How environment shapes galaxies on groups scale in the early universe is poorly constrained. Here we carry out a study of the colour properties of galaxies against environment using Pan-STARRS medium deep (PS1 MD) survey data. We first focus on the MD04 field which overlays with the COSMOS field with published photo-z and group catalogs. Photo-z with the accuracy of Δz/(1+z) ~ 0.058 for 0.36 million galaxies are derived based on PS1 photometry and CFHT-u. Together with a probabilistic-based group finder, PFOF, we are able to identify galaxy groups and find a 83%-86% matching rate with the X-ray groups (George et al. 2011) or spectroscopically selected groups (Knobel et al. 2012) with intermediate redshift (z ~ 0.7). Among the matched samples (see Fig. 1), we found the colours of BCGs to be indistinguishable from other members, but group galaxies tend to be redder than those in the field for a given range of z-band magnitude, suggesting environmental effects on the evolutionary history of galaxies. This is qualitatively consistent with the X-ray study (George et al. 2011). The rest-frame quantities, e.g. colours, stellar mass and star formation rates, will be included and expanded to larger MD fields (~ 70 deg2) to probe the cosmic evolution of galaxy properties in a forthcoming study.

Recent simulations show long -lived sub- and super-Keplerian flows in protoplanetary disks. These so-called zonal flows are found in local as well as global simulations of magneto-rotationally unstable disks. We investigate the strength and life-time of the resulting long-lived gas over- and under-densities as well as particle concentrations function of the azimuthal and radial size of the local shearing box. Changes in the azimuthal extent do not affect the zonal flow features. However, strength and life-time of zonal flows increase with increasing radial box sizes. Our simulations show indications, and support earlier results, that zonal flows have a natural length scale of approximately 5 pressure scale heights. For the first time, the reaction of dust particles in boxes with zonal flows are studied. We show that particles of some centimeters in size reach a hundred-fold higher density than initially, without any self-gravitating forces acting on the point masses. We further investigate collision velocities of dust grains in a turbulent medium.

I review the currently available techniques for the starspots detection including the one-dimensional spot modelling of photometric light curves. Special attention will be paid to the modelling of photospheric activity based on the high-precision light curves obtained with space missions MOST, CoRoT, and Kepler. Physical spot parameters (temperature, sizes and variability time scales including short-term activity cycles) are discussed.

This paper summarizes how multi-wavelength measurements will be aggregated to determine Galactic structure in the interstellar medium (ISM) and produce the next-generation electron density model. Fluctuations in density and magnetic field from parsec scales down to about 1000 km cause a number of propagation effects in both radio waves and cosmic rays. Density microstructure appears to include Kolmogorov-like turbulence. The next generation electron-density model, NE2012, will include about double the number of lines of sight with dispersion and scattering measurements and it will be anchored with a much larger number of pulsar parallax distances. The foreground Galactic model is crucial for inferring similar ionized structures in the intergalactic medium (IGM) from scattering measurements on high-z objects. Intergalactic scattering is discussed with reference to distant sources of radio bursts. In particular, the cosmological radio scattering horizon is defined along with its analog for the ISM.

Asymptotic Giant Branch Stars (AGB) are evolved, mass losing red giants with tenuous molecular envelopes which have been the subject of much recent study using infrared and radio interferometers. In oxygen rich stars, radio SiO masers form in the outer regions of the molecular envelopes and are powerful diagnostics of the extent of these envelopes. Spectroscopically resolved infrared interferometry helps constrain the extent of various species in the molecular layer. We made VLBA 7 mm SiO maser, Keck Interferometer near IR and VLTI/MIDI mid IR high resolution observations of the stars U Ari, W Cnc, RX Tau, RT Aql, S Ser and V Mon. This paper presents evidence that the SiO is depleted from the gas phase and speculate that it is frozen onto Al2O3 grains and that radiation pressure on these grains help drive the outflow.

During outbursts in symbiotic binaries a neutral medium in the form of a flared disk develops around their hot stars. The appearance of the disks is most probably connected with the enhanced wind from the hot star. The wind is compressed towards the equatorial plane of the hot star due to its rotation. To test this idea we calculated the ionization boundaries in the enhanced wind and thus confirmed the possibility of the formation of the neutral disk-like zones around the hot stars in symbiotic binaries during outbursts.

