Research

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I am a Ciencia 2007 Fellow at the Centro de Astrofisica da Univ. Porto (CAUP). I did physics at the Univ. Nacional Mayor de San Marcos (Peru), the oldest in the Americas. In 1995 I moved to Brazil to start a MSc at INPE and then a PhD in astronomy at the Univ. Sao Paulo (advisor: Prof. B. Barbuy). After my PhD I spent some time in Peru working on the temperature scale, and then I went to the USA (Caltech, 2003-2005) and Australia (ANU, 2005-2007) for postdocs with Prof. J. Cohen & M. Asplund, respectively.

Since Feb/2008 I'm working in Portugal (CAUP Ciencia 2007 Fellow) on the physical (e.g. temperature, mass, luminosity) and chemical (e.g. iron, carbon, oxygen, lithium) properties of cool (FGKM) stars, the evolution of the Chemical Elements in the Universe, solar twins, giant stars with planets, and the fundamental properties of possible host stars of habitable systems in our Galaxy.

     Solar Twins HIP 56948 and HD 98618: Best Candidates for Life

    PUBLICATIONS

· 50 refereed journal publications (most as 1st or 2nd author)

· 23 papers in conference proceedings

· 1208 citations to refereed papers, i.e., 24 citations per paper (ADS, 3/4/2010)

· h-index = 20 (ADS 3/4/2010)

·   Here is my CV

    FIELDS OF INTEREST

·  Atomic and Molecular Spectroscopy

·  Chemical Composition of Stars

·  Calibration of Fundamental Stellar Parameters

·  Metal-Poor Stars, Stars with Planets, Solar Twins, Habitability

   COLLABORATORS
    Martin Asplund (Chemical Abundances, 3D models, NLTE), Ivan Ramirez (Fundamental Stellar Parameters, Solar Twins) , Beatriz Barbuy (Chemical Abundances in Bulge GCs), Judy Cohen (Globular Clusters, Mg isotopes, Fluorine), Alan Alves Brito (Abundances in Giant Stars), David Yong (Fluorine, MgH, cool dwarfs), Luca Casagrande (Fundamental Stellar Parameters, M dwarfs), Michael Bazot (Solar twins, Seismic Analysis of 18 Sco), Bengt Gustafsson (Solar twins), Paula Coelho (spectral synthesis & stellar library); William Schuster (Photometry of solar twins), Giancarlo Pace (Chromospheric activity), Jose-Dias do Nascimento (Solar twins); Matthieu Castro (Stellar models, solar twins), Bruno Castilho (Photometry of solar twins, Li-rich giants).

    FORMER COLLABORATORS
   Saskia Hekker (Red giants), Nataliya Shchukina (NLTE Oxygen and Iron Abundances), Jose Robles, Katie Dodds-Eden (Solar twins), Hanumant Sawant and ''Guga'' Fernandes (Solar Bursts).

    TEMPERATURE AND BOLOMETRIC FLUX CALIBRATIONS

·  The Effective Temperature Scale of FGK Stars. I. Determination of Temperatures and Angular Diameters with the Infrared Flux Method, I. Ramírez & J. Meléndez 2005, ApJ, 626, 446 (Outdated for dwarfs, check now Casagrande et al. 2010, A&A, 512, A54)

·  The Effective Temperature Scale of FGK Stars. II. Teff/color/[Fe/H] calibrations, I. Ramírez & J. Meléndez 2005, ApJ, 626, 465  (Outdated for dwarfs, check now Casagrande et al. 2010, A&A, 512, A54)

·  BC for Solar Metallicity Dwarfs: (Melendez, Dodds-Eden & Robles 2006, ApJ, 641, L133)

    ATOMIC DATA

·  Line list of atomic lines in the near infrared J and H bands (Melendez & Barbuy 1999)

·  gf-values for Fe II lines (Melendez et al. 2006, ApJ 642, 1082; complete list in Melendez & Barbuy 2009, A&A, 497, 611)

    SOLAR TWINS

·  HIP 56948 (HD 101364) : A Solar Twin with a Low Lithium Abundance (Melendez & Ramirez 2007, ApJ, 669, L89)

·  HD 98618: A Star Closely Resembling the Sun (Melendez, Dodds-Eden & Robles 2006, ApJ, 641, L133)

·  Potential chemical signatures of terrestrial planets, see Melendez et al. 2009, ApJ Letters, 704, L66; Ramirez et al. 2009, A&A Letters, 508, L17

 

    WORKS IN PREPARATION

· Signatures of Li depletion on the Spite plateau: solving the cosmological Li problem? (Melendez et al. 2010)

· Strömgren photometry of solar twins (Melendez, et al. 2010?)

· Stellar parameters of 6000 stars (Melendez 2010)

· Fluorine abundances (Yong, Melendez, et al. 2010-2011)

· A new record on chemical abundance accuracy (Melendez et al. 2010)

· Li-6 in halo stars (Asplund & Melendez 2008; Asplund & Melendez 2010???)

· Listening to 18 Sco (Bazot, Melendez et al. 2010)

· Infrared spectroscopy of GCs (Alves-Brito, Melendez, et al. 2010?)

· Mg isotopes in halo dwarfs (Melendez & Cohen 2011?)

    ATLAS

·  Arcturus Infrared Atlas (1-2 um), (2-2.5um)

·  Solar Infrared Atlas (Wallace et al.) (1.1-2.5 um)

    NaI D lines

·  5889.950 (stronger) and 5895.924 Ĺ : delta = 5.97 Ĺ

·  5892.87 (Ni+Fe) Ĺ : delta = 2.92 Ĺ

 

E-mail: NO_SPAM_jorge AT astro.up.pt

Last updated: 03-Abril-2010