Grid Of Model Atmospheres Research Articles

How Do We Optimally Sample Model Grids of Exoplanet Spectra?

The construction and implementation of atmospheric model grids is a popular tool in exoplanet characterization. These typically vary a number of parameters linearly, containing one model for every combination of parameter values. Here we investigate alternative methods of sampling parameters, including random sampling and Latin hypercube (LH) sampling, and how these compare to linearly sampled grids. We use a random forest to analyze the performance of these grids for two different models, as well as investigate the information content of the particular model grid from Goyal et al. (2019). We also use nested sampling to implement mock atmospheric retrievals on simulated James Webb Space Telescope transmission spectra by interpolating on linearly sampled model grids. Our results show that random or LH sampling outperforms linear sampling in parameter predictability for our higher-dimensional models, requiring fewer models in the grid, and thus allowing for more computationally intensive forward models to be used. We also found that using a traditional retrieval with interpolation on a linear grid can produce biased posterior distributions, especially for parameters with nonlinear effects on the spectrum. In particular, we advise caution when performing linear interpolation on the C/O ratio, cloud properties, and metallicity. Finally, we found that the information content analysis of the grid from Goyal et al. (2019) was able to highlight key areas of the spectra where the presence or absence of certain molecules can be detected, providing good indicators for parameters such as temperature and C/O ratio.

On the applicability of urban canopy parametrization in building grey zone

AbstractWith increasing interest in urban meteorology and related services, the need to appropriately represent the urban environment in climate/weather models is rising. These regional weather/climate models typically use a km‐scale horizontal grid, which is insufficient to resolve the flow around buildings. Effects of the urban environment on the atmosphere above are represented through a bulk approach using the Urban Canopy Parametrization (UCP) schemes. Existing UCPs usually use the repeating canyon–roof representation that assumes homogeneous distribution of buildings within the grid box. It is commonly accepted that the assumption of homogeneity holds at km‐scale grid resolution but whether it also holds at sub‐km scale, where the regional models are increasingly approaching, is questionable. For this reason, among others, the resolution ranges from a few hundred metres to tens of metres (i.e. building‐resolving scales) is termed the building grey zone in the existing literature. This work shows that the assumption of homogeneity indeed does not hold at the building grey zone for the city‐state Singapore. To understand the possible influences of the use of UCPs at scales from the building grey zone to the conventional mesoscale, we use an urban‐grid method that allows us to estimate the parametrized fluxes from a typical UCP at varying resolutions over the urban landcover while keeping the same atmospheric model grid. Numerical results show that different urban‐grid resolutions yield variations in the near‐surface temperature and wind to a maximum of 0.5 K and 1 m·s−1. Their impact on the boundary‐layer parameters is found to be limited. Although these near‐surface variations are small, they are comparable to the near‐surface scaling variables and are thus physically significant.

Effects of grid spacing on high-frequency precipitation variance in coupled high-resolution global ocean–atmosphere models

High-frequency precipitation variance is calculated in 12 different free-running (non-data-assimilative) coupled high resolution atmosphere–ocean model simulations, an assimilative coupled atmosphere–ocean weather forecast model, and an assimilative reanalysis. The results are compared with results from satellite estimates of precipitation and rain gauge observations. An analysis of irregular sub-daily fluctuations, which was applied by Covey et al. (Geophys Res Lett 45:12514–12522, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1029/2018GL078926) to satellite products and low-resolution climate models, is applied here to rain gauges and higher-resolution models. In contrast to lower-resolution climate simulations, which Covey et al. (2018) found to be lacking with respect to variance in irregular sub-daily fluctuations, the highest-resolution simulations examined here display an irregular sub-daily fluctuation variance that lies closer to that found in satellite products. Most of the simulations used here cannot be analyzed via the Covey et al. (2018) technique, because they do not output precipitation at sub-daily intervals. Thus the remainder of the paper focuses on frequency power spectral density of precipitation and on cumulative distribution functions over time scales (2–100 days) that are still relatively “high-frequency” in the context of climate modeling. Refined atmospheric or oceanic model grid spacing is generally found to increase high-frequency precipitation variance in simulations, approaching the values derived from observations. Mesoscale-eddy-rich ocean simulations significantly increase precipitation variance only when the atmosphere grid spacing is sufficiently fine (< 0.5°). Despite the improvements noted above, all of the simulations examined here suffer from the “drizzle effect”, in which precipitation is not temporally intermittent to the extent found in observations.