To constrain models of dark energy, a precise measurement of the Hubble constant, H0, provides a powerful complement to observations of the cosmic microwave background. Recent, precise measurements of H0 have been based on the ‘extragalactic distance ladder,’ primarily using observations of Cepheid variables and Type Ia supernovae as standard candles. In the past, these methods have been limited by systematic errors, so independent methods of measuring H0 are of high value. Direct geometric distance measurements to circumnuclear H2O megamasers in the Hubble flow provide a promising new method to determine H0. The Megamaser Cosmology Project (MCP) is a systematic effort to discover suitable H2O megamasers and determine their distances, with the aim of measuring H0 to a few percent. Based on observations of megamasers in UGC 3789 and NGC 6264, and preliminary results from Mrk 1419, the MCP has so far measured H0 = 68.0 ± 4.8 km s−1 Mpc−1. This measurement will improve as distances to additional galaxies are incorporated. With the Green Bank Telescope, we recently discovered three more excellent candidates for distance measurements, and we are currently acquiring data to measure their distances.

Gravitational lensing is one of most promising tools to probe dark energy and dark matter in our Universe. Lensing by larger-scale structures distorts the shape of background galaxies. For ground-based observations the shape is further distorted by atmospheric turbulence and optical distortions. Many algorithms were proposed to measure the shear signal but the systematic biases are still too large to be acceptable for the larger-sky surveys in the future. I will present our new algorithms for PSF reconstruction and shape measurements based on several sets of basis functions.

Site-testing measurements by the Australian group has already shown that Dome C on the Antarctic plateau is one of the best ground-based astronomical sites. Furthermore, Dome A, the Antarctic Kunlun Station, as the highest point on Antarctic inland plateau, where a Chinese Antarctic scientific expedition team first reached in 2005, is widely predicted to be an even better astronomical site by the international astronomical community. Preliminary site-testing carried out by the Center for Antarctic Astronomy (CAS) also confirms Dome A as a potential astronomical site. Multi-aperture scintillation sensors (MASS) can measure the seeing and isoplantic angle, the turbulence profile, etc., which are very important site-testing parameters that we urgently need. The MASS site testing at Dome A is presented here, and includes the method of processing data and the hardware for the extreme conditions of Dome A, Antarctica.

The first attempt at a census of all molecular clouds (MoC) in the Milky Way observed to date is presented. The catalog of MoC includes all observed and estimated physical parameters. The data will be used to compute a model of the MoC system in the Galaxy.

We present the optical light curve of the very fast nova, KT Eridani, from its outburst in November 2009 to quiescence in 2012. Comparison of our data with the 24-hour monitoring by Swift on 2010 March 31 indicates a possible anticorrelation between the X-ray and optical emissions. A period of 57 d is found in the long-term optical light curve, which we interpret as the orbital modulation of the hot spot on the white dwarf disk accreting material from an early K-type giant. Our study lends support to the notation that KT Eri may be a recurrent nova.

Spontaneous formation of self-organized magnetic structures, such as sunspots and pores, is one of intriguing and oldest problems, which represents a complicated interaction of convection and magnetic fields on different scales. Observations of sunspots and pores formation reveal a fast process of accumulation of emerging magnetic field into stable long-living magnetic structures. However, the physical mechanisms of the flux accumulation into the compact magnetic structures with high field strength and their stability are not clear. Development of observational capabilities, theory, and realistic-type MHD numerical simulations open a new level of our understanding of the turbulent processes of the magnetic field accumulation. I discuss the recent progress in observations and radiative MHD simulations that provide important clues for possible mechanisms of formation and stability of sunspots and pores, and their links to the dynamo process.

The Parkes 64-m telescope was used to study the OH mainline polarisation properties at 1665 and 1667 MHz for a sample of 36 evolved stars, identified by their far-infrared and OH 1612 MHz maser properties as likely post-AGB stars.

Protoplanetary disks (PPDs) are widely believed to be turbulent as a result of the magnetorotational instability (MRI). We perform magnetohydrodynamical simulations of PPDs that for the first time, take into account both Ohmic resistivity and ambipolar diffusion in a self-consistent manner. We show that in the inner region of PPDs that corresponds the habitable zone, the MRI is completely suppressed due to the interplay between magnetic field and ambipolar diffusion. The gas in this region is laminar throughout the entire vertical extent of the disk. Instead of MRI-driven accretion, a strong magnetocentrifugal wind is launched that efficiently carries away disk angular momentum. A physical wind geometry requires the presence of a strong current layer that is offset from the disk midplane where horizontal magnetic fields flip. We show that the entire accretion flow proceeds through this strong current layer. The non-turbulent nature of the gas flow strongly favors the habitable zone as the site for planetesimal formation, and has important implications for their subsequent growth into terrestrial planets.

