On the information content of stellar spectra

Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics

Scientific paper

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Line Spectra, Spectrum Analysis, Stellar Atmospheres, Stellar Composition, Stellar Spectra, Stellar Spectrophotometry, Accretion Disks, B Stars, Signal To Noise Ratios, Spectral Resolution

Scientific paper

The basic aim of stellar spectroscopy is to determine the parameters of the emitting object (e.g. for stellar atmospheres the two 'basic' parameters effective temperature Teff, surface gravity g as well as, to some extent, chemical element abundances epsilonalpha and microturbulence xi). However, an inadequate resolution of the spectrum can lead to a grossly incorrect interpretation of the spectrum (i.e. erroneous parameters). These incorrect interpretations may be considered as a result of a loss of spectral information associated with the inadequate spectral resolution and/or with the intrinsic smearing of spectral features. We introduce the apparent spectral information (ASI) of a spectrum as a numerical measure for the apparent spectral information content. To demonstrate the role of ASI, its numerical value is calculated for a B-star spectrum at different spectral resolutions and compared to the extent of elements observable at that resolution. Consequences for the analysis of spectra from fast moving objects and from very distant stars are addressed.

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