Binary or multiple stars are common in our neighbourhood, and many of the exoplanets we know of belong to a star in such a system. The influence of a second star on planet formation can be probed by comparing properties of planets in binary/multiple-star systems with those of single-star planets. We present some of the results from our Lucky Imaging survey for binary companions to hosts of transiting exoplanets.

As the Fermi observatory has revealed, the GRB light curves show variant behaviours in different energy bands. Especially, the onset of GeV emission tend to lag that at lower energy. Various models to explain the GeV-delay, including early afterglow models or hadronic models, have been proposed. We have developed a time-dependent code for emission processes with one-zone approximation. The temporal evolution of GRB spectra is discussed based on leptonic inverse Compton and hadronic cascade models. This offers important predictions for future observations such as CTA.

We present high resolution long-slit spectra from the San Pedro Martir kinematic catalogue (López et al. 2012) of plantetary nebulae M1-32 and M2-42 and their modeled PV diagrams using the 3-D morpho-kinematic code SHAPE. We find high-speed collimated outflows, surrounded by a equatorial thick torus/ring. The same SHAPE model is able to fit both planetary nebulae assuming one cylindrical velocity field for the outflows and one Hubble-law for the torus/ring concluding that they may be akin objects which just appear at different projections.

Recently, Wolff & Patrone (2010), have developed a simple but very interesting model by which the movement of the Sun around the barycentre of the Solar system could create potential energy that could be released by flows pre-existing inside the Sun. The authors claim that it is the first mechanism showing how planetary movements can modify internal structure in the Sun that can be related to solar cycle. In this work we point out limitations of mentioned mechanism (which is based on interchange arguments), which could be inapplicable to a real star. Then, we calculate the temporal evolution of potential energy stored in zones of Sun's interior in which the potential energy could be most efficiently stored taking into account detailed barycentric Sun dynamics. We show strong variations of potential energy related to Maunder Minimum, Dalton Minimum and the maximum of Cycle 22, around 1990. We discuss briefly possible implications of this putative mechanism to solar cycle specially Grand Minima events.

We present the first determination of the 18 μm luminosity function (LF) of galaxies at 0.006 < z < 0.7 (the average redshift is ~ 0.04) using the AKARI mid-infrared All-Sky Survey catalogue. We have selected a 18 μm flux-limited sample of 243 galaxies from the catalogue in the SDSS spectroscopic region. We then classified the sample into four types; Seyfert 1 galaxies (including QSOs), Seyfert 2 galaxies, LINERs and Star-Forming galaxies using mainly [OIII]/Hβ vs. [NII]/Hα line ratios obtained from the SDSS.

As a result of constructing Seyfert 1 and Seyfert 2 LFs, we found the following results; (i) the number density ratio of Seyfert 2s to Seyfert 1s is 3.98 ± 0.41 obtained from Sy1 and Sy2 LFs; this value is larger than the results obtained from optical LFs. (ii) the fraction of Sy2s in the entire AGNs may be anti-correlated with 18 μm luminosity. These results suggest that the torus structure probably depends on the mid-infrared luminosity of AGNs and most of the AGNs in the local Universe are obscured by dust.

We present a new kinematic analysis technique called distance mapping. It uses the observed proper motion vectors and the 3-D velocity field to determine the distance for each vector. From this information we generate maps that can be use as a constraint to morpho-kinematic modeling with SHAPE. It is applied to BD +30°3639, using the internal proper motion measurements by Li et al. (2002). We determine its distance at 1.40 kpc ± 0.15 kpc.

We use binary population synthesis to study the main proposed channels leading to Type Ia supernovae, the single degenerate channel (SD) and double degenerate channel (DD). For this purpose, we discuss the progenitor evolution and the influence of the common envelope efficiency, αce, on the rate of the different channels. Our study demonstrates the large αce-dependence of both channels, especially for the SD channel.