Inelastic Processes in Strontium-Hydrogen Collisions and Their Impact on Non-LTE Calculations

Inelastic processes rate coefficients for low-energy Sr + H, Sr+ + H−, Sr+ + H, and Sr2+ + H− collisions are calculated using the multichannel quantum model approach. A total of 31 scattering channels of SrH+ and 17 scattering channels of SrH are considered. The partial cross sections and the partial rate coefficients are hence calculated for 1202 partial processes in total. Using new quantum data for Sr ii + H i collisions, we updated the model atom of Sr ii and performed the non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (non-LTE) calculations. We provide the non-LTE abundance corrections for the Sr ii resonance lines in two grids of model atmospheres, which are applicable to very metal-poor ([Fe/H] ≤−2) dwarfs and giants.

Microphysics of Water Clouds in the Atmospheres of Y Dwarfs and Temperate Giant Planets

Abstract Water clouds are expected to form on Y dwarfs and giant planets with equilibrium temperatures near or below that of Earth, drastically altering their atmospheric compositions and their albedos and thermal emission spectra. Here we use the 1D Community Aerosol and Radiation Model for Atmospheres (CARMA) to investigate the microphysics of water clouds on cool substellar worlds to constrain their typical particle sizes and vertical extent, taking into consideration nucleation and condensation, which have not been considered in detail for water clouds in H/He atmospheres. We compute a small grid of Y-dwarf and temperate giant-exoplanet atmosphere models with water clouds forming through homogeneous nucleation and heterogeneous nucleation on cloud condensation nuclei composed of meteoritic dust, organic photochemical hazes, and upwelled potassium chloride cloud particles. We present comparisons with the Ackerman &amp; Marley parameterization of cloud physics to extract the optimal sedimentation efficiency parameter (f sed) using Virga. We find that no Virga model replicates the CARMA water clouds exactly and that a transition in f sed occurs from the base of the cloud to the cloud top. Furthermore, we generate simulated thermal emission and geometric albedo spectra and find large, wavelength-dependent differences between the CARMA and Virga models, with different gas absorption bands reacting differently to the different cloud distributions and particularly large differences in the M band. Therefore, constraining the vertically dependent properties of water clouds will be essential to estimate the gas abundances in these atmospheres.

The Emission Spectrum of the Hot Jupiter WASP-79b from HST/WFC3

Abstract Here we present a thermal emission spectrum of WASP-79b, obtained via Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3 G141 observations as part of the PanCET program. As we did not observe the ingress or egress of WASP-79b’s secondary eclipse, we consider two scenarios: a fixed mid-eclipse time based on the expected occurrence time, and a mid-eclipse time as a free parameter. In both scenarios, we can measure thermal emission from WASP-79b from 1.1 to 1.7 μm at 2.4σ confidence consistent with a 1900 K brightness temperature for the planet. We combine our observations with Spitzer dayside photometry (3.6 and 4.5 μm) and compare these observations to a grid of atmospheric forward models that span a range of metallicities, carbon-to-oxygen ratios, and recirculation factors. Given the strength of the planetary emission and the precision of our measurements, we found a wide range of forward models to be consistent with our data. The best-match equilibrium model suggests that WASP-79b’s dayside has a solar metallicity and carbon-to-oxygen ratio, alongside a recirculation factor of 0.75. Models including significant H− opacity provide the best match to WASP-79b’s emission spectrum near 1.58 μm. However, models featuring high-temperature cloud species—formed via vigorous vertical mixing and low sedimentation efficiencies—with little day-to-night energy transport also match WASP-79b’s emission spectrum. Given the broad range of equilibrium chemistry, disequilibrium chemistry, and cloudy atmospheric models consistent with our observations of WASP-79b’s dayside emission, further observations will be necessary to constrain WASP-79b’s dayside atmospheric properties.

