• Starting date: 2026/02/02
  • End: 2026/02/06

    • LOCATION: Haus Sexten - Via Dolomiti 45, 39030, Sexten

    DETAILS

    Understanding how galaxies form and evolve remains one of the most formidable tasks of modern astrophysics. To address this issue, astronomers use the abundances and abundance ratios of chemical elements measured in gas and stars. Different elements are restored to the ISM on different time scales by stars of different initial masses, therefore, their abundance ratios are excellent probes of the assembly histories and evolutive timescales of the host galaxies. Carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, and sulphur (the CNOPS elements) are especially suitable for this kind of studies: their abundances can be measured with different techniques in stellar atmospheres and in dense/diffuse gas, both in the local universe and at high redshift, using as diagnostics absorption/emission lines at different wavelengths.

    The CNOPS elements and their rare isotopes are also interesting because they enter the formation of the complex organic molecules (COMs) that are thought to be the precursors of life. COMs have been observed extensively by radio astronomers, however, measurements of CNOPS isotopic ratios in molecular clouds of the outer Galactic
    disc (probing the low-metallicity regime) are rare. Determinations of the abundances of CNOPS elements and their isotopes in Galactic stars allow, in principle, to probe the full metallicity range (from very metal-poor to super-solar), but these measurements are affected by several problems. In particular, C and N abundances in bright stars above the RGB bump (easily accessible also in the satellites of the Milky Way) are affected by mixing processes that alter the chemical composition inherited by the stars at birth: cooler/fainter stars must be observed to allow a useful comparison with the predictions of chemical evolution models.

    While a large part of the workshop will be dedicated to the local universe, we will also pay attention to the detection of metal-poor extreme N- and C-emitters at high redshift with instrumentation on board the James Webb Space Telescope, to the measurement of peculiar CNO isotopic ratios in the molecular gas of starbursts at cosmic noon with ALMA, and to the determination of CNOPS abundances in Damped Lyman-α Systems: all these measurements have sparked renewed interest in exploring how the chemical evolution of the CNOPS elements proceeds during the earliest phases of galactic evolution. Observations of CNOPS-bearing molecules in local and distant galaxies call for a thorough revision of current modeling of CNOPS element evolution in galaxies. Stellar evolution and nucleosynthesis theory and galactic evolution models will be
    discussed and their successes and failures critically examined. We feel that time is ripe to dramatically improve our knowledge of the evolution of all CNOPS elements in the Milky Way and its satellites, before the models can be extended to far-away, poorly-constrained systems.

    Our workshop aims to bring together researchers with different skills and expertise to discuss our understanding of the CNOPS elements and their role in the cosmos and for life development. We believe
    that fostering collaboration and innovation in measurement techniques as well as theoretical interpretation will pave the way for significant advances in this field. The scientific objectives of the workshop are the following:
    − to discuss the production of CNOPS elements in stars and their subsequent distribution in the interstellar medium;
    − to explore innovative methods for measuring these elements and their isotopic ratios in stars and in the interstellar medium;
    − to foster collaboration and networking among researchers in astronomy, cosmology, and astrobiology;
    − identifying future research directions.

    Registration is open

    Registration deadline is August, 31st 2025.

    Keynote Speakers

    – David Aguado (IAC, Spain) “Chemical Outliers in the Early Universe: the Search for the Most Metal-Poor Stars”
    – Alex Cameron (Univ. Oxford, UK) “CNO abundances at low Z and high z”
    – Gabriele Cescutti (Univ. Trieste, Italy) “CNOPS with CUBES”
    – Laura Colzi (CSIC-INTA, Spain) “Fractionation effects on inferred molecular cloud abundances”
    – Dario Gonzalez Picos (Univ. Leiden, NL) “C and O isotopic ratios in planets and planet hosts”
    – Francesco Fontani (INAF Arcetri, Italy) “COMs and CNOPS in the outer Galaxy”
    – Amanda Karakas (Univ. Monash, AUS) “CNOPS production by low- and intermediate-mass stars”
    – Marco Limongi (INAF Rome, Italy) “CNOPS production by massive stars”
    – Hans-Günter Ludwig (Univ. Heidelberg, Germany) “Three-dimensional stellar model atmospheres and CNOPS abundances” (TBC)
    – Laura Magrini (INAF Arcetri, Italy) “HRMOS: a multi-object, high-resolution spectrograph for the VLT”
    – Alessandro Marconi (Univ. Firenze, Italy) “The ANDES spectrograph for the ELT: current status and perspectives”
    – Paolo Molaro (INAF Trieste, Italy) “CNOPS in DLAs” (TBC)
    – Nils Ryde (Univ. Lund, Sweden) “Stellar CNOPS diagnostics in the infrared”
    – Monique Spite (CNRS, France) “Stellar abundance measurements: the low-metallicity regime”

    This workshop is partially funded by the Italian Institute for Astrophysics (INAF).

    RELATED FILES

    No files available yet.

    FEE

    300 € (in person)

    WORKSHOP CODE FOR BUS AND PAYMENT

    ORGANIZERS

    SOC: Donatella Romano (INAF-OAS, Italy, chair); Alessio Mucciarelli (Univ. Bologna, Italy, co-chair); Francesca Lucertini (ESO Chile, co-chair); Piercarlo Bonifacio (CNRS Paris, France); Elisabetta Caffau (CNRS Paris, France); Luca Sbordone (ESO Chile)
    LOC: Francesca Lucertini (ESO Chile, chair); Gabriella Deconi (SCfA); Donatella Romano (INAF-OAS, Italy); Alessio Mucciarelli (Univ. Bologna, Italy); Yipeng Zou (Univ. Bologna & INAF-OAS, Italy), Jannat Alazzawi (CNRS Paris, France)