Workshop on Astrophysical Opacities

The Belgian Repository of fundamental Atomic Data and Stellar Spectra: a status update of BRASS

2 Aug 2017, 15:20

20m

Fetzer Center, Putney Auditorium (Western Michigan University Kalamazoo, MI, USA)

Contributed talks Atomic Opacities

Speaker

Dr Alex Lobel (Royal Observatory of Belgium)

Description

BRASS is an international networking project of the Federal Government of Belgium for the development of a new public database providing accurate fundamental atomic data of vital importance for stellar spectroscopic research. We present an update of its mid-term development status. The BRASS database will offer atomic line data we thoroughly test by comparing theoretical and observed stellar spectra. We are in the course of performing extensive quality assessments of selected atomic input data using advanced radiative transfer spectrum synthesis calculations which we compare in detail to high-resolution Mercator-HERMES and ESO-VLT-UVES spectra of very high signal-to-noise ratios of hot and cool stars (BAFGK-types). We have retrieved about half a million atomic lines required for the detailed spectrum synthesis calculations from the literature and in online databases such as VAMDC, NIST, VALD, CHIANTI, TIP/TOPBASE, SpectroWeb. The atomic datasets have been cross-matched based on line electronic configuration information and organized in a new online repository that will become publicly available at brass.sdf.org. The validated atomic data, combined with the observed and theoretical spectra will also be interactively offered in BRASS. The combination of these datasets is a novel approach for its development, which will provide a universal reference for advanced stellar spectroscopic research. We present an overview of the BRASS Data Interface developments allowing online user interaction for the combined spectrum and atomic data display, line identification, and line equivalent width measurements.