This brief overview stresses the importance of molecular processes in modern astrophysics and provides examples where the availability of new laboratory or theoretical data proved crucial in the analysis. This includes basic data such as spectroscopy and collisional rate coefficients, but also an improved understanding of reactions and photoprocesses in the gaseous and solid state. In spite of many lingering uncertainties, the future of molecular astrophysics is bright with new facilities such as ALMA, JWST and ELTs on the horizon. Together, they will allow increased understanding of the journey of gas and solids from clouds to stars and planets, and back to the interstellar medium.

Exploiting reflectron time of flight mass spectrometry coupled with single photon ionization of the subliming molecules (PI-ReTOF-MS) during the temperature programmed desorption (TPD) and combining these data with on line and in situ infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), a versatile experimental approach has been established to elucidate the formation pathways of complex organic molecules in interstellar analog ices upon interaction with ionizing radiation at astrophysically relevant temperatures as low as 5 K.

We re-evaluate the CO dipole moment function in order to obtain more accurate isotope ratios for the solar photosphere using previous infrared observations. We used a new set of dipole moments from HITEMP which were accurately determined by both semi-empirical and ab initio methods. Preliminary values of isotope ratios using the new dipole moments are in better agreement with the inferred photosphere values from Genesis, showing that the solar photosphere is isotopically similar to primitive inclusions in meteorites.

Ices form on the surfaces of interstellar and circumstellar dust grains though freeze-out of molecules and atoms from the gas-phase followed by chemical reactions. The composition, chemistry, structure and desorption properties of these ices regulate two important aspects of planet formation: the locations of major condensation fronts in protoplanetary disks (i.e. snow lines) and the formation efficiencies of complex organic molecules in astrophysical environments. The latter regulates the availability of prebiotic material on nascent planets. With ALMA it is possible to directly observe both (CO) snowlines and complex organics in protoplanetary disks. The interpretation of these observations requires a detailed understanding of the fundamental ice processes that regulate the build-up, evolution and desorption of icy grain mantles. This proceeding reviews how experiments on thermal CO and N2 ice desorption, UV photodesorption of CO ice, and CO diffusion in H2O ice have been used to guide and interpret astrochemical observations of snowlines and complex molecules.

The construction of viable and physically-realistic interstellar dust models is only possible if the constraints imposed by laboratory data on interstellar dust analogue materials are respected and used within a meaningful theoretical framework. These “physical” dust models can then be directly compared to observations without the need for any tuning to fit the observations. Such models will generally fail to achieve the excellent fits to observations that “empirical” models are able to achieve. However, the physically-realistic approach will necessarily lead to a deeper insight and a fuller understanding of the nature and evolution of interstellar dust. The THEMIS modelling approach, based on (hydrogenated) amorphous carbons and amorphous silicates with metallic Fe and/or FeS nano-inclusions appears to be a promising move in this direction.

Ices play a key role in the formation of simple and complex molecules in dense molecular clouds and in the envelopes and protoplanetary disks surrounding young stars. Some fraction of the interstellar ices may become building blocks of comets, and thus be delivered to the early Earth. Laboratory simulations have proven to be crucial in the derivation of ice abundances, in quantifying reaction rates on cold grain surfaces, in determining the thermal and energetic processing history of the ices, and in understanding the interaction between the ices and the underlying refractory grain surfaces. In this invited topical paper I will review possible ways forward in improving our knowledge of the composition of the ices, as many signatures in the interstellar spectra are still poorly identified. I will also emphasize the observed importance of thermal processing of the ices (crystallization, segregation), which likely affects the chemistry after the initial dominance of grain surface reactions. Continued laboratory work is warranted in view of the upcoming observational data from, for example, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), which is ideally suited for ices studies. For an exhaustive review on this topic I refer to Boogert, Gerakines & Whittet (2015).

The Infrared Camera (IRC) onboard AKARI has a near-infrared (2--5μm) spectroscopic capability with high sensitivity that allows us to study the major ice components in various objects. In particular, H2O and CO2 ice absorption features have been detected towards nearby galaxies, including several young stellar objects (YSOs) in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), as well as a number of HII region-PDR complexes for the first time by IRC spectroscopy. While observations in the LMC show a high ratio (~0.34) of the CO2 to H2O ice column densities, the ratios in Galactic HII-region-PDR complexes are in the range of 0.1--0.2, being compatible with those found in Galactic massive YSOs in previous studies. The good correlation supports concurrent formation of the two ice species on the grain surface and the higher ratio in the low-metallicity LMC suggests possible environmental effects in the formation process.

Comet composition and properties provide information on chemical and physical processes that occurred in the early Solar system, 4.6 Gyr ago. The study of comets and of star-forming regions both help for a better understanding of the formation of planetary systems. A review of our present knowledge of cometary composition is presented. We also discuss laboratory studies that would be helpful for data analysis.

We look at applications of recent work in theoretical and experimental spectroscopy for the analysis of IR data concerning giant planets, Titan and possibly exoplanets.

In the Titan Haze Simulation (THS) experiment, Titan's atmospheric chemistry is simulated by plasma discharge in the stream of a supersonic expansion, i.e. at low Titan-like temperature (150 K). Here, we present complementary gas and solid phase analyses of four N2-CH4-based gas mixtures that demonstrate the unique capability of the THS to monitor the chemical growth evolution in order to better understand Titan's chemistry and the origin of aerosol formation.

