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    Gaia science capabilities

    This page summarizes the science capabilities of the Gaia mission

    Measurement Capabilities

    • catalogue: of the order of 1 billion stars; 0.34×106 to V=10 mag; 26×106 to V=15 mag; 250×106 to V=18 mag; 1000×106 to V=20 mag, completeness to about 20 mag
    • sky density: mean density approximately 25 000 stars deg-2, maximum density: about 3 ×106 stars deg-2
    • accuracies: median parallaxes of 4 µas at V=10 mag, 11 µas at V=15 mag, 160 µas at V=20 mag
    • distance accuracies: from Galaxy models: 21 million better than 1 per cent, 46 million better than 2 per cent, 116 million better than 5 per cent, 220 million better than 10 per cent,
    • radial velocities: 1 to 10 km s-1 to V=16-17 mag
    • photometry: to V = 20 mag in 4 broad and 11 medium bands

    Summary of Scientific Goals

    Galactic structure

    • origin and history of our Galaxy
    • tests of hierarchical structure formation theories
    • inner bulge/bar dynamics
    • disc/halo interactions
    • dynamical evolution
    • nature of the warp
    • star cluster disruption
    • dynamics of spiral structure
    • star formation history
    • chemical evolution
    • distribution of dust
    • distribution of invisible mass
    • detection of tidally disrupted debris
    • Galaxy rotation curve
    • disc mass profile

    Star formation and evolution

    • dynamics of star forming regions
    • luminosity function for pre-main sequence stars
    • detection and categorization of rapid evolutionary phases
    • complete and detailed local census down to single brown dwarfs
    • identification/dating of oldest halo white dwarfs
    • age census
    • census of brown dwarfs in binaries

    Distance scale and reference frame

    • parallax calibration of all distance scale indicators
    • absolute luminosities of Cepheids
    • distance to the Magellanic Clouds
    • definition of the local, kinematically non-rotating metric

    Local group and beyond

    • rotational parallaxes for Local Group galaxies
    • kinematical separation of stellar populations
    • galaxy orbits and cosmological history
    • zero proper motion quasar survey
    • cosmological acceleration of Solar System
    • photometry of galaxies
    • detection of supernovae

    Solar system

    • deep and uniform detection of minor planets
    • taxonomy and evolution
    • disruption of Oort Cloud

    Extra-solar planetary systems

    • complete census of large planets to 200-500 pc
    • orbital characteristics of several thousand systems

    Fundamental physics

    • space curvature parameter, gamma, to 5×10-7
    • constraints on beta, on the rate of change of the gravitational constant, and gravitational wave energy

    Specific objects

    • 106 galaxies
    • 105 supernovae
    • 105-106 (new) solar system objects
    • more than 50 000 brown dwarfs
    • 30 000 extra-solar planets
    • 200 000 disc white dwarfs
    • approximately 1000 microlensed events
    • TBC resolved binaries


    Last Update: 17 Oct 2006

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