STELLAR POPULATIONS
Garching, Germany,
6-10 October 2003

Rationale

Stellar populations are direct tracers of the star formation history, the chemical enrichment and the assembly of galaxies in the Universe. If we can interpret the observed properties of nearby stellar populations in terms of physical parameters such as age, star formation history, metallicity and dust content, we will be able to elucidate the processes that were important in the formation of the galaxies we see today. Recent instrumental progress has dramatically improved the quantity and the quality of the observational constraints on stellar populations in the local Universe. The new constraints are coming from spatially resolved imaging and spectroscopy of stellar populations in nearby galaxies; optical and near-infrared surface brightness fluctuations of galaxies out to the Coma cluster; and imaging and spectroscopy of hundreds of thousands of galaxies in the local Universe. This new generation of observational constraints is forcing theorists to develop more refined models and more efficient methods to derive the physical parameters of stellar populations. As the effort in this area is now well engaged, the time is ripe for a meeting that brings together theorists and observers working on the complementary approaches of studying the inventory and physical parameters of stellar populations in the local Universe.

Plan

The meeting will start with a day dedicated to observations and studies (ages, metallicities and mass-to-light ratios) of resolved stellar populations in the Milky Way (bulge, disk, halo) and other nearby galaxies. The next day will focus on spatially resolved spectroscopy, surface brightness fluctuations, and integrated-light properties of nearby galaxies. The third day will be devoted to studies of the IMF and of young stellar populations, with the afternoon kept free. The fourth day of the meeting will focus on new developments in stellar population synthesis models and their ingredients (stellar evolution theory and spectral libraries). Finally, the last day will be dedicated to new techniques for measuring the star formation rate and history, age, metallicity and dust content of galaxies and to recent results about the star formation history of galaxies.

The program will include:

• invited review talks of 30+10 mn
• invited targeted talks of 20+5 mn (about specific recent results)
• contributed talks of 15+5 mns
• poster presentations
• discussion sessions

Current program outline

(R) is for review; (T) for targeted

Monday, 6 October:

Morning session

• Opening talk: tribute to B. Tinsley
• Resolved stellar populations in the Milky Way (bulge, disk, halo)
  [K. Freeman (R)]
• The oldest (or most metal-poor) stars of the Galactic halo
  [V. Hill (T)]
• Bulge stars
  [M. Rich (T)]

Afternoon session

• Resolved stellar populations in galaxies of the Local Group and beyond
  [M. Mateo (R)]
• Importance of complementing accurate stellar photometry with spectroscopy
  [E. Tolstoy (T)]

POSTER SESSION (before afternoon coffee break)

Tuesday, 7 October:

Morning session

• From resolved stellar populations to integrated light properties
  [J. Rose (T)]
• CMD versus integrated light of star clusters
  [G. Bruzual (T)]
• Surface brightness fluctuations
  [M. Liu (T)]

Afternoon session

• Spatially-resolved spectroscopy/nuclear stellar populations of nearby galaxies
  [H. Kuntschner (T)]
• Star formation in the outer parts of galaxies
  [A. Ferguson (T)]
• Integrated light properties
  [R. Kennicutt (R)]
• Spectral index strengths
  [R. Peletier (T)]

DISCUSSION: the age-metallicity degeneracy [D. Silva+G. Worthey]

Wednesday, 8 October (half-day):

Morning session

• The low-mass end of the initial mass function
  [G. Chabrier (T)]
• Young stellar populations and infrared spectroscopy
  [M. Meyer (T)]
• The formation conditions of star clusters
  [M. Fall (T)]

POSTER SESSION (before morning coffee break)

Thursday, 9 October:

Morning session

• New developments in spectral libraries, model atmospheres
  [C. Leitherer (R)]
• Uncertainties in stellar evolution theory and observational tests against star clusters
  [A. Weiss (T)]

Afternoon session

• Ultraviolet wavelengths
  [S. Heap (T)]
• Near-infrared wavelengths
  [A. Lancon (T)]
• Variable element abundance ratios
  [C. Maraston (T)]
• Medium-high spectral resolution
  [S. Charlot (T)]

DISCUSSION: UV, optical and IR emission as diagnostics of dust attenuation [R. Genzel+T. Heckman]

Friday, 10 October:

Morning session

• Deriving star-formation histories of composite stellar populations
  [L. Greggio (T)]
• Statistical modelling and analysis of integrated spectra
  [J. Brinchmann (T)]
• Emission-line diagnostics
  [L. Kewley (T)]

Afternoon session

• New constraints from SDSS
  [C. Tremonti (T)]
• Galex
• SIRTF
  [M. Dickinson (T)]
• Summary/Perspectives
  [A. Renzini]