in our Galaxy, we can gather precious information on its past assembly process and the present state of its evolution and enrichment. Moreover, the atmospheres of the oldest stars maintain the fossil signatures of the chemical pollution created by the first stars. These signatures are at the cusp of the efforts that, at the crossing of nuclear physics and stellar evolution models, enable the predictions of stellar nucleosynthesis. It is a golden age for these studies thanks to GAIA and its spectroscopic follow-ups. The PhD student will learn how to deal with high-resolution stellar spectra and extract from them the abundances of chemical elements and will also use detailed chemical evolution models to interpret the chemical patters measured in stars. She/He will also be part of the MINCE (Measuring at intermediate metallicity Neutron Capture elements) survey, an international survey devoted to studying the most elusive elements, from the very heavy thorium to the (relative) light zirconium. Thanks to her/his work on spectral synthesis, the Ph.D. candidate will be involved in the study for building up the next generation of instruments at ESO, like HRMOS at the VLT, CUBES again at the VLT devoted to the UV, and ANDES @ELT, the future 39m telescope. Both instruments will be made with the fundamental contribution of the Trieste Observatory. The PhD student is expected to work mainly on the observational and stellar analysis perspective. Still, the chemical abundances obtained will be used on the theoretical side addressing Galactic problems or the evolution of the elements in the Galaxy and in the satellite galaxies of the Milky Way thanks to the expertise within the team.