The data collection and data analysis pipeline for the study and imaging of interacting binaries is outlined. This process includes the systematic collection of time-resolved spectra of individual systems, data reduction including subtraction of the stellar spectra, application of tomography codes to reveal images of the gas flows in 2D and 3D, comparison of the observed spectrum with synthetic spectra of the accretion disk and gas stream, and application of 3D visualization techniques.

The workshop on Data Management issues for Time-Domain Astronomy was conceived as a forward-looking discussion of the primary issues that need to be addressed for science in the time domain. The very broad diversity of the science areas presented in the main Symposium made it clear that most of the general issues for astronomy data management—for example, large data volumes, the need for timely processing and network performance—would be pertinent in the time domain. In addition, there might be other tight time constraints on data processing when the output was required to trigger rapid follow-up observations, while science based on very long time-baselines might require careful consideration of long-term data preservation and availability issues. But broadly speaking, data management challenges in the time domain are not at variance to any significant degree with those for astronomy or data-intensive research in general. The workshop framed and debated a number of questions: What is the biggest challenge faced by future projects? How do grid and cloud computing figure in data management plans? Is the Virtual Observatory important to future projects? How are the issues of data life cycle being addressed?

The current report covers the period from the second half of 2003 to the first half of 2011, bringing the Working Group's efforts up to date, and is divided into three main sections covering rotational, vibrational, and electronic spectroscopy. Rather than being exhaustive, space limitations only allow us to highlight a representative sample of work on molecular spectra. Related research on collisions, reactions on grain surfaces, and astrochemistry appear in the report by another Working Group. These also recount recent conferences and workshops on molecular astrophysics.

Observing TeV photons from GRBs can greatly enhance our understanding of their emission mechanisms. Under-sea/ice neutrino telescopes—such as ANTARES in the Mediterranean Sea or IceCube at the South Pole—can also operate as a γ-ray observatory by detecting downgoing muons from the electromagnetic cascade induced by the interaction of the photons with the Earth's atmosphere. Theoretical calculations of the number of detectable muons from single GRB events, located at different redshifts and zenith distances, have been performed. The attenuation by pair production of TeV photons with cosmic infrared background photons has also been included.

The detection principle of ANTARES and its sensitivity to GRB neutrinos will be discussed. Latest analysis of ANTARES data in coincidence with GRB direction and time of occurence will also be presented, as well as the prospects of neutrino detection with KM3NeT, the km3 neutrino telescope that will succeed ANTARES.

The differentially rotating convective envelope is an indispensable element of the magnetic dynamo working in RS CVn-systems. Tidal coupling is responsible for maintaining fast rotation, and also the observed high level of magnetic activity. In this work, we compare the physical properties of two well known RS CVn-type binaries, that is the long-period system σ Gem and the ellipsoidal variable ζ And. For the comparison, we use the results obtained from processing time-series Doppler images. We also aim at understanding how differential rotation could be affected by tidal forces in such close binaries.

We present a unified model of the central star and the ionized gas of the planetary nebula He2-131. Preliminary values of the nebular and stellar parameters are given together with those of the chemical composition.

Computing the rate of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) from first principles is difficult because there are large uncertainties regarding several key binary processes such as common envelope evolution, tidal interactions, and the efficiency of mass transfer. Fortunately, a range of observational parameters of binaries in intermediate stages of evolution can help us model these processes in a way that is likely to mirror the true binary evolution. We discuss how this observationally-motivated approach may have the effect of increasing the predicted rate of single degenerate progenitors of SNe Ia, while simultaneously decreasing the number of double degenerate progenitors.

Research in atomic and molecular collision processes and spectral line broadening has been very active since our last report, Peach, Dimitrijević & Stancil 2009. Given the large volume of the published literature and the limited space available, we have attempted to identify work most relevant to astrophysics. Since our report can not be comprehensive, additional publications can be found in the databases at the web addresses listed in the final section. Elastic and inelastic collisions among electrons, atoms, ions, and molecules are included and charge transfer can be very important in collisions between heavy particles.

