| Astrophysics (Index) | About |
A stellar model atmosphere is a model of the gas/plasma that makes up the stellar atmosphere and its effect on the star's emitted electromagnetic radiation. Current models are software-based, their input consisting of assumptions about the star's energy, temperature, and composition and their output is a star's spectral energy distribution, including spectral lines. For the latter, they often use datasets on spectral lines produced by various chemicals, an example being HITRAN. A model-run that reproduces some star's observed spectrum constitutes evidence that its model input matches characteristics of the real star. The model can include basic radiative transfer code, information about the spectral lines produced by elements common to stars and models regarding how spectral lines are produced and shaped (line broadening). Examples (codes):