On Tuesday, October 29, CITIC at the University of A Coruña hosted the latest session of its TIC Talk conference series. This time, researchers Xabier Pérez and Luca Sala shared recent advances in science and technology applied to fields as diverse as astronomy and cultural heritage conservation.

Detecting Metals in Gaia’s Stars

Xabier Pérez Couto delved into one of modern astrophysics’ great mysteries. Around 97% of stars in our universe end their lives as white dwarfs—ultra-dense objects where heavy metals are concentrated in the core, leaving a thin layer of hydrogen and helium in the atmosphere. However, observations from the Gaia space mission revealed a new population of white dwarfs with metals in their atmospheres, a finding that contradicts previous understanding of their evolution. What could explain the presence of these metals? Could it be contamination from interstellar clouds or remnants of planets that survived their star? This research aims to provide new insights into the future of our own Sun.

Digital Maktaba: preserving cultural heritage

Luca Sala introduced the Digital Maktaba project, an initiative focused on preserving and cataloging cultural heritage in non-Latin scripts, including Arabic, Persian, and Azerbaijani Turkish. The project employs advanced technologies such as optical character recognition (OCR), explainable machine learning, and natural language processing to overcome challenges in digitizing these multilingual manuscripts. This tool enhances access to important historical documents and automates the cataloging process, making it more efficient and precise.

CITIC’s TIC Talk sessions offer an opportunity to learn more about how science and technology continue to open new pathways, from exploring the cosmos to preserving our shared history.