Inelastic Atomic Processes in Stellar Atmospheres: A Key to Understanding Stars, the Galaxy and the History of the Chemical Elements
by
Paul Barklem(Dept. of Astronomy and Space Physics, Uppsala University)
→
Europe/Stockholm
FA 31
FA 31
Description
High precision measurement of stellar chemical compositions is of great importance in studies of the chemical and dynamical evolution of the Galaxy, and will become even more so when combined with high precision kinematic and photometric data from GAIA. Significant progress has been made in understanding the physics of non-LTE formation of spectral lines in stellar atmospheres, but the precision of analyses are often limited by a lack of accurate data for the inelastic collision processes. I will discuss work on theoretical calculations of inelastic collision processes involving electrons and hydrogen atoms, and their impact on stellar abundance analyses, as well as the outlook for future work.