Citizen Science is the act of collecting or analyzing data by enlisting the help of volunteers who may have no specific scientific training. The workshop discussed how “Citizen Science” fits into time-domain astronomy, what the roles of such volunteers might be, and how amateur astronomers can help in the new era of surveys.

The planetary hypothesis of solar cycle is an old idea by which the planetary gravity acting on the Sun might have a non-negligible effect on the solar magnetic cycle. The advance of this hypothesis is based on phenomenological correlations between dynamical parameters of the Sun's movement around the barycenter of the Solar System and sunspots time series. In addition, several authors have proposed, using different methodologies that the first Grand Minima (GM) event of the new millennium is coming or has already begun. We present new fully three dimensional N-body simulations of the solar inertial motion (SIM) around the barycentre of the solar system in order to perform a phenomenological comparison between relevant SIM dynamical parameters and the occurrences of the last GM events (i.e., Maunder and Dalton). Our fundamental result is that the Sun acceleration decomposed in a co-orbital reference system shows a very particular behaviour that is common to Maunder minimum, Dalton minimum and the maximum of cycle 22 (around 1990), before the present prolonged minimum. We discuss our results in terms of a dynamical characterization of GM with relation to Sun dynamics and possible implications for a new GM event.

We have discovered eight relatively strong radio sources that have no optical counterparts. A NIR follow-up has detected faint (17–20 mag) host galaxies in all targets. In general, the radio properties are similar to those observed in 3CRR sources but the optical-radio slopes are consistent with moderate to high redshift (z < 4) GHz-peaked spectrum sources. Our results suggest that these are galaxies whose black hole has been recently re-ignited into activity but that retain large-scale radio structures, signatures of previous AGN activity.

The great amount of data observed in recent years coupled with modelling using evolutionary synthesis codes (BPASS, COELHO, GALAXEV, GALEV, MILES, PÉGASE, etc. . .) to compute Single Stellar Populations (SSPs) and the availability of fast and ingenious spectral synthesis codes such as starlight, ULySS and VESPA, have significantly shed light on our knowledge about the formation and evolution of galaxies. However, there are still open issues concerning the stellar populations in nearby galaxies, particularly those harbouring Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN): can stellar populations mimic nuclear activity, leading to a misclassification based on optical emission line ratios (Stasińska et al. 2008)? We have applied the starlight code (Cid Fernandes et al. 2005) to a well studied sample of nearby galaxies' nuclear spectra (r < ~ 200 pc), observed with the Hale 5 m telescope at Palomar Observatory in two different regions: ~ 4230-5110 Å and ~ 6210-6860 Å (Ho et al. 1995), with spectral resolutions of approximately 4 Å, and 2.5 Å. The aim is to properly derive the star-formation history (SFH), mean stellar age and metallicity and total stellar mass. Our results show that the star-formation history of Seyfert galaxies are very heterogeneous, i.e. these are composed of young, intermediate and old stellar populations, while the SFH of Low-Ionization Nuclear Emission-Line Regions (LINERs) are basically composed of old stellar populations. The absence of young stars in LINERs indicates that these are not responsible for the observed low-ionization emission lines. Furthermore, although a significant fraction of AGN spectra require a featureless continuum in their Spectral Energy Distribution (SED) modelling, this is not an indicative of the presence of an AGN, instead the continuum may simulate the presence of young stellar populations. The main objective of this research is to complement the study of spectroscopic parameters from 486 galaxies analyzed by Ho et al. (1995) that are public available in the VizieR catalog (Ho et al. 1997, 2009) and provide information about their stellar population content by means of the starlight. The base of Simple Stellar Populations used here was taken from Bruzual & Charlot (2003) and spans 25 ages (from 1 Myr to 18 Gyr) and 6 metallicities (Z = 0.005, 0.02, 0.2, 0.4, 1 & 2.5 Z⊙).