In the interstellar medium, inelastic collisions are so rare that they cannot maintain a local thermodynamical equilibrium (LTE). Atomic and molecular populations therefore do not follow a simple Boltzmann distribution and non-LTE spectra are the rule rather than the exception. In such conditions, accurate state-to-state collisional data are crucial for a quantitative interpretation of spectra. In recent years, considerable progress has been made in quantum calculations of inelastic cross sections for a variety of targets, types of transitions and projectiles. For a few benchmark species, detailed comparisons between theory and experiment were also carried out at the state-to-state level and in the quantum regime. In this article, we highlight such comparisons for three important molecules: CO, H2O and CH+. We also describe current computational efforts to extend these advances to ever larger targets, new transition types, and new environments (e.g. stellar envelopes or cometary atmospheres).

We present astrometric very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) studies of AGB stars. To understand the properties and evolution of AGB stars, distances are an important parameter. The distribution and kinematics of their circumstellar matter are also revealed with the VLBI method. We used the VERA array to observe 22 GHz H2O masers in various subclasses of AGB stars. Parallaxes of the three OH/IR stars NSV17351, OH39.7+1.5, IRC−30363, and the Mira-type variable star AW Tau were newly obtained. We present the circumstellar distribution and kinematics of H2O masers around NSV17351. The absolute magnitudes in mid-infrared bands of OH/IR stars with very long pulsation periods were investigated and a period-magnitude relation in the WISE W3 band, MW3 = (−7.21 ± 1.18) log P + (9.25 ± 3.09), was found for the Galactic AGB stars. The VLBI is still a powerful tool for parallax measurements of the Galactic AGB stars surrounded by thick dust shells.

The Gaia-ESO Survey (GES) is a large public spectroscopic survey that has collected spectra of about 100,000 stars. The survey provides not only the reduced spectra, but also the radial velocities, stellar parameters and surface abundances resulting from the analysis of the spectra. We present the work of the groups that analysed the spectra of the hottest stars in that Survey. The large temperature range that is covered (Teff = 7,000 to 50,000 K) requires the use of different analysis codes by the different groups. Eight groups each analysed part of the data, with significant overlap that allowed cross-checks. In total 17,693 spectra of 6,462 stars were analysed, most of them in 37 open star clusters. The homogenisation of all this information led to stellar parameters for 5,584 stars. Abundances for at least one of the elements He, C, N, O, Ne, Mg, Al, Si and Sc were determined for 292 stars. The GES hot star data, as well as the Survey data in general, will be of considerable use in future studies of stellar evolution and open clusters.

We present high-precision strong lensing models for the galaxy clusters MACS J0416.1–0403 at z=0.396 and Abell 2744 at z=0.307. The models are constrained by two of the largest data-sets of secure multiple images ever used in lensing. These are identified from the photometric images observed by the Hubble space telescope and JWST in combination with spectroscopic data obtained by the Multi-Unit Spectroscopic Explorer at the Very Large Telescope. The same spectro-photometric data are used to create pure and complete samples of cluster member galaxies. Our models allow an extremely precise estimation of the cluster total mass distribution and produce accurate magnification maps that are fundamental to study the physical properties (mass, size, luminosity, etc.) of the lensed high-redshift galaxies.

Gravitational lensing in clusters of galaxies is one of the most powerful methods to probe the dark matter mass distribution inside such systems, after mapping the baryonic component, and test the currently accepted ɅCDM cosmological paradigm. With the advent of new high-resolution facilities such as the JWST, strong lensing (SL) is capable of providing extremely accurate mass measurements in the densest regions of such structures. Weak lensing (WL) provides complementary information by measuring the total mass distribution in the outskirts of galaxy clusters, where no multiple images of background sources are produced.

In my talk, I will present updates on the WL mass reconstruction of the Frontier Fields galaxy cluster Abell 2744 (z = 0.308) based on Subaru, Magellan, and JWST data, and I will show how the results obtained, combined with accurate SL modeling of this lens, provide a consistent picture of the cluster total mass distribution. I will discuss the pipeline used for this work, the extensive checks performed on the different datasets and the scientific results obtained. Being composed of several substructures undergoing a merging process, the complex geometry of this cluster makes it an ideal laboratory to verify the consistency and reliability of the results obtained with the two methods. I will compare the predictions of the SL models extrapolated in the outer regions of the cluster with the non-parametric WL mass reconstruction to look for potential systematic effects affecting the SL analysis.

NGC3603 is one of the youngest massive clusters of the Milky Way which uniquely enables studying the interplay between massive star feedback and the surrounding interstellar medium. Yet, a deep infrared (IR) view of the cluster is missing. We present guaranteed time observations of NGC3603 consisting of near infrared spectroscopy taken with VLT-KMOS. This data set will provide a first, rather complete IR census.

VERA has been regularly conducting astrometry of Galactic maser sources for ∼ 20 years, producing more than 100 measurements of parallaxes and proper motions of star-forming regions as well as AGB stars. By combining the observational results obtained by VLBA BeSSeL, EVN, and LBA, maser astrometry provides a unique opportunity to explore the fundamental structure of the Galaxy. Here we present the view of the Galaxy revealed by the maser astrometry, and also discuss the importance of maser astrometry in the era of GAIA by comparing the results obtained by VLBI and GAIA. We also present our view of “proper motions toward the future” of the relevant field, expected in the next decade based on global collaborations.

