NAM 2015 Session: Galactic Chemical Evolution in the Gaia Era

The recent launch of the Gaia Satellite will revolutionise our understanding of the Milky Way and stars and galaxies in general. Indeed, Gaia will determine the position of one billion stars and provide spectra of many millions of stars. In addition, there are several complementary ongoing ground-based spectroscopic surveys (e.g. the Gaia-ESO survey, APOGEE, GALAH) and new instruments planned for the near future (e.g. WEAVE and MOONS) with strong UK involvement. A theoretical framework is crucial to interpret these exquisite data. In particular, the many chemical elements produced in stars and supernovae carry the chemical fingerprints of the dynamical processes taking place in stars and the interstellar medium. To harness the power of these chemical tracers, knowledge in galactic and stellar evolution as well as nuclear physics is needed. The goal of this parallel session is to gather the experts in all these related fields to discuss the current status of galactic chemical evolution modelling and what improvements are needed to be ready to interpret the data obtained with the Gaia satellite and related surveys. The session will include an overview of the current status of both the Gaia mission with a focus on its complementary spectroscopic surveys.