Open Questions in Galactic Archaeology: The Role of High-Resolution Spectroscopy

Thursday 19 Nov 2026, 13:00 → 14:00 Asia/Shanghai

Tsung-Dao Lee Institute/S4F-SW - Open Area (Tsung-Dao Lee Institute)

David Aguado

Title: Open Questions in Galactic Archaeology: The Role of High-Resolution Spectroscopy
Time: 13:00-14:00 (UTC+8), 19 November 2026, Thursday

Host: Qinghui Sun
Join Tencent Meeting: https://meeting.tencent.com/dm/0zXEek37uJi1
Meeting ID: 383941879 (no password)

 

Abstract: 

Galactic archaeology aims to reconstruct the formation and evolution of the Milky Way from the chemical and dynamical properties of its stellar populations. Despite remarkable progress driven by large spectroscopic surveys and Gaia, fundamental questions remain open concerning the earliest phases of chemical enrichment, the origin of the most metal-poor stars, and the assembly history of our Galaxy. In this talk, I will discuss how high-resolution spectroscopy provides crucial insights into these questions, revealing detailed chemical abundance patterns that cannot be accessed through large surveys alone. I will highlight recent results and the importance of combining large-scale stellar surveys with targeted high-resolution observations to uncover the chemical signatures of the first generations of stars and better understand the formation of the Milky Way.

 

Biography:

David Aguado is an Associate Professor at the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC), Spain, a recipient of a prestigious European Research Council (ERC) grant and a Visiting Scientist under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) President's International Fellowship Initiative (PIFI). His research focuses on Galactic archaeology, stellar spectroscopy, and the chemical evolution of the early Universe, with particular emphasis on the discovery and characterization of extremely metal-poor stars. He combines large spectroscopic surveys, including DESI, with high-resolution observations from major ground-based telescopes to investigate the chemical signatures of the first stellar generations and the nucleosynthetic processes responsible for the earliest enrichment of the Milky Way.