Principal Investigator

P D Sackett Astronomy, RSAA, ANU

Project Title

Examining Stellar Atmosphers via Microlensing and Transits

Brief Description for General Publications

Modeling of the atmospheres of stars has experienced huge progress with the development of faster and better computer technology. At one stage stellar theory was well ahead of observational evidence. This is mainly due to the vast distances over which almost any star appears as a point light source so that surface structures are not exactly resolved to test the models in greater detail. The advance of new ideas (like microlensing) and better observing technology (for transiting planets) has changed this. Now, we are able to test state-of-the art PHOENIX model atmospheres. The aim of the project is to model the effect of different ways of spatially resolving stellar atmospheres. In particular, we are interested in limb darkening and spectral variations across the stellar surface, which can be predicted by a set of PHOENIX model atmospheres and then tested with with the new methods. The complexity and structure of the PHOENIX code, which produces these models, makes the use of the APAC national facility invaluable for this project.