In this presentation, we first introduced the definition and classification of rotating sunspots. Using multi-wavelength data, we investigated the evolution of some rotating sunspots and the response of upper atmosphere relevant to the rotating sunspots. Moreover, the distribution of rotating sunspots in solar cycle 23 and the statistics of flares relevant to rotating sunspots are also presented.

High- and low-density tracer molecules have been observed in (Ultra-) Luminous Infrared Galaxies in order to initiatemulti-molecule multi-transition studies to evaluate the physical and chemical environment of the nuclear medium and the ongoing nuclear activity. The data, augmented with data available in the literature, are presented in Baan et al. (2007), which also presents a first order analysis. Here, we present the chemical analysis of the J = 1–0 transition lines of HCN, HNC, and HCO+.

The annihilations of WIMPs can lead to the production of very-high energy (VHE) γ-rays in the final state. These VHE γ-rays may be detected by Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes (IACTs) like the H.E.S.S. instrument. We review here the search for such annihilations towards the Galactic Center and the Canis Major overdensity. Constraints on the velocity-weighted cross-sections ⟨σv⟩ of WIMPs are computed within the framework of supersymmetric and Kaluza-Klein extensions of the Standard Model of Particle Physics.

When the most primitive types of meteorite (chondrites) and interplanetary dust particles (IDPs) formed in the solar protoplanetary disk (solar nebula), all of them incorporated at least two types of presolar material: interstellar organic matter and circumstellar grains. The organic matter probably formed in the protosolar molecular cloud. To date, 10 types of circumstellar grain have been found and their isotopic compositions show that they formed around RGB/AGB stars, supernovae and, possibly, novae and WR stars. It has been proposed that interstellar silicates are also present in IDPs, but the evidence for this is less compelling.
The range of isotopic compositions exhibited by the circumstellar grains require a minimum of 35–40 stellar sources, suggesting that they are a fairly representative sample of circumstellar dust production in the Galaxy. In general, the relative abundances of circumstellar grains from different sources are similar to what is expected from astronomical estimates provided that the contribution from supernovae is relatively small. The one exception is graphite grains from AGB stars that are highly depleted.
Collisional erosion, radiation damage and sputtering are all expected to affect grains in the ISM on relatively short timescales. Yet, for reasons that are unclear, examination of the circumstellar grains has found little evidence for any of these processes.
The circumstellar grains also provide information about grain nucleation and growth in stellar winds. For instance, only graphite grains from AGB stars seem to have formed by heterogeneous nucleation. Graphite and SiC grains from AGB stars as large as 10–20 µm have been found in meteorites, probably requiring regions of high gas density rather than the usual assumption of uniformly expanding outflows. However, few graphite and SiC grains have similar C isotopic compositions, suggesting that they tend to form at different stages of AGB evolution.

The frequency of planets in binaries is an important issue in the field of extrasolar planet studies, because of its relevance in the estimate of the global planet population of our Galaxy and the clues it can give to our understanding of planet formation and evolution. Here we present an update of the results discussed in Bonavita & Desidera (2007) (hereafter BD07), where we reported the outcomes of our literature search for binaries and multiple systems among the sample with uniform detectability (UD) defined by Fischer & Valenti (2005) (hereafter FV05).

Long hypothesized to be the origin of planetary systems, disks around newly formed stars have been studied in detail in the last twenty years. Most, if not all stars form surrounded by a disk, with typical masses of 0.001–0.3 M๏ and up to several hundred AU. Molecular emission lines show the gas to be in Keplerian rotation, with most species (but not H2) frozen out onto dust grains in the cold and dense disk interior. The fraction of stars with disks decreases from > 80% at < 1 Myr to < 10% at 10 Myr. The disk “half-life" is 2–3 Myr, with the inner and outer disks disappearing nearly simultaneously. There is a small but distinct populations of disks with cleared-out inner regions, so-called cold or transitional disks, explained by photoevaporation, planet formation, or binarity. Inside the disks, planet formation begins, with clear observational evidence for the growth of dust grains to sizes of a few cm at least.

PILOT (Pathfinder for an International Large OpticalTelescope) isa proposed 2 m class optical/infrared telescope to be sited atDome C on the Antarctic plateau. Recent site testing results fromDome C have shown remarkable ground level seeing, a largeisoplanatic angle, and a long atmospheric coherence time. Thesefactors significantly improve the resolution and increase thecapabilities of adaptive optics systems. Additionally, the low skyemission at Dome C gives a significant increase in infraredsensitivity compared to typical mid-latitude sites. PILOT isenvisaged as a winterised version of a commercially available 2 mclass telescope, with a simple low cost dome (sufficient for thelow ground level wind speeds), and a tip-tilt and/or a deformablesecondary mirror. A number of science cameras covering the visibleto the sub-millimetre are being considered.

