GALAXEV

(version 2003)

Gustavo BRUZUAL & Stéphane CHARLOT




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

Click for log of software updates
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.