The Sonora Substellar Atmosphere Models. II. Cholla: A Grid of Cloud-free, Solar Metallicity Models in Chemical Disequilibrium for the JWST Era

Abstract Exoplanet and brown dwarf atmospheres commonly show signs of disequilibrium chemistry. In the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) era, high-resolution spectra of directly imaged exoplanets will allow the characterization of their atmospheres in more detail, and allow systematic tests for the presence of chemical species that deviate from thermochemical equilibrium in these atmospheres. Constraining the presence of disequilibrium chemistry in these atmospheres as a function of parameters such as their effective temperature and surface gravity will allow us to place better constraints on the physics governing these atmospheres. This paper is part of a series of works presenting the Sonora grid of atmosphere models. In this paper, we present a grid of cloud-free, solar metallicity atmospheres for brown dwarfs and wide-separation giant planets with key molecular species such as CH4, H2O, CO, and NH3 in disequilibrium. Our grid covers atmospheres with T eff ∈ [500 K, 1300 K], log g ∈ [3.0, 5.5] (cgs) and an eddy diffusion parameter of log K zz = 2 , 4 and 7 (cgs). We study the effect of different parameters within the grid on the temperature and composition profiles of our atmospheres. We discuss their effect on the near-infrared colors of our model atmospheres and the detectability of CH4, H2O, CO, and NH3 using the JWST. We compare our models against existing MKO and Spitzer observations of brown dwarfs and verify the importance of disequilibrium chemistry for T dwarf atmospheres. Finally, we discuss how our models can help constrain the vertical structure and chemical composition of these atmospheres.

ISOSCELES: Grid of stellar atmosphere and hydrodynamic models of massive stars. The first results

AbstractIn this work we seek to derive simultaneously the stellar and wind parameters of massive stars, mainly A and B type supergiant stars. Our stellar properties encompass the effective temperature, the surface gravity, the micro-turbulence velocity and, silicon abundance. For wind properties we consider the line–force parameters (α, k and δ) obtained from the standard line-driven wind theory. To model the data we use the radiative transport code Fastwind considering the hydrodynamic solutions derived with the stationary code Hydwind. Then, ISOSCELES, a grid of stellar atmosphere and hydrodynamic models of massive stars is created. Together with the observed spectra and a semi-automatic tool the physical properties from these stars are determined through spectral line fittings. This quantitative spectroscopic analysis provide an estimation about the line–force parameters. In addition, we confirm that the hydrodynamic solutions, called δ-slow solutions, describe quite reliable the radiation line-driven winds of B supergiant stars.

Physical and geometrical parameters of CVBS XIV: the two nearby systems HIP 19206 and HIP 84425

Data release 2 (DR2) from the Gaia mission was of great help in precise determination of fundamental parameters of Close Visual Binary and Multiple Systems (CVBMSs), especially masses of their components, which are crucial parameters in understanding formation and evolution of stars and galaxies. This article presents the complete set of fundamental parameters for two nearby close visual binary systems (CVBSs), which are HIP 19206 and HIP 84425. We utilised a combination of two methods; the first one is Tokovinin’s dynamical method to solve the orbit of the system and to estimate orbital elements and the dynamical mass sum, and the second one is Al-Wardat’s method for analysing CVBMSs to estimate the physical parameters of the individual components. The latest method employs grids of Kurucz line-blanketed plane parallel model atmospheres to build synthetic Spectral Energy Distributions (SEDs) of the individual components. Trigonometric parallax measurements given by Gaia DR2 and Hipparcos catalogues are used to analyse the two systems. The difference in these measurements yielded slight discrepancies in the fundamental parameters of the individual components, especially masses. So, a new dynamical parallax is suggested in this work based on the most convenient mass sum as given by each of the two methods. The new dynamical parallax for the system HIP 19205 of 22.97 ± 0.95 mas coincides well with the trigonometric one reported recently (in December 2020) by Gaia EDR3 of 22.3689 ± 0.4056 mas. The positions of the components of the two systems on the evolutionary tracks and isochrones are plotted, which suggest that all components are solar-type main sequence stars. Their most probable formation and evolution scenarios are also discussed.