Colliding plasmas are ubiquitous in astrophysical environments and allow conversion of kinetic energy into heat and, most importantly, the acceleration of particles to extremely high energies to form the cosmic ray spectrum. In collisionless astrophysical plasmas, kinetic plasma processes govern the interaction and particle acceleration processes, including shock formation, self-generation of magnetic fields by kinetic plasma instabilities, and magnetic field compression and reconnection. How each of these contribute to the observed spectra of cosmic rays is not fully understood, in particular both shock acceleration processes and magnetic reconnection have been proposed. We will review recent results of laboratory astrophysics experiments conducted at high-power, inertial-fusion-class laser facilities, which have uncovered significant results relevant to these processes. Recent experiments have now observed the long-sought Weibel instability between two interpenetrating high temperature plasma plumes, which has been proposed to generate the magnetic field necessary for shock formation in unmagnetized regimes. Secondly, magnetic reconnection has been studied in systems of colliding plasmas using either self-generated magnetic fields or externally applied magnetic fields, and show extremely fast reconnection rates, indicating fast destruction of magnetic energy and further possibilities to accelerate particles. Finally, we highlight kinetic plasma simulations, which have proven to be essential tools in the design and interpretation of these experiments.

Underground Nuclear Astrophysics in China (JUNA) will take the advantage of the ultra-low background in Jinping underground lab. High current accelerator with an ECR source and detectors will be set up. We plan to study directly a number of nuclear reactions important to hydrostatic stellar evolution at their relevant stellar energies, such as 25Mg(p,γ)26Al, 19F(p,α)16O, 13C(α,n)16O and 12C(α,γ)16O.

Gamma-ray astronomy has a huge potential in astrophysics, particle physics and cosmology. The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) is an international initiative to build the next-generation ground-based gamma-ray observatory which will have a factor of 5-10 improvement in sensitivity in the 100 GeV - 10 TeV range and an extension to energies well below 100 GeV and above 100 TeV. CTA is planned to consist of two arrays (one in the North and another in the South Hemisphere) and will provide the deepest insight ever reached into the non-thermal high-energy Universe and its particle accelerators.

We report a recent status of multi-dimensional neutrino-radiation hydrodynamics simulations for clarifying the explosion mechanism of core-collapse supernovae (CCSNe). In this contribution, we present two results, one from two-dimensional (2D) simulations using multiple progenitor models and another from three-dimensional (3D) rotational core-collapse simulation using a single progenitor. From the first ever systematic 2D simulations, it is shown that the compactness parameter ξ that characterizes the structure of the progenitors is a key to diagnose the explodability of neutrino-driven explosions. In the 3D rotating model, we find a new type of rotation-assisted explosion, which makes the explosion energy bigger than that in the non-rotating model. The unique feature has not been captured in previous 2D self-consistent rotational models because the growth of non-axisymmetric instabilities is the key to foster the explosion by enhancing the energy transport from the proto-neutron star to the gain region.

Current Cherenkov Telescopes for VHE gamma ray astrophysics are pointing instruments with a field of view up to a few tens of deg2. We propose to build an array of two non-steerable telescopes with a FoV of 5×60 deg2 oriented along the meridian. Roughly half of the sky drifts through this FoV in a year. We have performed a MC simulation to estimate the performance of this instrument, which we dub MACHETE. The sensitivity that MACHETE would achieve after 5 years of operation for every source in this half of the sky is comparable to the sensitivity that a current IACT achieves for a specific source after a 50 h devoted observation. The analysis energy threshold would be 150 GeV and the angular resolution 0.1 deg. For astronomical objects that transit over MACHETE for a specific night, it would achieve an integral sensitivity of 12% of Crab in a night. This makes MACHETE a powerful tool to trigger observations of variable sources at VHE or any other wavelengths.

The VAMDC Consortium is a worldwide consortium which federates Atomic and Molecular databases through an e-science infrastructure and a political organisation. About 90% of the inter-connected databases handle data that are used for the interpretation of spectra and for the modeling of media of many fields of astrophysics. This paper presents how the VAMDC Consortium is organised in order to publish atomic and molecular data for astrophysics.

The current photometric datasets, that span decades, allow for studying long-term cycles on active stars. Complementary Ca H&K observations give information also on the cycles of normal solar-like stars, which have significantly smaller, and less easily detectable, spots. In the recent years, high precision space-based observations, for example from the Kepler satellite, have allowed also to study the sunspot-like spot sizes in other stars. Here I review what is known about the properties of the cyclic stellar activity in other stars than our Sun.

In Sun-like stars, magnetic fields are generated in the outer convective layers. They shape the stellar environment, from the photosphere to planetary orbits. Studying the large-scale magnetic field of those stars enlightens our understanding of the field properties and gives us observational constraints for field generation dynamo models. It also sheds light on how “normal” the Sun is among Sun-like stars. In this contribution, I will review the field properties of Sun-like stars, focusing on solar twins and planet hosting stars. I will discuss the observed large-scale magnetic cycles, compare them to stellar activity cycles, and link that to what we know about the Sun. I will also discuss the effect of large-scale stellar fields on exoplanets, exoplanetary emissions (e.g. radio), and habitability.

The joint variability of chromospheric emission with the integrated flux in the Kepler visible band for the Sun as a star is examined. No correlation between our Ca II K line parameter and the Kepler passband is seen, suggesting that visible-band variability in solar-like stars is mostly independent of solar-like chromospheric activity. However, the K-line parameter time series and the total solar flux in the infrared K band appear weakly correlated, reflecting the wavelength dependence of the relationship between magnetic activity and broadband variability. We then apply a schematic, three-component model as a framework for the discussion of stellar photometric variability as observed by Kepler. The model confirms that spots tend to dominate stellar photometric variability in the visible though interesting cases do emerge where the facular disk coverage may become important in determining the amplitude of broadband variability.