Many phenomena first detected in Galactic H i, such as high velocity clouds and gaseous warps, have now been detected and studied in nearby galaxies. Given this valuable perspective I examine three aspects of Galactic extra-planar gas that appear somewhat puzzling from our vantage in the Milky Way disk. I. Spiral galaxies have a rotation curve that decreases with distance above their mid-plane; where is the lagging halo in the Milky Way? II. Other systems show clear evidence for accretion of neutral gas; where is this gas in the Milky Way? III. Warps of the H i layer are common in the outskirts of disk galaxies; are we confident that we’ve correctly parameterized our own warp? The answers appear to be that lagging halo gas could well be present in the Galaxy but would be difficult to detect; that there is now solid evidence for the accretion of high-velocity H i clouds by the disk, though the details are still mysterious, and that the warp continues to baffle us, as it exhibits a puzzling morphology and kinematics.

Large millimetric and submillimetric telescopes can play a crucial role in our understanding of the Universe, allowing the direct measurement of early galaxies or the investigation of the earliest stages of star formation. The B modes of CMB polarization are a direct probe of the Inflationary epoch and their measurement promises to provide information on the scale of energies at which the process took place. For these investigations (and many others), large detectors arrays with thousands of pixels are needed, to achieve high mapping speeds. This is especially true in the case of mm and sub/mm observations from extremely cold and dry locations like Dome-C, where ultra-low temperature detectors, reaching photon noise limited performance, are needed to fully exploit the excellent quality of the site. In this paper we present the working principle of the Microwave Kinetic Inductance Detectors and their status of development in Italy, focusing on the key aspects that make them ideal for large arrays of sensors.

We report the detection of the 158 μm [CII] line from the LIR ~ 1014 L๏ galaxy FSC 10026+4949 at z = 1.12. This is the first detection of [CII] from the z = 1-3 epoch of enhanced starformation. The L[CII]/LFIR ratio is 1.3 × 10-3, larger than the ratio typically seen in local ULIRGs, but similar to that measured in normal and starburst galaxies. This high ratio implies that the UV fields powering the far-infrared emission are of only modest intensity, and that FSC 10026+4949 may be undergoing a galaxy-wide starburst.

Observations give evidences of the presence of metals in the intergalactic medium (IGM). The stars responsible for transforming hydrogen and helium into more complex atoms do not form outside the galaxies in the standard scenario of galaxy formation. Supernovae–driven winds and theirassociated feedback was proposed as a possiblesolution to explain such enrichment of the IGM. It turned out that a proper modelling of supernovaeexplosions within a turbulent interstellar medium (ISM) is a difficulttask. Recent advances have been obtained using a multiphase approachto solve for the thermal state of the ISM, plus some additionalrecipes to account for the kinetic effect of supernovae on thegalactic gas. We briefly describe here our implementation of supernovaefeedback within the RAMSES code, and apply it to the formation andevolution of isolated galaxies of various masses and angularmomenta. We have explored under what conditions a galactic wind candevelop, if one considers only a quiescent mode of star formation. We have also characterized the distribution and evolution of metallicity in the gas outflow spreading in the IGM.

Binary stars are abundant. We describe their orbits and the effects oftides and introduce the concept of the Roche lobe and mass transfer.We illustrate binary star evolution with Algols, cataclysmic variablesand type Ia supernovae as examples.

Late-type MS stars display optical variability on different time scales due to the presence of photospheric brightness inhomogeneities produced by surface magnetic fields, analogous to cool spots and bright faculae observed in the Sun. We are developing methods to model the optical variability of main-sequence late-type stars to understand the impact of solar-like activity on the detection of planetary transits and to significantly improve the detection efficiency. Our techniques will also allow to map the longitude distribution of active regions on stars that harbor planets and to look for a possible connection between stellar activity and the presence of planets around a star. 


We want to compare masses and radii of Red Giant (RG) stars derived from detached Eclipsing Binaries (dEBs) (KIC 8410637: Frandsen et al. 2013) with those derived from asteroseismology, and to classify the RG as a hydrogen- or helium-burning or as an asymptotic giant branch (AGB) star. The Kepler satellite has provided unique data, that allows asteroseismology to be carried out on RG stars. Among the many RGs are a small set of dEBs, where accurate masses and radii can be measured from an analysis of observations of the binary system.