Characterization of HD 206893 B from Near- to Thermal-infrared

Abstract HD 206893 B is a brown-dwarf companion orbiting inside the debris disk of its host star. We detect the brown dwarf in the Ms band using the Keck/NIRC2 instrument and vortex coronagraph. We measure its magnitude to be Ms = 12.97 − 0.11 0.10 . It is at an angular separation of 0.″22 ± 0.″03, and a position angle of 39.6° ± 5.4° east of north. Using this Ms-band measurement and the system age, we use three evolutionary models to estimate the mass to be 12–78 M Jup. We analyze the atmospheric properties from 1–5 μm using a grid of simulated atmospheric models. We find that a sedimentation flux f sed value ∼0.2 provides the best fit to the data, suggesting high vertically extended clouds. This may be indicative of high-altitude grains or a circumplanetary disk. Our model radii and luminosities for the companion find the best fits are ages of &lt;100 Myr and masses &lt;20 M Jup, consistent with our mass estimate from the evolutionary models using the Ms-band data alone. We detect orbital motion of the brown dwarf around the host star in comparison to the discovery image and derive orbital parameters. Finally we analyze how the companion brown dwarf interacts with the debris disk by estimating the location of the chaotic zone around the brown dwarf using values derived from this study’s estimated mass and orbital constraints. We find that the collisions within the debris belt are likely driven by secular perturbations from the brown dwarf, rather than self-stirring.

Comparative high-resolution spectroscopy of M dwarfs: Exploring non-LTE effects

Context.M dwarfs are key targets for high-resolution spectroscopy and model atmosphere analyses because of the high incidence of these stars in the solar neighbourhood and their importance as exoplanetary hosts. Several methodological challenges make such analyses difficult, leading to significant discrepancies in the published results.Aims.The aim of our work is to compare M dwarf parameters derived by recent high-resolution near-infrared studies with each other and with fundamental stellar parameters. We also assess to what extent deviations from local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) for iron and potassium influence the outcome of these studies.Methods.We carry out line formation calculations based on a modern model atmosphere grid appropriate for M dwarfs along with a synthetic spectrum synthesis code that treats formation of atomic and molecular lines in cool-star atmospheres including departures from LTE. We use near-infrared spectra collected with the CRIRES instrument at the ESO VLT as reference observational data.Results.We find that the effective temperatures obtained with spectroscopic techniques in different studies mostly agree to better than 100 K and are mostly consistent with the fundamental temperatures derived from interferometric radii and bolometric fluxes. At the same time, much worse agreement in the surface gravities and metallicities is evident. Significant discrepancies in the latter parameters appear when results of the studies based on the optical and near-infrared observations are intercompared. We demonstrate that non-LTE effects are negligible for Fe Iin M-dwarf atmospheres but are important for K I, which has a number of strong lines in the near-infrared spectra of these stars. These effects, leading to potassium abundance and metallicity corrections on the order of 0.2 dex, may be responsible for some of the discrepancies in the published analyses. Differences in the temperature–pressure structures of the atmospheric models may be another factor contributing to the deviations between the spectroscopic studies, in particular at low metallicities and high effective temperatures.Conclusions.High-resolution spectroscopic studies of M dwarfs are yet to reach the level of consistency and reproducibility typical of similar investigations of FGK stars. Attention should be given to details of the line formation physics as well as input atomic and molecular data. Collecting high-quality spectra with a wide wavelength coverage of M dwarfs with known fundamental parameters is an essential step in benchmarking spectroscopic parameter determination of low-mass stars.

