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| Dartmouth Stellar Evolution Program | |
|---|---|
| Name | Dartmouth Stellar Evolution Program |
| Developer | Dartmouth College Department of Physics and Astronomy |
| Released | 1980s |
| Latest release version | ongoing updates |
| Programming language | Fortran, Python (interfaces) |
| Operating system | Unix-like, macOS, Linux |
| Genre | Stellar evolution code, stellar models, isochrones |
| License | academic use |
Dartmouth Stellar Evolution Program The Dartmouth Stellar Evolution Program produces theoretical stellar models and isochrones used in studies of stars, star clusters, galactic archaeology, exoplanets, and cosmology. The project, based at Dartmouth College and developed by teams within the Dartmouth College Department of Physics and Astronomy, integrates physics from nuclear reaction networks, opacities, and convective treatments to compute evolutionary tracks spanning pre-main-sequence to late phases. Its models are widely cited in comparisons with observations from facilities such as the Hubble Space Telescope, Gaia, and ground-based observatories including the Keck Observatory and Very Large Telescope.
The program generates grids of stellar evolution tracks and isochrones covering ranges in mass, metallicity, helium abundance, and alpha element enhancement for use in analyses of open clusters, globular clusters, resolved stellar populations in the Milky Way and nearby galaxies such as Large Magellanic Cloud and Small Magellanic Cloud. Outputs include luminosity, effective temperature, surface gravity, and key interior stratifications for comparisons with spectroscopy from instruments on Subaru Telescope, Gemini Observatory, and surveys like Sloan Digital Sky Survey and Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fibre Spectroscopic Telescope. The code interfaces with bolometric correction libraries and synthetic photometry tied to systems such as Johnson–Cousins photometric system, SDSS, and Two Micron All Sky Survey.
Development traces to faculty and researchers at Dartmouth College collaborating with scientists affiliated with institutions like Harvard University, University of California, Berkeley, and Ohio State University. Early versions incorporated opacity tables from groups at Livermore National Laboratory and reaction rates from compilations used at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Over decades the program evolved alongside parallel efforts such as the Geneva stellar evolution models, MESA project, and the Yale-Yonsei isochrones initiative, informed by observational constraints from missions including Hipparcos and Kepler. Key contributors and collaborators include faculty, postdoctoral researchers, and graduate students historically associated with awards and fellowships from organizations like the National Science Foundation and NASA.
Physics inputs draw on microphysics established by teams at Los Alamos National Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics: equation of state formulations, radiative opacity tables (e.g., from OPAL and OP projects), and low-temperature opacities referencing work from groups at University of Vienna and University of Cambridge. Nuclear reaction networks use rates from compilations produced at Nuclear Astrophysics Compilation of REaction rates-style collaborations and incorporate screening factors developed with contributions from Princeton University researchers. Convection is treated with mixing-length theory calibrated using empirical constraints from Sun and helioseismology data from Solar and Heliospheric Observatory and Global Oscillation Network Group. Diffusion and gravitational settling routines reflect formulations validated against studies at University of Chicago and University of Arizona.
Computational methods employ implicit integration schemes adapted from numerical analysis research at Courant Institute and parallel I/O strategies consistent with practices at National Center for Supercomputing Applications. Code architecture supports parameterized physics choices, enabling comparisons with alternative prescriptions used by groups at University of Geneva and University of Padova.
Grids span masses from very low-mass red dwarfs through intermediate-mass A-type star regimes to evolved phases relevant for red giant branch and horizontal branch studies. Metallicities sample values representative of environments from ultra-metal-poor systems studied by teams at Carnegie Institution for Science to metal-rich bulge populations examined by groups at Max Planck Institute for Astronomy. Outputs include isochrones, evolutionary tracks, luminosity functions, synthetic color–magnitude diagrams for comparison with photometry from Hubble Space Telescope instruments (e.g., Wide Field Camera 3), and model atmospheres via interfaces to libraries maintained by researchers at Kurucz and the PHOENIX group at University of Heidelberg.
The models are applied in age dating of globular clusters and open clusters, mass and radius constraints for exoplanet host stars in studies linked to TESS and Kepler discoveries, and chemical tagging efforts in Galactic Archaeology projects using Gaia astrometry combined with spectroscopic programs such as APOGEE and GALAH. Results have been compared with stellar population synthesis codes used at institutions like Space Telescope Science Institute and have informed stellar parameter pipelines at consortia including LAMOST. Impact includes citations across publications associated with agencies including NASA, European Space Agency, and funding from NSF-supported collaborations.
Validation exercises compare model outputs against benchmark stars including the Sun, detached eclipsing binaries cataloged by groups at Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and precision asteroseismic targets from Kepler and CoRoT. Cross-comparisons with independent codes—such as MESA, Geneva stellar evolution models, Padova models, and Yale-Yonsei isochrones—evaluate sensitivities to choices in mixing length, diffusion, and opacity. Empirical tests exploit data from observatories like Mount Wilson Observatory and surveys such as RAVE to assess predicted effective temperatures and surface gravities, and comparisons with spectroscopic abundance patterns derive from instruments at European Southern Observatory.
Model grids and interpolation tools are distributed for academic use through Dartmouth-hosted archives and collaborative portals linked to university computing resources, offering web-based query interfaces similar to those provided by VizieR and download mirrors used by projects at Centre de Données astronomiques de Strasbourg. Command-line tools and Python wrappers enable integration with analysis environments favored by researchers at Princeton University and University of Michigan, and user support is provided via academic collaboration channels and workshops held at meetings such as the American Astronomical Society and International Astronomical Union symposia.
Category:Stellar evolution models