{
  "abstract": "Stellar abundances are generated by complex chemical enrichment pathways yet show strong correlation structure. We test how well high-quality spectra of low-α disk stars can be reconstructed using low-dimensional models. By validating model performance in flux space, we quantify and locate where residual information persists. Using HARPS spectra (R = 115, 000, SNR >100) and labels derived with korg, we train generative models (the cannon) conditioned on stellar parameters Teff, log (g), [M/H], vsin i, and vmic, and three abundance labels, [Ti/H], [Y/H], and [Nd/H], representing distinct nucleosynthetic families. Evaluating model performance on unseen test stars through flux residuals, the model reproduces the global spectra to a median residual amplitude of 0.3%. Deviations in 15 absorption features for unlabelled elements are typically ≤0.7%. Residuals of ∼1% correspond to abundance differences of 0.01–0.05 dex. Degrading the spectra to medium resolution (R = 28, 000) decreases the median residual amplitude from 0.3% to 0.2%, redistributing the residual signal over the instrumental line profile. Our publicly available model reproduces features from 29 elements to sub-percent precision across −1.13 < [M/H] < 0.29. This demonstrates that the dominant chemical variation encoded in low-α disk spectra can be captured by a low-dimensional model, while weaker chemical information remains encoded in flux residuals. High-resolution, high-SNR spectra (R ∼ 100, 000, SNR >100) are essential to resolve the hierarchical layers of chemical information beyond this low-dimensional structure. The model provides a benchmark for assessing the chemical information accessible to current surveys like 4MOST and GALAH 2, as well as upcoming facilities like VLT/HRMOS and GMT/G-CLEF.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "School of Astronomy and Astrophysics, The Australian National University , ACT 2611 ,"
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 3,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Sarah E Aquilina"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Melissa K Ness",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-5082-6693"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Sven Buder",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-4031-8553"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/0ykjwartetgc8.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1093/mnras/stag2036",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "0ykjwartetgc8",
  "issns": [
    "0035-8711",
    "1365-2966"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://academic.oup.com/mnras/advance-article/doi/10.1093/mnras/stag2036/9002452",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "3103|Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7223805690",
  "pdf_url": "https://academic.oup.com/mnras/advance-article-pdf/doi/10.1093/mnras/stag2036/72526393/stag2036.pdf",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-26",
  "publisher": "Oxford University Press (OUP)",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/0ykjwartetgc8.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:18:17Z",
      "native_id": "10.1093/mnras/stag2036",
      "source": "crossref",
      "url": "https://academic.oup.com/mnras/advance-article/doi/10.1093/mnras/stag2036/9002452"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "astronomy",
      "origin": "openalex:3103|Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies",
      "subfield": "stellar"
    }
  ],
  "title": "A Low-Dimensional Chemical Representation of High-Resolution Stellar Disk Spectra: Residual Abundance Signatures",
  "title_text": "A Low-Dimensional Chemical Representation of High-Resolution Stellar Disk Spectra: Residual Abundance Signatures",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:18:17Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/0ykjwartetgc8",
  "venue": "Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society",
  "versions": []
}