Obscured quasars hidden in deep X-ray surveys can be recovered by looking at mid-infrared wavelengths, where dust re-radiates the absorbed radiation. Here we present a sample of obscured quasars in the redshift range 1 < z < 4 based on data from the UKIDSS Ultra-Deep Survey (UDS), the deepest near-IR survey over ~ 1 sq. deg. to date. Candidates that are primarily selected by their 24 μm emission are probed by decomposing their spectral energy distribution (SED) to disentangle the emission from the AGN and its host galaxy. We show preliminary results on their host galaxy properties as well as their clustering, showing that obscured quasars are found in galaxies located in the green valley, residing in dark matter haloes not different from normal galaxies at those redshifts.

We report results of a study of the ionized gas towards the Galactic center with radio recombination lines at cm wavelengths. Both the Green Bank Telescope and the Very Large Array were utilized to probe the kinematics of the ionized gas on a global scale for both diffuse and discrete sources within the inner 2.0° × 0.5° (l × b). A diffuse ∼0 km s−1 gas, a thermal flux continuum fraction exceeding 40%, and an asymmetry where ∼70% of the ionized gas is found at positive Galactic longitudes are the preliminary results briefly discussed here.

We present the first systematic survey of dusty massive stars (RSGs, LBVs, sgB[e]) in nearby galaxies, with the goal of understanding their importance in massive star evolution. Using the fact that these stars are bright in mid-infrared colors due to dust, we provide a technique for selecting and identifying dusty evolved stars based on the results of Bonanos et al. (2009, 2010), Britavskiy et al. (2014), and archival Spitzer/IRAC photometry. We present the results of our spectroscopic follow-up of luminous infrared sources in the Local Group dwarf irregular galaxies: Pegasus, Phoenix, Sextans A and WLM. The survey aims to complete the census of dusty massive stars in the Local Group.

Equilibrium dynamical models are essential tools for extracting science from surveys of our Galaxy. We show how models can be tested with data from a survey before the survey's selection function has been determined. We illustrate the application of this method by presenting some results for the RAVE survey. We extend our published analytic distribution functions to include chemistry and fit the chosen functional form to a combination of the Geneva–Copenhagen survey (GCS) and a sample of G-dwarfs observed at z ~ 1.75 kpc by the SEGUE survey. By including solid dynamics we are able to predict the contribution that the thick disc/halo stars surveyed by SEGUE should make to the GCS survey. We show that the measured [Fe/H] distribution from the GCS includes many fewer stars at [Fe/H] < −0.6 than are predicted. The problem is more likely to lie in discordant abundance scales than with incorrect dynamics.

Fast rotation in massive stars is predicted to induce mixing in their interior, but a population of fast-rotating stars with normal nitrogen abundances at their surface has recently been revealed (Hunter et al.2009; Brott et al.2011, but see Maeder et al.2014). However, as the binary fraction of these stars is unknown, no definitive statements about the ability of single-star evolutionary models including rotation to reproduce these observations can be made. Our work combines for the first time a detailed surface abundance analysis with a radial-velocity monitoring for a sample of bright, fast-rotating Galactic OB stars to put strong constraints on stellar evolutionary and interior models.

Type IIP SNe constitute a major fraction of all core-collapse supernovae and arise from massive stars that end their lives close to Red Supergiants. The blastwave from the SN interacting with the progenitor's circumstellar matter produces a hot region bounded by a forward and a reverse shock from which most of the X-ray emission originates. Analysis of archival Chandra observations of SN 2004dj, one of the nearest supernovae since SN 1987A, together with published data from radio and optical bands determines the pre-explosion mass-loss rate, blastwave speed, electron acceleration and magnetic field amplification efficiencies. X-ray emission arises from both inverse Compton scattering by non-thermal electrons accelerated in the forward shock and from thermal emission from the supernova ejecta hit by the reverse shock. Determination of the properties of the radiating plasma based on the separation of thermal and non-thermal radiation differentiates different types of supernovae and their environments.

Inside-Out Planet Formation (IOPF; Chatterjee & Tan 2014, hereafter CT14) is a scenario for sequential in situ planet formation at the pressure traps of retreating dead zone inner boundaries (DZIBs) motivated to explain the many systems with tightly packed inner planets (STIPs) discovered by Kepler. The scenario involves build-up of a pebble-dominated protoplanetary ring, supplied by radial drift of pebbles from the outer disk. It may also involve further build-up of planetary masses to gap-opening scales via continued pebble accretion. Here we study radial drift & growth of pebbles delivered to the DZIB in fiducial IOPF disk models.

