MESA Isochrones and Stellar Tracks (MIST) 0: Methods for the construction of stellar isochrones

TL;DR

This paper presents a comprehensive method for constructing stellar isochrones from evolutionary tracks, accommodating diverse stellar types and phases, with guidelines for accuracy and open-source implementation.

Contribution

It introduces a novel interpolation method for stellar tracks to build accurate isochrones across a wide range of stellar types and evolutionary phases.

Findings

Method effectively handles diverse stellar types and phases.

Guidelines for the number of points needed for accurate isochrones.

Open-source programs available for implementation.

Abstract

I describe a method to transform a set of stellar evolution tracks onto a uniform basis and then interpolate within that basis to construct stellar isochrones. The method accommodates a broad range of stellar types, from substellar objects to high-mass stars, and phases of evolution, from the pre-main sequence to the white dwarf cooling sequence. I discuss situations in which stellar physics leads to departures from the otherwise monotonic relation between initial stellar mass and lifetime and how these may be dealt with in isochrone construction. I close with convergence tests and recommendations for the number of points in the uniform basis and the mass between tracks in the original grid required in order to achieve a certain level of accuracy in the resulting isochrones. The programs that implement these methods are free and open-source; they may be obtained from the project webpage.