The SALT survey of chemically-peculiar hot subdwarfs

Abstract

The Southern African Large Telescope (SALT) has surveyed a sample of 300 chemically-peculiar hot subdwarfs with a view to explore evolutionary pathways and connections between a large variety of stars. Observations have been obtained for the entire sample at intermediate resolution to provide classifications and atmosphere parameters, and a smaller sample at high resolution to permit detailed chemical abundance analyses. The first has provided a substantial sample of extremely helium-rich sdO stars, but has also led to significant discoveries of hot white dwarfs, pre-white dwarfs, heavy-metal subdwarfs and extreme helium stars. This paper provides an overview of the current status of the project.