The identification of the detected pulsation modes in terms of the spherical harmonic quantum numbers is crucial for asteroseismology. Light curves obtained in different passbands have become an important tool for mode identifications, which rely on wavelength-dependent amplitudes and phase shifts. We demonstrate this for different types of pulsators and review recent successes from earth-based measurements, especially in determining the important l values. The extensive amount of accurate data needed to determine small phase shifts and accurate amplitude ratios suggests multicolor measurements using space satellites. This motivated the multicolor BRITE satellite project, for which the first two satellites have already been launched successfully. We demonstrate the potential from models computed for the BRITE wavelengths. Most of the excellent presently available satellite photometry is not multicolor, although frequencies with amplitudes as small as a few parts-per-million have been detected and confirmed. We briefly discuss mode identifications from frequency patterns, including the use of correlations between phase and amplitude changes.

Despite the recent advancements in the field of galaxy formation and evolution, fully self-consistent simulations are still unable to make the detailed predictions necessary for the planned and ongoing large spectroscopic and photometric surveys of the Milky Way disc. These difficulties arise from the very uncertain nature of sub-grid physical energy feedback within models, affecting both star formation rates and chemical enrichment. To avoid these problems, we have introduced a new approach which consists of fusing disc chemical evolution models with compatible numerical simulations. We demonstrate the power of this method by showing that a range of observational results can be explained by our new model. We show that due to radial migration from mergers at high redshift and the central bar at later times, a sizable fraction of old metal-poor, high-[α/Fe] stars can reach the solar vicinity. This naturally accounts for a number of recent observations related to both the thin and thick discs, despite the fact that we use thin-disc chemistry only. Within the framework of our model, the MW thick disc has emerged naturally from (i) stars born with high velocity dispersions at high redshift, (ii) stars migrating from the inner disc very early on due to strong merger activity, and (iii) further radial migration driven by the bar and spirals at later times. A significant fraction of old stars with thick-disc characteristics could have been born near the solar radius.

We present and discuss recent results from observations of bright Type Ia supernovae as probes of physical and chemical condtions of extra-galactic interstellar clouds. To illustrate the case we present new results obtained for SN 2009ig.

The bulk of the FeKα emission detected in the central molecular zone (CMZ) is thought to be associated with reflection by the central molecular clouds of enhanced past emission from an external X-ray source, most likely Sgr A*. In order to follow the propagation of the reflected emission through the Galactic center (GC), we analyzed all XMM-Newton observations carried out from 2000 to 2012. Preliminary results indicate that while most of the regions that were bright at 6.4 keV in 2000–2001 have a significantly lower flux in 2012, a few other experienced a flux increase. We report for the first time a significant decrease of the FeKα emission in the Sgr C complex, supporting the reflection origin of the 6.4 keV emission detected in this region.

One of the remaining open issues in the context of the analysis of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) is the evidence that nuclear gravitational accretion is often accompanied by a concurrent starburst activity. We developed a spectral energy distribution (SED) fitting technique to derive simultaneously the physical properties of active galaxies and coexisting starbursts making the best use of Spitzer and Herschel IR observations. We apply the SED fitting procedure to a large sample of extragalactic sources representing the HerMES (Herschel/Multi-tiered Extragalactic Survey) population with IRS spectra with a plethora of multi-wavelength data in order to study the impact of a possible presence of an AGN on the host galaxy's properties. We analyze the star formation rate (SFR) in conncetion to the presence of an AGN and compared the properties of the hot (AGN) and cold (starburst) dust component. Our findings are consistent with no evidence for the presence of an AGN affecting the star formation processes of the host galaxies.

In A- and late B-type stars, strong magnetic fields are always associated with Ap and Bp chemical peculiarities. However, it is not clear at what point in a star's evolution those peculiarities develop. Strong magnetic fields have been observed in pre-main sequence A and B stars (Herbig Ae and Be stars), and these objects have been proposed to be the progenitors of Ap and Bp stars. However, the photospheric chemical abundances of these magnetic Herbig stars have not been studied carefully, and furthermore the chemical abundances of 'normal' non-magnetic Herbig stars remain poorly characterized. To investigate this issue, we have studied the photospheric compositions of 23 Herbig stars, four of which have confirmed magnetic fields. Surprisingly, we found that half the non-magnetic stars in our sample show λ Bootis chemical peculiarities to varying degrees. For the stars with detected magnetic fields, we find one chemically normal star, one star with λ Boo peculiarities, one star displaying weak Ap/Bp peculiarities, and one somewhat more evolved star with somewhat stronger Ap/Bp peculiarities. These results suggests that Ap/Bp peculiarities are preceded by magnetic fields, and that these peculiarities develop over the pre-main sequence lives of A and B stars. The incidence of λ Boo stars we find is much higher than that seen on the main sequence. We argue that a selective accretion model for the formation of λ Boo peculiarities is a natural explanation for this remarkably large incidence.

