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Population synthesis at the crossroads

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 August 2012

Claus Leitherer  and
Sylvia Ekström
Claus Leitherer
Affiliation:
Space Telescope Science Institute, 3700 San Martin Dr., Baltimore, MD 21218, USA email: leitherer@stsci.edu
Sylvia Ekström
Affiliation:
Observatoire de Genève, 51 chemin des Maillettes, CH-1290 Sauverny, Switzerland email: sylvia.ekstrom@unige.ch
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Abstract

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The current state-of-the-art of population synthesis is reviewed. The field is currently undergoing major revisions with the recognition of several key processes as new critical ingredients. Stochastic effects can artificially enhance or suppress certain evolutionary phases and/or stellar mass regimes and introduce systematic biases in, e.g., the determination of the stellar initial mass function. Post-main-sequence evolution is often associated with irregular variations of stellar properties on ultra-short time-scales. Examples are asymptotic giant branch stars and luminous blue variables, both of which are poorly treated in the models. Stars rarely form in isolation, and the fraction of truly single stars may be very small. Therefore, stellar multiplicity must be accounted for since many systems will develop tidal interaction over the course of their evolution. Last but not least, stellar rotation can drastically increase stellar temperatures and luminosities, which in turn leads to revised mass-to-light ratios in population synthesis models.

Keywords

binaries: closestars: evolutionHII regionsgalaxies: fundamental parametersgalaxies: photometrygalaxies: starburstgalaxies: stellar content
Type
Contributed Papers
Information
Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union , Volume 7 , Symposium S284: The Spectral Energy Distribution of Galaxies , September 2011 , pp. 2 - 11
Copyright
Copyright © International Astronomical Union 2012

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