The Gaia-ESO Public Spectroscopic Survey: Implementation, data products, open cluster survey, science, and legacy^★,★★

¹ INAF – Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri, Largo E. Fermi, 5, 50125 Firenze, Italy
e-mail: sofia.randich@inaf.it
² Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0HA, UK
³ Astrophysics Group, Keele University, Keele, Staffordshire ST5 5BG, UK
⁴ Institute of Theoretical Physics and Astronomy, Vilnius University, Sauletekio av. 3, 10257 Vilnius, Lithuania
⁵ Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía, CSIC, Glorieta de la Astronomía SNR, Granada 18008, Spain
⁶ Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, Vía Láctea SNR, E-38205 La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain
⁷ Departamento de Astrofísica, Universidad de La Laguna, 38205 La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain
⁸ Lund Observatory, Department of Astronomy and Theoretical Physics, Box 43, 22100 Lund, Sweden
⁹ ROB – Royal Observatory of Belgium, Ringlaan 3, 1180 Brussels, Belgium
¹⁰ INAF – Osservatorio di Astrofisica e Scienza dello Spazio, via P. Gobetti 93/3, 40129 Bologna, Italy
¹¹ INAF – Osservatorio Asronomico di Palermo, Piazza del Parlamento, 1, 90134 Palermo, Italy
¹² GEPI, Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University, CNRS, Univ. Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cité, 61 avenue de l’Observatoire, 75014 Paris, France
¹³ Institute for Astronomy, Royal Observatory, University of Edinburgh, Blackford Hill, Edinburgh EH9 3HJ, UK
¹⁴ Observational Astrophysics, Division of Astronomy and Space Physics, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Uppsala University, Box 516, 75120 Uppsala, Sweden
¹⁵ Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Sezione Astrofisica, Universitá di Catania, via S. Sofia 78, 95123 Catania, Italy
¹⁶ Space Science Data Center – Agenzia Spaziale Italiana, via del Politecnico, s.n.c., 00133 Roma, Italy
¹⁷ Université Côte d’Azur, Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur, CNRS, Laboratoire Lagrange, Bd de l’Observatoire, CS 34229, 06304 Nice cedex 4, France
¹⁸ Nicolaus Copernicus Astronomical Center, Polish Academy of Sciences, ul. Bartycka 18, 00-716, Warsaw, Poland
¹⁹ Institut d’Astronomie et d’Astrophysique, Université Libre de Bruxelles, CP 226, Boulevard du Triomphe, 1050 Bruxelles, Belgium
²⁰ Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, University of Ljubljana, Jadranska 19, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
²¹ Australian Academy of Science, Box 783, Canberra ACT 2601, Australia
²² Rudolf Peierls Centre for Theoretical Physics, Clarendon Laboratory, Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PU, UK
²³ GEPI, Observatoire de Paris, Université PSL, CNRS, 5 Place Jules Janssen, 92190 Meudon, France
²⁴ Department of Physics & Astronomy, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK
²⁵ Institute for Astronomy, University of Edinburgh, Blackford Hill, Edinburgh EH9 3HJ, UK
²⁶ Departamento de Física Aplicada, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Alicante, 03690 San Vicente del Raspeig, Alicante, Spain
²⁷ European Space Agency (ESA), European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC), Keplerlaan 1, 2201 AZ Noordwijk, The Netherlands
²⁸ Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie, Königstuhl 17, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
²⁹ INAF – Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova, Vicolo dell’Osservatorio 5, 35122 Padova, Italy
³⁰ Instituto de Física y Astronomía, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Valparaíso, Chile
³¹ Núcleo Milenio Formación Planetaria – NPF, Universidad de Valparaíso, Chile
³² Niels Bohr International Academy, Niels Bohr Institute, Blegdamsvej 17, 2100 Copenhagen Ø, Denmark
³³ INAF – Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma, Via Frascati 33, 00040 Monte Porzio Catone (Roma), Italy
³⁴ Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Padova, V. dell’Osservatorio 2, 35122 Padova, Italy
³⁵ School of Physics & Astronomy, Monash University, Wellington Road, Clayton, 3800, Victoria, Australia
³⁶ INAF – Osservatorio Astrofisico di Catania, Via S. Sofia 78, 95123 Catania, Italy
³⁷ Núcleo de Astronomía, Facultad de Ingeniería y Ciencias, Universidad Diego Portales, Av. Ejército 441, Santiago, Chile
³⁸ Department of Astronomy, Stockholm University, AlbaNova University Center, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
³⁹ ESO – European Organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere, Alonso de Córdova 3107, Vitacura, 19001 Casilla, Santiago de Chile, Chile
⁴⁰ Departamento de Ciencias Fisicas, Universidad Andres Bello, Fernandez Concha 700, Las Condes, Santiago, Chile
⁴¹ Instituto de Astrofísica e Ciências do Espaço, Universidade do Porto, CAUP, Rua das Estrelas, 4150-762 Porto, Portugal
⁴² Observatório Nacional – MCTI (ON), Rua Gal. José Cristino 77, São Cristóvão, 20921-400 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
⁴³ Department of Chemistry and Physics, Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA
⁴⁴ Leibniz-Institut für Astrophysik Potsdam (AIP), An der Sternwarte 16, 14482 Potsdam, Germany
⁴⁵ Centro de Astrobiología (CSIC-INTA), Departamento de Astrofísica, campus ESAC. Camino bajo del castillo SNR. 28 692 Villanueva de la Cañada, Madrid, Spain