Disentangling the structural components of the Milky Way requires knowledge of distances to various classes of objects, both young, which trace the Galactic disk, and old, which trace the Galactic bulge and halo. Variable stars that obey period-luminosity relations are perfect distance indicators for such studies. Here we discuss recent findings on the structure of our galaxy, inferred from period-luminosity relations for both young, old and intermediate-age variable stars, including Cepheids, RR Lyrae stars, δ Scuti stars, and long-period variables.

The chemo-dynamics of the stellar populations in the Galactic Bulge inform and constrain the Milky Way’s formation and evolution. The metal-poor population is particularly important in light of cosmological simulations, which predict that some of the oldest stars in the Galaxy now reside in its center. The metal-poor bulge appears to consist of multiple stellar populations that require chemo-dynamical analyses to disentangle. In this paper, I describe the detailed chemo-dynamical study of the metal-poor stars in the inner Galaxy, named The COMBS Survey which uses VLT/FLAMES spectra of 350 metal-poor stars. I discuss the results and the implications for early Milky Way formation and chemical evolution. In addition, I preview results from an ongoing survey of carbon-enhanced metal-poor stars, which are thought to be solely enriched by the first generation of stars.

We develop an adaptive method to automatically identify ARs from radial synoptic maps observed by SOHO/MDI and SDO/HMI, calibrate the detections between HMI and MDI data based on identified ARs flux and area and further derive a homogeneous dataset including ARs’ area and flux over the last two solar cycles. The data are compared with sunspot number, USAF/NOAA sunspot area, SMARPs and SHARPs and BARD area and flux, which show reasonable agreement. The identified ARs during the overlap period of MDI and HMI have the same areas as a whole while the AR flux based on MDI maps is about 1.36 times as large as that of HMI maps. Based on our dataset, we find strong ARs (|flux| > 1022Mx) contribute most to the difference between cycles 23 and 24 while other ARs (|flux| < 1022Mx) are similar in the two cycles in both area and flux.

Galactic haloes in a Λ-CDM universe are predicted to host today a swarm of debris resulting from cannibalised dwarf galaxies. The chemo-dynamical information recorded in their stellar populations helps elucidate their nature, constraining the assembly history of the Galaxy. Using data from APOGEE and Gaia, we examine the chemical properties of various halo substructures, considering elements that sample various nucleosynthetic pathways. The systems studied are Heracles, Gaia-Enceladus/Sausage (GES), the Helmi stream, Sequoia, Thamnos, Aleph, LMS1, Arjuna, I’itoi, Nyx, Icarus, and Pontus. Abundance patterns of all substructures are cross-compared in a statistically robust fashion. Our results show that many halo substructures conjectured to be debris from individual accretions likely belong to either the omnipresent GES or to in situ populations, and that the Milky Way likely underwent three major mergers so far: Heracles, GES, Sagittarius dSph.

Gaia space mission of the European Space Agency was launched at the end of 2013 and will continue operations until 2025. The published data releases revolutionize the view of the Milky Way galaxy and beyond thanks to its unprecedented astrometry, photometry and spectroscopy. The paper reviews the products of the last data release of the Gaia mission and some of the scientific impacts of the data. We also discuss the future perspectives of Galaxy astrometry from space.

Galaxy-galaxy strong lensing in galaxy clusters is a unique tool for studying the subhalo mass distribution, as well as for testing predictions from cosmological simulations. We describe a novel method that simulates realistic lensed features embedded inside the complexity of observed data by exploiting high-precision cluster lens models. Such methodology is used to build a large dataset with which Convolutional Neural Networks have been trained to identify strong lensing events in galaxy clusters. In particular, we inject lensed sources around cluster members using the images acquired by the Hubble Space Telescope. The resulting simulated mock data preserve the complexity of observation by taking into account all the physical components that could affect the morphology and the luminosity of the lensing events. The trained networks achieve a purity-completeness level of ∼ 91% in detecting such events. The methodology presented can be extended to other data-intensive surveys carried out with the next-generation facilities.

Empirical constraints are master keys for testing theoretical evolutionary model predictions. In massive stars, the region in the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram (HRD) in which the Blue Supergiants (BSGs) are located sets several important constraints to the models, and in particular to the theoretical end of the main sequence (MS). So far, we are missing from a full quantitative spectroscopic analysis (QSA) of a sample of BSGs large enough to be statistically significant and without observational biases. We present results from a QSA of a sample of ∼700 Galactic BSGs for which we have high-resolution multi-epoch optical spectra.

Properties of bipolar magnetic regions (BMRs), particularly, the tilt angle play critical roles in generating the observed polar magnetic field and its reversal. Hence, a long-term study of BMR over its lifetime is crucial not only to understand the solar dynamo but also to identify the origin of the properties of BMR. In our work, we have developed an automatic algorithm to detect and track the BMRs from the line-of-sight (LOS) magnetograms of Michelson Doppler Imager (MDI) for the period of Solar Cycle 23 over its lifetime/disk passage. Here, we present the details of our algorithm and the features of BMR, particularly the tilt angle, magnetic field strength and lifetime.

The evolution of granulation is an important mechanism of the light variations of red supergiants (RSGs). Based on pure and complete samples of RSGs in the Magellanic Clouds, the mechanisms and characteristics of the granulation of RSGs are investigated based on time-series data. As predicted by the basic physical process of granulation and previous works, there are tight relations between granulation and stellar parameters of RSGs (i.e., the scaling relations). The scaling relations of RSGs provide a new method to infer stellar parameters by using the characteristic timescale and amplitude of granulations. Some faint sources deviate from the scaling relations, which may be due to the difference in the properties of the granulation of the RSGs before and after the blue loop or contamination by Mira variables. However, both of these possibilities suggest that the scaling relations of granulation is different among different types of stars.