Extreme Scattering Events and pulsar secondary spectra have highlighted fundamental problems in our understanding of the dynamics of interstellar turbulence. We describe some of these problems in detail and present the theory behind the technique of speckle imaging, which offers a prospect of revealing fundamental properties of the turbulence. It also offers the prospect of resolving pulsar magnetospheres on ~ 10 nas scales.

The proper characterisation of stellar winds is crucial to constrain interactions between exoplanets and their surrounding environments and also essential for the study of space weather events on exoplanets. Although the great majority of exoplanets discovered so far are orbiting cool, low-mass stars with properties (mass, radius and effective temperatures) similar to solar, the stellar magnetism can be significantly different from the solar one, both in topology and intensity. Due to the current technology used in exoplanetary searches, most of the currently known exoplanets are found orbiting at extremely close distances to their host stars (< 0.1 au). The dramatic differences in stellar magnetism and orbital radius can make the interplanetary medium of exoplanetary systems remarkably distinct from the one present in the solar system. In addition, the interaction of the stellar winds with exoplanets can lead, among others, to observable signatures that are absent in our own solar system.

Temporal structural changes of protoplanetary disks surrounding T Tauri stars (TTSs) can cause magnitude variations of TTSs. On the other hand, variability is also expected due to cool spots and/or hot spots on the surface of the star, thus it is important to distinguish the causes of the observed variability. Our sample consists of 23 TTSs (22 classical T Tauri stars, 1 weak-lined T Tauri star) and 4 Herbig Ae/Be stars. The observations were performed over a period of about 3 months in the V, J, and KS band, simultaneously. We detected variability for all stars in the three bands (>0.05 mag in V, >0.09 mag in J, >0.09 mag in KS). Color-magnitude relations obtained between V, J, and KS bands suggest that stellar spots are not the only cause of variability for most of our targets. In addition, the data implies that six stellar systems contain larger grains than in the interstellar medium if the variability is only caused by extinction due to circumstellar matter.

We studied the evolution of the Fundamental Plane in B– and g–bands, for two samples of early–type galaxies at 0.2 < z < 0.35 and 0.35 < z < 1.2. We found a difference in the intercept that can be interpreted as galaxies at < z > ~0.7 being 0.68 and 0.52 mag brighter in the B– and g–band respectively, than their local counterparts. From the study of the Kormendy relation, we found the existence of a population of very bright (−21.5 > Mg > −22.5) and compact (Re < 2 kpc) galaxies of which only a small fraction of 0.4% exists at z = 0, and that would be responsible for the apparent evolution in the Kormendy relation (Fernández Lorenzo et al. 2011). These compact objects would have evolved mainly in size by the action of “dry” minor mergers.

We checked the effect of these bright and compact objects in the FP by comparing the galaxies with −21.5 > Mg > −22.5 of our high–redshift sample and the SDSS early–type galaxies of Bernardi et al. (2003) in Fig. 1. The previous evolution found in the FP seems to be caused mainly by these galaxies, which have virtually disappeared at z = 0.

In the era of precision cosmology, the Virgo cluster takes on a new role in the cosmic distance scale. Its traditional role of testing the consistency of secondary distance indicators is replaced by an ensemble of distance measurements within the Local Supercluster, united by a velocity-field model obtained from a reconstruction based on redshift surveys. The Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) leads us to see the Hubble constant as one of six parameters in a standard model of cosmology with considerable covariance among parameters. Independent experiments, such as WMAP, the Hubble Space Telescope Key Project on the Extragalactic Distance Scale, and their successors constrain these parameters.

LAMOST has 4 meters in diameter with 4000 fibers in the focal plane. The telescope is now on the way towards full spectroscopy survey periods. This survey project has the potential to largely increase our understanding of the substructure of the Galactic stellar spheroid and different disk components through accurate measurements of radial velocities, metallicities and effective temperatures of millions of stars.