The main goal of Galactic Archaeology is to understand the formation and evolution of the basic Galactic components. This requires sophisticated chemo-dynamical modeling, where disk asymmetries (e.g., perturbations from the bar, spirals, and mergers) and non-equilibrium processes are taken into account self-consistently. Here we discuss the current status of Galactic chemo-dynamical modeling and focus on a recent hybrid technique, which helps circumvent traditional problems with chemical enrichment and star formation encountered in fully self-consistent cosmological simulations. We show that this model can account for a number of chemo-kinematic relations in the Milky Way, as discussed in previous works. In addition, we demonstrate that our model matches well the observed age-[α/Fe] relation and that blurring may be insufficient to explain the scatter in the age-metallicity relation.

Optical observations of afterglows at very times are very useful towards understandingthe least known problem of GRB research field i.e. the transition fromprompt emission to early afterglows. The comparison of a subset of well-monitored GRBs andtheir early time properties at optical are compared with that seen at XRT and BATwavelengths. In most of the observed cases, the very early optical observations of GRBs donot trace the canonical decay nature seen at XRT wavelengths, suggesting different originsfor the observed early emissions in the two bands. In some of the early opticallight-curves, the decay followed by smooth rise features are consistent with the onset ofthe afterglow although such features are also expected if the emission is seen off-axisand/or the outflow is structured.

The Gaia pixel-level data simulator GIBIS (Gaia Instrument and Basic Image Simulator,Babusiaux (2005)) provides detailed artificial data for all three instruments on-board theGaia spacecraft. This data is used for the preparation of procedures required for theanalysis of real Gaia data to come during the mission. Among the effects that stronglyaffect all Gaia data, that therefore have to be modelled with GIBIS, is charge transferinefficiency (CTI). CTI, caused by radiation-induced microscopic defects in the CCDdetectors, becomes manifest in a distortion of the line spread functions of observedobjects, as well as in a loss of photo-generated charges inside the window allocated toeach observed source. It affects the astrometric, photometric, and spectroscopic accuracyof the data. The CTI effects on a particular observation depend on observations donebefore, on CCD operations such as gate activity and charge injections, and on physicaleffects such as the sky background brightness and cosmic ray events in the detectors. Inthis paper, an approach for the simulation of CTI with GIBIS is presented and theinfluence of the sky background brightness and cosmic ray events of CTI is discussed inmore detail.


Radio Astronomy in the U.S. went through two distinct phases, thepioneering phase before the Second World War, when Karl Jansky andGrote Reber were the only two radio astronomers in the world, and thepost-WWII era, when the subject blossomed throughout the world,especially in England and Australia, while U.S. radio astronomylanguished at a relatively low level, until its resurgence a decadelater. Here in Budapest we are celebrating the 70th anniversary ofJansky's discovery, and I shall start with a review of his work, andthe subsequent work of Grote Reber, who died, regrettably, in December2002. Two historical references will be cited frequently: Serendipitous Discoveries in Radio Astronomy (Kellermann & Sheets,eds. 1983, referred to as Paper 1) and the two historicalcollections edited by W.T. Sullivan, Classics in RadioAstronomy (1982, referred to as Paper 2) and The Early Yearsof Radio Astronomy (1984, Paper 3).

Stark broadening theories and calculations have been extensively developed for about 50 years. The theory can now be considered as mature for many applications, especially for accurate spectroscopic diagnostics and modelling. This requires the knowledge of numerous collisional line profiles, especially for very low abundant atoms and ions which are used as probes for modern spectroscopic diagnostics in astrophysics. Nowadays, the access to such data via an on line database becomes essential. STARK-B (http://stark-b.obspm.fr) is a collaborative project between the Astronomical Observatory of Belgrade and the Laboratoire d’Étude du Rayonnement et de la matière en Astrophysique (LERMA). It is a database of calculated widths and shifts of isolated lines of atoms and ions due to electron and ion collisions (impacts). It is devoted to modelling and spectroscopic diagnostics of stellar atmospheres and envelopes, laboratory plasmas, laser equipments and technological plasmas. Hence, the domain of temperatures and densities covered by the tables is wide and depends on the ionization degree of the considered ion. The STARK-B database is a part of VAMDC (Virtual Atomic and Molecular Data Centre, http://www.vamdc.eu), which is an European Union funded collaboration between groups involved in the generation and use of atomic and molecular data. VAMDC aims to build a secure, documented, flexible and interoperable e-science environment-based interface to existing atomic and molecular data.