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SAIP2026

6–10 Jul 2026
University of the Western Cape
Africa/Johannesburg timezone
**Tours now open!** Registration is now closed - All registration payments are due before 23:39 SAST on 26 June.

SAIP2026 Conference

Optimizing Stellar Velocity Dispersion Measurements for Upcoming Spectroscopic Surveys

9 Jul 2026, 11:20
20m
Lecture Hall C5 (University of the Western Cape)

Lecture Hall C5

University of the Western Cape
Oral Presentation Track D - Astrophysics & Space Science Astrophysics & Space Science

Speaker

Mr Johan Nel (Centre for Space Research (NWU))

Description

Accurate stellar velocity dispersion measurements are of great importance for
understanding the dynamical masses, evolutionary stages, and are fundamen-
tal in studying the gravitational potential of galaxies. The accuracy of these
measurements depends on the coverage of the spectrograph, the redshift, the
signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), and the wavelength range used to perform the
measurement. To find conditions that produce accurate stellar velocity dis-
persion measurements for upcoming spectroscopic surveys (e.g., 4MOST), we
generated realistic mock spectra using the Flexible Stellar Population Synthesis
(FSPS) model for different redshifts, SNRs, and velocity dispersions. We then
performed velocity dispersion measurements using the Penalized PiXel-Fitting
(pPXF) code in different wavelength ranges between 3700 ˚A and 9000 ˚A.

Apply for student award at which level: PhD
Consent on use of personal information: Abstract Submission Yes, I ACCEPT

Author

Mr Johan Nel (Centre for Space Research (NWU))

Co-author

Prof. Ilani Loubser (Centre for Space Research (NWU))

Presentation materials

There are no materials yet.