Asteroseismology of solar-type stars with Kepler: III. Ground-based data

We report on the ground-based follow-up program of spectroscopic and photometric observations of solar-like asteroseismic targets for the Kepler space mission. These stars constitute a large group of more than a thousand objects which are the subject of an intensive study by the Kepler Asteroseismic Science Consortium Working Group 1 (KASC WG-1). In the current work we will discuss the methods we use to determine the fundamental stellar atmospheric parameters using high-quality stellar spectra. These provide essential constraints for the asteroseismic modelling and make it possible to verify the parameters in the Kepler Input Catalogue (KIC). (C) 2010 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH&Co. KGaA, Weinheim