Extending a Grid of Hydrodynamic Planetary Upper Atmosphere Models

Abstract In this research note, we outline the extension of the grid of upper atmosphere models first presented in Kubyshkina et al. The original grid is based on a 1D hydrodynamic model and consists of about 7000 models covering planets of a size ranging from that of Earth to twice that of Neptune at orbits corresponding to equilibrium temperatures between 300 and 2000 K around solar-like (0.4 to 1.3 solar mass) stars. The extended and revised grid of models consists of 10,235 points and covers a planetary mass range of up to 109 Earth masses, which allows one to outline the transition between low- and high-gravity hot planets in in short period orbits. We prepared the interpolation tool allowing one to use the grid to define the mass-loss of a planet that falls into the parameter range of the grid. We provide a comparison of our results to common analytical models.

Evidence for disequilibrium chemistry from vertical mixing in hot Jupiter atmospheres

Aims. We present a large atmospheric study of 49 gas giant exoplanets using infrared transmission photometry with Spitzer/IRAC at 3.6 and 4.5 μm. Methods. We uniformly analyze 70 photometric light curves of 33 transiting planets using our custom pipeline, which implements pixel level decorrelation. Augmenting our sample with 16 previously published exoplanets leads to a total of 49. We use this survey to understand how infrared photometry traces changes in atmospheric chemical properties as a function of planetary temperature. We compare our measurements to a grid of 1D radiative-convective equilibrium forward atmospheric models which include disequilibrium chemistry. We explore various strengths of vertical mixing (Kzz = 0–1012 cm2 s−1) as well as two chemical compositions (1x and 30x solar). Results. We find that, on average, Spitzer probes a difference of 0.5 atmospheric scale heights between 3.6 and 4.5 μm, which is measured at 7.5σ level of significance. Changes in the opacities in the two Spitzer bandpasses are expected with increasing temperature due to the transition from methane-dominated to carbon-monoxide-dominated atmospheres at chemical equilibrium. Comparing the data with our model grids, we find that the coolest planets show a lack of methane compared to expectations, which has also been reported by previous studies of individual objects. We show that the sample of coolest planets rule out 1x solar composition with &gt;3σ confidence while supporting low vertical mixing (Kzz = 108 cm2 s−1). On the other hand, we find that the hot planets are best explained by models with 1x solar metallicity and high vertical mixing (Kzz = 1012 cm2 s−1). We interpret this as the lofting of CH4 to the upper atmospheric layers. Changing the interior temperature changes the expectation for equilibrium chemistry in deep layers, hence the expectation of disequilibrium chemistry higher up. We also find a significant scatter in the transmission signatures of the mid-temperate and ultra-hot planets, likely due to increased atmospheric diversity, without the need to invoke higher metallicities. Additionally, we compare Spitzer transmission with emission in the same bandpasses for the same planets and find no evidence for any correlation. Although more advanced modelling would test our conclusions further, our simple generic model grid points towards different amounts of vertical mixing occurring across the temperature range of hot Jupiters. This finding also agrees with the observed scatter with increasing planetary magnitude seen in Spitzer/IRAC color-magnitude diagrams for planets and brown dwarfs.

Comparative high-resolution spectroscopy of M dwarfs - exploring non-LTE effects

M dwarfs are key targets for high-resolution spectroscopic analyses due to a high incidence of these stars in the solar neighbourhood and their importance as exoplanetary hosts. Several methodological challenges make such analyses difficult, leading to significant discrepancies in the published results. We compare M dwarf parameters derived by recent high-resolution near-infrared studies with each other and with fundamental stellar parameters. We also assess to what extent deviations from local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) for Fe and K influence the outcome of these studies. We carry out line formation calculations based on a modern model atmosphere grid along with a synthetic spectrum synthesis code that treats formation of atomic and molecular lines in cool-star atmospheres including departures from LTE. We use near-infrared spectra collected with the CRIRES instrument at the ESO VLT as reference observational data. We find that the effective temperatures obtained by the different studies mostly agree to better than 100 K. We see a much worse agreement in the surface gravities and metallicities. We demonstrate that non-LTE effects are negligible for Fe I in M-dwarf atmospheres but are important for K I. These effects, leading to K abundance and metallicity corrections on the order of 0.2 dex, may be responsible for some of the discrepancies in the published analyses. Differences in the temperature-pressure structures of the atmospheric models may be another factor contributing to the discrepancies, in particular at low metallicities and high effective temperatures. In high-resolution spectroscopic studies of M dwarfs attention should be given to details of the line formation physics as well as input atomic and molecular data. Collecting high-quality, wide wavelength coverage spectra of benchmark M dwarfs is an essential future step.

