POSYDON Documentation

Welcome to POSYDON!

Welcome to the official documentation of POSYDON - POpulation SYnthesis with Detailed binary-evolution simulatiONs. Whether you’re a new user, a contributor, or just exploring, we’re delighted to have you here!

About POSYDON

POSYDON is a next-generation single- and binary-star population synthesis tool. Our vision is to provide researchers and enthusiasts with a state-of-the-art platform to delve into the intricacies of stellar structures and binary evolutions using MESA. With full stellar structure modeling, advanced machine learning techniques, and a modular architecture, POSYDON stands at the forefront of astrophysical simulations.

To stay up-to-date with the latest news about POSYDON, check out our official website for more details.

Using this Documentation

We’ve tried to group the documentation into four distinct sections to help you navigate easily:

• Tutorials: Step-by-step guides to help you get started and explore POSYDON’s capabilities.

• User Guides: In-depth explanations of POSYDON’s features and functionalities.

• Reference: For developers and advanced users, detailing the classes, methods, and functions available in POSYDON.

• Explanation: Background and conceptual material on the POSYDON framework.

How-to (Getting Started)

• Prerequisites
• Installation Guide
• Quick Start: Examining the MESA Grids
• Quick Start: Your First Population

Tutorials

• Binary-Star Population Synthesis with POSYDON
• Crafting the Core Datasets for POSYDON
• Architecting MESA Simulation Grids with POSYDON

POSYDON school material

• POSYDON School 2025

Explanation

• Grid Types
• Data Releases
• Processing Pipeline
• Machine Learning Components
• Stellar & Binary-star Simulation
• Population Synthesis

API Reference

• MESA Grids API
• posydon
• executables

Additional Information

• Introduction, Objectives, and Scope
• Collaborative Team
• Publications
• Releases
• Datasets
• Contact Information
• Common Installation Issues
• Code Usage Questions
• Report an Issue
• How To Contribute

Acknowledgments

Team Members: POSYDON is being led and developed by a dedicated team of astrophysicists and computer scientists. At the helm are Principal Investigators Tassos Fragos (Université de Genève) and Vicky Kalogera (Northwestern University), along with many talented individuals. You can read more about the team on the Collaborative Team page.

Funding Agencies: The POSYDON project is supported primarily by two sources: the Swiss National Science Foundation Professorship grant (PI Fragos) and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation (PI Kalogera).

Licensing: POSYDON is licensed under “BSD 3-Clause”. For full licensing details, please refer to our LICENSE.