⁴⁶ Departamento de Física de la Tierra y Astrofísica & IPARCOSUCM (Instituto de Física de Partículas y del Cosmos de la UCM), Facultad de Ciencias Físicas, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
⁴⁷ Space Sciences, Technologies, and Astrophysics Research (STAR) Institute, Université de Liège, Quartier Agora, Bât. B5c, Allée du 6 août, 19c, 4000 Liège, Belgium
⁴⁸ Laboratoire d’astrophysique de Bordeaux, Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, B18N, allée Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 33615 Pessac, France
⁴⁹ Centro de Astrobiología (CSIC-INTA), Carretera de Ajalvir km 4, E-28850 Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain
⁵⁰ Departamento de Astronomía, Casilla 160-C, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción, Chile
⁵¹ INAF – Osservatorio Astrofisico di Torino, via Osservatorio 20, 10025 Pino Torinese, Italy
⁵² Stellar Astrophysics Centre, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 120, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
⁵³ University of Vienna, Dept. Astrophysics, Türkenschanzstrasse 17, 1180 Vienna, Austria
⁵⁴ Institut de Ciències del Cosmos (ICCUB), Universitat de Barcelona (IEEC-UB), Martí i Franquès 1, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
⁵⁵ Theoretical Astrophysics, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Uppsala University, Box 516, 751 20 Uppsala, Sweden
⁵⁶ Centro de Astrobiología (INTA-CSIC), Camino Bajo del Castillo SNR, 28692, Villanueva de la Cañada, Madrid, Spain
⁵⁷ Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, 77 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
⁵⁸ SISSA, via Bonomea, 265 - 34136 Trieste, Italy
⁵⁹ Dep. of Physics, Sapienza, University of Roma, Roma, Italy
⁶⁰ Research School of Astronomy & Astrophysics, Australian National University, ACT 2611 Australia
⁶¹ Jeremiah Horrocks Institute, University of Central Lancashire, Preston PR1 2HE, UK
⁶² INAF – Osservatorio Astronomico di Trieste, Via G.B Tiepolo, 11 34143 Trieste, Italy
⁶³ Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, Observatoire Astronomique de Strasbourg, UMR 7550, 67000 Strasbourg, France
⁶⁴ Astronomy Department, Indiana University, 727 East 3rd St, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
⁶⁵ The Kavli Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics at Peking University, 100871 Beijing, PR China
⁶⁶ Instituto de Investigación Multidisciplinario en Ciencia y Tecnología, Universidad de La Serena, Avenida Raúl Bitrán SNR, La Serena, Chile
⁶⁷ Departamento de Astronomía, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de La Serena, Av. Juan Cisternas 1200, La Serena, Chile
⁶⁸ Max-Planck-Institute for Ex. Physics, Giessenbachstr. 1, 85748 Garching, Germany
⁶⁹ Astronomisches Rechen-Institut, Zentrum für Astronomie der Universität Heidelberg, Mönchhofstr. 12–14, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
⁷⁰ Section of Astrophysics, Astronomy and Mechanics, Department of Physics, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 15784 Athens, Greece
⁷¹ IAASARS, National Observatory of Athens, GR15236 Penteli, Greece
⁷² Materials Science and Applied Mathematics, Malmö University, 205 06 Malmö, Sweden
⁷³ Institut UTINAM, CNRS UMR6213, Univ. Bourgogne Franche- Comté, OSU THETA Franche-Comté-Bourgogne, Observatoire de Besançon, BP 1615, 25010 Besançon Cedex, France
⁷⁴ School of Physics, University of New South Wales, Sydney 2052, Australia
⁷⁵ Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Università degli Studi di Bologna, Via Gobetti 93/2, 40129 Bologna, Italy
⁷⁶ CENTRA, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Ed. C8, Campo Grande, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal
⁷⁷ Departamento de Física e Astronomia, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade do Porto, Portugal
⁷⁸ Department of Astronomy, University of Geneva, 51 chemin Pegasi, 1290 Versoix, Switzerland
⁷⁹ Université de Toulouse, Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées, CNRS, IRAP, 14 av. E. Belin, 31400 Toulouse, France
⁸⁰ Astronomical Institute, CAS, Bočcní II 1401, 141 00 Prague 4, Czech Republic
⁸¹ Department of Theoretical Physics and Astrophysics, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kotlarska 2, 611 37 Brno, Czech Republic
⁸² Physics Department, Imperial College London, Prince Consort Road, London SW7 2BZ, UK
⁸³ Zentrum für Astronomie der Universität Heidelberg, Landessternwarte, Königstuhl 12, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
⁸⁴ University of Surrey, Physics Department, Guildford GU2 7XH, UK
⁸⁵ Mullard Space Science Laboratory, University College London, Holmbury St Mary, Dorking, Surrey RH5 6NT, UK
⁸⁶ Astronomical Observatory, Institute of Theoretical Physics and Astronomy, Vilnius University, Sauletekio av. 3, 10257 Vilnius, Lithuania
⁸⁷ Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, College Hill, Armagh BT61 9DG, UK
⁸⁸ Department of Physics & Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
⁸⁹ Institute of Astrophysics, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Av. Vicuña Mackenna, 4860, Macul, Santiago, Chile
⁹⁰ Sorbonne Université, CNRS, UPMC, UMR7095 Institut d’Astrophysique de Paris, 98bis Bd. Arago, 75014 Paris, France
⁹¹ Department of Physics and Astronomy, Macquarie University, Sydney NSW 2109, Australia