In recent years, rotation periods for large numbers of pre-main-sequence stars have become available, covering a wide range of ages and star forming environments. Simultaneously, theoretical developments in the physics of the star-disc interaction have been carried out, and observational measurements of the magnetic field geometry of both fully convective, and pre-main-sequence stars have become available. This review discusses these recent developments, and the extent to which the observational data fits within the existing theoretical frameworks.

We consider the dynamics of a small trojan companion of a hypothetical giant exoplanet under the secular perturbations of additional planets. By a suitable choice of action-angle variables, the problem is amenable to the study of the slow modulation, induced by secular perturbations, to the dynamics of an otherwise called ‘basic’ Hamiltonian model of two degrees of freedom (planar case). We present this Hamiltonian decomposition, which implies that the slow chaotic diffusion at resonances is best described by the paradigm of modulational diffusion.

Globular clusters are among the oldest structures in the Universe and they host today low-mass stars and no gas. However, there has been a time when they formed as gaseous objects hosting a large number of short-lived, massive stars. Many details on this early epoch have been depicted recently through unprecedented dissection of low-mass globular cluster stars via spectroscopy and photometry. In particular, multiple populations have been identified, which bear the nucleosynthetic fingerprints of the massive hot stars disappeared a long time ago. Here we discuss how massive star archeology can be done through the lense of these multiple populations.

Time-series of high-resolution spectra of massive main-sequence pulsators contain information on the degree l and azimuthal number m of a pulsation mode. I present an overview of existing mode-identification techniques that have been developed to derive l and m from spectroscopic data. I also discuss the data quality needed to perform such a study. Through some examples from the literature I show that the optimal way to identify modes in heat-driven non-radial pulsators is by 1) using multi-site campaign data, 2) combining different spectroscopic mode-identification techniques, and 3) combining results from photometric and spectroscopic mode-identification studies.

SN 2012AW is a type-IIP supernova which exploded in M95. In this paper we discuss the radio observations of this supernova and model them to determine the important parameters relevant to the explosion and the evolution of blast wave. We also determine the dominant cooling process important to this source.

We observed Hydroxyl, water, ammonia, carbon monoxide and neutral carbon towards the +50 km s−1 cloud (M−0.02−0.07), the circumnuclear disk (CND) and the +20 km s−1 (M−0.13−0.08) cloud in the Sgr A complex with the VLA, Odin and SEST. Strong OH absorption, H2O emission and absorption lines were seen at all three positions. Strong C18O emissions were seen towards the +50 and +20 km s−1 clouds. The CND is rich in H2O and OH, and these abundances are considerably higher than in the surrounding clouds, indicating that shocks, star formation and clump collisions prevail in those objects. A comparison with the literature reveals that it is likely that PDR chemistry including grain surface reactions, and perhaps also the influences of shocks has led to the observed abundances of the observed molecular species studied here. In the redward high-velocity line wings of both the +50 and +20 km s−1 clouds and the CND, the very high H2O abundances are suggested to be caused by the combined action of shock desorption from icy grain mantles and high-temperature, gas-phase shock chemistry. Only three of the molecules are briefly discussed here. For OH and H2O three of the nine observed positions are shown, while a map of the C18O emission is provided. An extensive paper was recently published with Open Access (Karlsson et al. 2013, A&A 554, A141).

Stellar yields are a key ingredient in chemical evolution models. Stars with masses as low as 0.9M⊙, which have an age less than that of our Galaxy at low metallicity, can contribute to the chemical evolution of elements. Stars less than about 8–10M⊙ experience recurrent mixing events that can significantly change the surface composition of the envelope. Evolved stars are observed with surface enrichment in carbon, nitrogen, fluorine, and heavy elements synthesized by the slow neutron capture process (the s-process). These stars release their nucleosynthesis products through stellar outflows or winds, in contrast to massive stars that explode as core-collapse supernovae. Here I review stellar yields for stars up to 10M⊙, including a brief discussion of their uncertainties and shortcomings. Finally, I discuss efforts by various groups to address these issues and to provide homogeneous yields for low and intermediate-mass stars covering a broad range of metallicities.