GALAXEV is a library of evolutionary
stellar population synthesis models computed using the new isochrone
synthesis code of
Bruzual & Charlot (2003).
This code allows one to computes the spectral
evolution of stellar populations in wide ranges of ages and
metallicities at a resolution of 3 Å across the whole wavelength
range from 3200 Å to 9500 Å, and at lower resolution outside
this range. GALAXEV supersedes all previous releases of our models over
the last decade.
We strongly recommend
reading the above paper in its entirety before using the models.
In particular, Table A1 of the appendix gives a qualitative assessment
of the spectral predictions of the model for simple stellar populations
of various ages and metallicities.
The GALAXEV package can be downloaded as various tar files
bc03.*.tar.gz,.
which unfold into four subdirectories:
./bc03/doc
./bc03/models
./bc03/src
./bc03/templates
You need about 150 MBytes of disk space to copy the basic set of files.
The documentation file
bc03.ps.
located in the ./bc03/doc directory should contain all necessary
explanations to run the models.
This package includes, among others, the following model and program
files:
- Spectral evolution of simple stellar populations (SSPs) of
metallicities Z=0.0001, 0.0004, 0.004, 0.008, 0.02 (solar) and 0.05 at
ages from 10^5 to 2x10^10 yr, for two IMFs (the standard Salpeter IMF,
and the currently favored Chabrier 2003 Galactic-disk IMF).
- Software to compute the spectral evolution of galaxies with
arbitrary star formation histories from the above SSP models. There is
also a switch to include attenuation by dust based on the simple
two-component model of Charlot & Fall (2000).
- The output files include a variety of predictions, including the
magnitudes of model galaxies in the SDSS and 2MASS broadband filters,
and the strengths of spectral indices measured directly from the
(spectro-photometric) model spectra as well as those transformed to the
Lick-IDS system.
- Software to broaden the model spectra to arbitrary velocity
dispersion and to downgrade the spectral resolution.
- The library of template stellar population spectra selected by C.
Tremonti to fit the continua and measure emission-line fluxes in SDSS
galaxy spectra (Kauffmann et al. 2003a, 2003b, 2003c; Tremonti et al.
2003; Brinchmann et al. 2003).
Send email to both bruzual@cida.ve and
charlot@iap.fr if you encounter difficulties in running
the models or if you have suggestions for improving GALAXEV.