Summary
Lecture notes from the graduate course “Galactic Archaeology and Stellar Populations”, taught by Hélio Dotto Perottoni at the National Observatory (ON, Brazil) — a full-semester course, distinct from the shorter minicourse on the same general topic I took at the Winter School (currently Portuguese-only).
📚 About the course
Graduate course at the National Observatory (ON), with Stellar Evolution as prerequisite. Over a full semester it covers, from the concept of a simple stellar population all the way to the dynamics and complete chemical evolution of the Milky Way (an 8-unit syllabus). The eight lectures below fully cover Unit 1 (Galactic Structure) and Unit 2 (Observational Parameters) — the observational foundation (magnitudes, distances, kinematics, extinction) that the following units on dynamics and chemical evolution build on.
- Concept & History — what galactic archaeology is, SSPs, and the history from Herschel to Searle & Zinn.
- HR Diagram & Star Clusters — open vs. globular clusters, IMF, isochrones, populations I/II/III.
- Magnitudes, Colors & Spectral Classification — magnitude scale, absolute magnitude, OBAFGKM.
- Spectroscopy & Metallicity — Kirchhoff’s laws, line formation, [Fe/H].
- Reddening, Extinction & IMF — the interstellar medium, extinction, .
- HR Diagram & Mass-Luminosity Relation — how to measure stellar properties, .
- Distances, Distance Scale & Coordinates — the full cosmic distance ladder, galactic coordinates.
- Velocities & Proper Motion — radial/tangential velocity, the LSR.
Credits
Professor: Hélio Dotto Perottoni (National Observatory). The course materials themselves credit Prof. Dr. Helio Jacques Rocha-Pinto, Dr. Guilherme Limberg, and notes from Prof. Dr. Steve Majewski.