Group Leader: Gang Zhao   Email: gzhao@nao.cas.cn

The SAGE Group, was founded at the start of the Knowledge Innovation Project of the National Astronomical Observatories (NAOC), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) in 1999. We utilize telescopes around the world to obtain high-resolution spectra of stars, to research chemical abundances, search for metal-poor stars and extrasolar planets, study Galactic structure and evolution, etc. Besides, we have achieved great progresses in laboratary astrophysics and related fields.

Research

1. Stellar Chemical Abundances

2. Laboratory Astrophysics

3. Extra-Solar Planets

4. Deep SAGE Northern Sky Survey

1. Stellar Chemical Abundances Analyzing stellar chemical abundances is the basic method to investigate the evolution of stars, the Galaxy and even the universe. We observe high-resolution spectra of stars to determine their chemical abundances, and combine the information of age and kinematics to study different stellar populations in the Galaxy, no only to explore the origin, structure and evolution of the Galaxy, but also to understand the nucleosynthesis theory, and to verify cosmological models.

2. Laboratory Astrophysics Laboratory astrophysics is a new interdiscipline. Through simulating high-energy and high-density environment under the astrophysical conditions in the laboratory, we could carry out researches in the field of radiation opacity, state equation of stellar interior substance, jet and shock wave, etc. With a number of international large-scale experimental facilities, laboratory astrophysics has achieved great development and progress.

3. Extra-Solar Planets Research on extra-solar planets is one of the hot topics in astronomy during recent years. We search for planets and brown dwarfs around the late G, K-type giants with the 2.16m telescope and high-resolution spectrograph in Xinglong, study the difference in chemical abundances and other aspects between stars with planetary systems and normal ones, so as to further understand the formation and evolution of planets.

4. Deep SAGE Northern Sky Survey We are going to perform Deep SAGE Northern Sky Survey with 90 inck Bok Telescope of Steward Observtory, University of Arizona, the 1m telescope on Nanshan, Xinjiang Observatory, and the 1.5m Telescope of Maidanak Astronomical Observatory, Ulugh Beg Observatory, Uzibekistan. The SAGE photometric system can provide stellar parameters comparable with high-resolution spectrocopy.