The Dusty Evolved Star Kit (DESK): A Python package for fitting the Spectral Energy Distribution of Evolved Stars

TL;DR

The paper introduces DESK, a Python package that fits the spectral energy distribution of evolved stars using various radiative transfer models, aiding in understanding dust environments and stellar contributions.

Contribution

It presents a new Python tool with multiple model grids, including dust growth models, for analyzing the SEDs of evolved stars, enhancing modeling accuracy and uncertainty assessment.

Findings

Includes newly created dust model grids.

Provides a robust method for model grid comparison.

Prepares for analysis of JWST infrared data.

Abstract

One of the few ways that we can understand the environment around dusty stars and how much material they contribute back to the Universe, is by fitting their brightness at different wavelengths with models that account for how the energy transfers through the dust. The DESK is a python package designed to compare the best fits of different stellar samples and model grids for a better understanding of the results and their uncertainties. The package fits the Spectral Energy Distribution (SED) of evolved stars, using photometry or spectra, to grids of radiative transfer models using a least-squares method. The package includes newly created grids using a variety of different dust species, and state-of-the-art dust growth grids. A robust method for testing different model grids will be particularly important given the wealth of infrared data to come from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).