Mutual Neutralization in Li++H−/D− and Na++H−/D− Collisions: Implications of Experimental Results for Non-LTE Modeling of Stellar Spectra

Abstract Advances in merged-beams instruments have allowed experimental studies of the mutual neutralization (MN) processes in collisions of both Li+ and Na+ ions with D− at energies below 1 eV. These experimental results place constraints on theoretical predictions of MN processes of Li+ and Na+ with H−, important for non-LTE modeling of Li and Na spectra in late-type stars. We compare experimental results with calculations for methods typically used to calculate MN processes, namely the full quantum (FQ) approach, and asymptotic model approaches based on the linear combination of atomic orbitals (LCAO) and semiempirical (SE) methods for deriving couplings. It is found that FQ calculations compare best overall with the experiments, followed by the LCAO, and the SE approaches. The experimental results together with the theoretical calculations, allow us to investigate the effects on modeled spectra and derived abundances and their uncertainties arising from uncertainties in the MN rates. Numerical experiments in a large grid of 1D model atmospheres, and a smaller set of 3D models, indicate that neglect of MN can lead to abundance errors of up to 0.1 dex (26%) for Li at low metallicity, and 0.2 dex (58%) for Na at high metallicity, while the uncertainties in the relevant MN rates as constrained by experiments correspond to uncertainties in abundances of much less than 0.01 dex (2%). This agreement for simple atoms gives confidence in the FQ, LCAO, and SE model approaches to be able to predict MN with the accuracy required for non-LTE modeling in stellar atmospheres.

A New Grid of Model Atmospheres for Metal-poor Ultracool Brown Dwarfs

Abstract We present a new grid of model atmospheres and synthetic spectra down to extremely metal-poor ([M/H] ≥ −3.0), ultracool (T eff ≥ 900 K) brown dwarfs based on the PHOENIX code (Hauschildt et al. 1997). The grid is publicly available and continuously updated as new models are computed. The models are aimed at characterizing metal-poor halo brown dwarfs identified in surveys such as Backyard Worlds: Planet 9 (Kuchner et al. 2017; Schneider et al. 2020) and brown dwarfs in globular clusters (Dieball et al. 2019). Our setup includes the formation and depletion by gravitational settling of condensate clouds as defined for the BT-Settl grid of Allard et al. (2012), using the version 15.5 branch of PHOENIX, which was split off from the main branch (Barman et al. 2011; Husser et al. 2013). Our calculations employ the Allard &amp; Homeier cloud formation model (Helling et al. 2008; Allard et al. 2012).

The SALT survey of helium-rich hot subdwarfs: methods, classification, and coarse analysis

ABSTRACT A medium- and high-resolution spectroscopic survey of helium-rich hot subdwarfs is being carried out using the Southern African Large Telescope (SALT). Objectives include the discovery of exotic hot subdwarfs and of sequences connecting chemically peculiar subdwarfs of different types. The first phase consists of medium-resolution spectroscopy of over 100 stars selected from low-resolution surveys. This paper describes the selection criteria, and the observing, classification, and analysis methods. It presents 107 spectral classifications on the MK-like Drilling system and 106 coarse analyses (${T_{\rm eff}}, \log g, \log y$) based on a hybrid grid of zero-metal non-LTE and line-blanketed LTE model atmospheres. For 75 stars, atmospheric parameters have been derived for the first time. The sample may be divided into six distinct groups including the classical ‘helium-rich’ sdO stars with spectral types (Sp) sdO6.5–sdB1 (74) comprising carbon-rich (35) and carbon-weak (39) stars, very hot He-sdO’s with Sp ≲ sdO6 (13), extreme helium stars with luminosity class ≲5 (5), intermediate helium-rich subdwarfs with helium class 25–35 (8), and intermediate helium-rich subdwarfs with helium class 10–25 (6). The last covers a narrow spectral range (sdB0–sdB1) including two known and four candidate heavy-metal subdwarfs. Within other groups are several stars of individual interest, including an extremely metal-poor helium star, candidate double-helium subdwarf binaries, and a candidate low-gravity He-sdO star.

