The University of Wroclaw (Poland) is pleased to announce the international summer school "Spectroscopic data analysis with iSpec" (2nd edition). It will take place in Wroclaw, Poland between 2 to 5 September 2025 in Wrocław (Poland).

This school aims to provide participants with a solid foundation in the analysis of stellar spectra, with particular emphasis on deriving atmospheric parameters and chemical abundances. The sessions will be structured around iSpec, a comprehensive tool designed for the treatment and interpretation of stellar spectroscopic data. As part of the learning experience, the school will also incorporate and explore recent advances in artificial intelligence.

iSpec facilitates a wide range of spectroscopic tasks, including removing cosmic rays, continuum normalization, resolution degradation, radial velocity correction, identification of telluric lines, and resampling. It also enables the determination of fundamental stellar parameters—such as effective temperature, surface gravity, metallicity, microturbulence, macroturbulence, and rotational velocity—for A, F, G, K, and M-type stars. These parameters can be derived through two complementary approaches: the synthetic spectral fitting technique and the equivalent width method.

The software integrates MARCS and ATLAS model atmospheres. It supports several widely used radiative transfer codes, including SPECTRUM (R. O. Gray), Turbospectrum (Bertrand Plez), SME (Valenti and Piskunov), MOOG (Chris Sneden), and Synthe/WIDTH9 (Kurucz/ATLAS). While iSpec offers a well-suited graphical interface for introductory use and educational purposes, its full potential is realized through its Python-based implementation. This approach is recommended for advanced scientific analyses as it ensures reproducibility and access to an extended set of features and customization options.

During the school, participants will receive a series of introductory lectures on iSpec and engage in hands-on exercises focused on determining the atmospheric parameters of A, F, G, K, and M-type stars. These exercises will use publicly available observational data and pre-computed synthetic spectra. The lecturers include the leading developer of iSpec and experienced stellar spectroscopists who have extensively used this tool (among others) and have trained numerous PhD students and postdoctoral researchers.

Who can apply?

The course is open to PhD and master's students and early career scientists. There is no registration fee. All accepted participants will have accommodation and lunches covered during the workshop.

Registration

• There is no registration fee.
• Register at the school web site or using this form.
• The number of participants is limited to 30.
• The process will be closed on June 30th 2025, and the selected participants will be informed briefly after.

Lectures / Science Organizing Committee

(all lectures and exercises will be in English)

• Sergi Blanco-Cuaresma (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, USA; Faculty of Psychology, UniDistance Suisse, Brig, Switzerland)
• Barry Smalley (Keele University, United Kingdom)
• Sara Vitali (Instituto de Estudios Astrofísicos, Facultad de Ingeniería y Ciencias, Universidad Diego Portales, Chile)
• Ewa Niemczura (University of Wrocław, Poland)

Organizer

University of Wroclaw, Wroclaw, Poland

Local Organizing Committee

• Natalia Posiłek (University of Wrocław, Poland)
• Paulina Góra (University of Wrocław, Poland)
• Krzysztof Kotysz (University of Wrocław, Poland)
• Ewa Niemczura (University of Wrocław, Poland)
• Sylwester Kołomański (University of Wrocław, Poland)

Venue

Wroclaw Centre for Networking and Supercomputing at the Wroclaw University of Technology, Wroclaw, Poland