Received: 17 January 2022
Accepted: 8 March 2022

Abstract

Context. In the last 15 years different ground-based spectroscopic surveys have been started (and completed) with the general aim of delivering stellar parameters and elemental abundances for large samples of Galactic stars, complementing Gaia astrometry. Among those surveys, the Gaia-ESO Public Spectroscopic Survey, the only one performed on a 8m class telescope, was designed to target 100 000 stars using FLAMES on the ESO VLT (both Giraffe and UVES spectrographs), covering all the Milky Way populations, with a special focus on open star clusters.

Aims. This article provides an overview of the survey implementation (observations, data quality, analysis and its success, data products, and releases), of the open cluster survey, of the science results and potential, and of the survey legacy. A companion article reviews the overall survey motivation, strategy, Giraffe pipeline data reduction, organisation, and workflow.

Methods. We made use of the information recorded and archived in the observing blocks; during the observing runs; in a number of relevant documents; in the spectra and master catalogue of spectra; in the parameters delivered by the analysis nodes and the working groups; in the final catalogue; and in the science papers. Based on these sources, we critically analyse and discuss the output and products of the Survey, including science highlights. We also determined the average metallicities of the open clusters observed as science targets and of a sample of clusters whose spectra were retrieved from the ESO archive.

Results. The Gaia-ESO Survey has determined homogeneous good-quality radial velocities and stellar parameters for a large fraction of its more than 110 000 unique target stars. Elemental abundances were derived for up to 31 elements for targets observed with UVES. Lithium abundances are delivered for about 1/3 of the sample. The analysis and homogenisation strategies have proven to be successful; several science topics have been addressed by the Gaia-ESO consortium and the community, with many highlight results achieved.

Conclusions. The final catalogue will be released through the ESO archive in the first half of 2022, including the complete set of advanced data products. In addition to these results, the Gaia-ESO Survey will leave a very important legacy, for several aspects and for many years to come.