Creating and using large grids of precalculated model atmospheres for a rapid analysis of stellar spectra

Aims. We present a database of 43 340 atmospheric models (∼80 000 models at the conclusion of the project) for stars with stellar masses between 9 and 120 M⊙, covering the region of the OB main-sequence and Wolf-Rayet stars in the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram. Methods. The models were calculated using the ABACUS I supercomputer and the stellar atmosphere code CMFGEN. Results. The parameter space has six dimensions: the effective temperature Teff, the luminosity L, the metallicity Z, and three stellar wind parameters: the exponent β, the terminal velocity V∞, and the volume filling factor Fcl. For each model, we also calculate synthetic spectra in the UV (900−2000 Å), optical (3500−7000 Å), and near-IR (10 000−40 000 Å) regions. To facilitate comparison with observations, the synthetic spectra can be rotationally broadened using ROTIN3, by covering v sin i velocities between 10 and 350 km s−1 with steps of 10 km s−1. Conclusions. We also present the results of the reanalysis of ϵ Ori using our grid to demonstrate the benefits of databases of precalculated models. Our analysis succeeded in reproducing the best-fit parameter ranges of the original study, although our results favor the higher end of the mass-loss range and a lower level of clumping. Our results indirectly suggest that the resonance lines in the UV range are strongly affected by the velocity-space porosity, as has been suggested by recent theoretical calculations and numerical simulations.

SPISEA: A Python-based Simple Stellar Population Synthesis Code for Star Clusters

Abstract We present Stellar Population Interface for Stellar Evolution and Atmospheres (SPISEA), an open-source Python package that simulates simple stellar populations. The strength of SPISEA is its modular interface which offers the user control of 13 input properties including (but not limited to) the initial mass function, stellar multiplicity, extinction law, and the metallicity-dependent stellar evolution and atmosphere model grids used. The user also has control over the initial–final mass relation in order to produce compact stellar remnants (black holes, neutron stars, and white dwarfs). We demonstrate several outputs produced by the code, including color–magnitude diagrams, HR-diagrams, luminosity functions, and mass functions. SPISEA is object-oriented and extensible, and we welcome contributions from the community. The code and documentation are available on GitHub (https://github.com/astropy/SPISEA) and ReadtheDocs (https://spisea.readthedocs.io/en/latest/), respectively.

Non-LTE Effects in Rubidium Lines in Cool Stars

The formation of the rubidium resonance lines is considered by taking into account the effects of departures from local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE). A rubidium model atom has been constructed using 29 Rb I levels and the Rb II ground level. Non-LTE calculations have been performed for a grid of model atmospheres with $$T_{\textrm{eff}}$$ from 3500 to 6500 K, $$\log g$$ from 1.0 to 5.0, [Fe/H] from $${-}1.0$$ to $${+}0.5$$ , $$V_{t}=1.0$$ km s $${}^{-1}$$ , and a relative rubidium abundance $$\textrm{[Rb/Fe]}=0.0$$ . It is shown that disregarding the non-LTE effects can lead to significant errors in the abundance of this element. The non-LTE corrections for dwarf stars with effective temperatures below 4000 K depend critically on the inclusion of collisional interactions with hydrogen atoms. The differences in rubidium abundance when using quantum-mechanical calculations and Drawin’s theoretical approximation to take into account the collision rates of atoms with hydrogen atoms can reach 0.17 dex. The rubidium abundance has been determined from its lines in the solar spectrum, $$\textrm{(Rb/H)}=2.35\pm 0.05$$ , which virtually coincides with the rubidium abundance deduced from the analysis of meteorites, $$\textrm{(Rb/H)}=2.36\pm 0.03$$ .