We present fundamental parameters of four massive eclipsing binaries in the young massive cluster Westerlund 1. The goal is to measure accurate masses and radii of their component stars, which provide much needed constraints for evolutionary models of massive stars. Accurate parameters can further be used to determine a dynamical lower limit for the magnetar progenitor and to obtain an independent distance to the cluster. Our results confirm and extend the evidence for a high mass for the progenitor of the magnetar.

In 2007, the discovery of the so-called “Lorimer Burst” was announced—a single radio pulse that was so dispersed that it could only have originated outside our Galaxy. The apparently unique event, together with the large inferred distance (a redshift z ~0.2 is required to explain its high dispersion) implies a very high luminosity. Suggested progenitors include a supernova, a binary neutron-star merger, and a black-hole annihilation event. Crude estimates of the rates of such events predict that many such bursts should already be detectable in archived pulsar-survey data, and has led to detailed searches which have had some success.

V2028 Cyg shows a B[e] phenomenon. Due to the presence of both cool (K7III) and hot (B4III) components in the spectra, it is supposed to be a binary. Our modelling of the time variability of Hα line bisectors shows, however, that this hybrid spectrum can originate in one star, which is surrounded by a disc.

Dwarf galaxies are crucial to understand the formation and evolution of galaxies, since they constitute the most abundant galaxy population. Abundance ratios and their variations due to star formation and inflow/outflow of gas are key constraints to chemical evolution models. The determination of these abundances in the dwarf galaxies of the Local Universe is thus of extreme importance. NGC 185 is one of the four brightest dwarf companions of M31, but unlike the other three it has an important content of gas and dust. Interestingly enough, in an optical survey of bright nearby galaxies NGC 185 was classified as a Seyfert galaxy based on its integrated emission-line ratios in the nuclear regions. However, although its emission lines formally place it in the category of Seyfert it is probable that this galaxy does not contain a genuine active nucleus. In this contribution, we resume, firstly, our results of an empirical study of the galaxy, on which we characterise its emission-line population and obtain planetary nebulae abundance ratios (Gonçalves et al. 2012). And, secondly, we discuss our attempt to identify the possible ionization mechanisms for NGC 185 enlighting the controversial classification of this galaxy dwarf spheroidal (dSph) as well as Seyfert, via stellar population synthesis and chemical evolution modelling (Martins et al. 2011).

Since 2003 the H.E.S.S. collaboration has been operating an array of four imaging Cherenkov telescopes in the Khomas Highlands of Namibia. H.E.S.S. can detect gamma rays in the energy range 100 GeV to 100 TeV, has a large field of view (5 degree), good angular resolution (0.1 degree), energy resolution (15%) and sensitivity (a 1% Crab flux point source is detected at 5 sigma significance in 25 h). About half of the available observing time has been spent on the Milky Way, either in scan mode or on individual sources, resulting in the detection of more than 60 Galactic TeV sources. In this talk the two most numerous source classes will be discussed, pulsar wind nebulae and supernova remnants. For the identification and understanding of the TeV emission seen by H.E.S.S. additional measurements of non-thermal emission, mainly in the radio, X-ray and lower-energy gamma-ray bands, are critical. Since August 2008 the Fermi Large Area Telescope has been scanning the whole sky in the energy range from 20 MeV to more than 300 GeV and has detected about 200 Galactic sources as well as diffuse emission from the Milky Way. This talk will give an overview of Galactic H.E.S.S. observations in the multi-wavelength context, with a focus on Fermi.

Ultra-high energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) are the most energetic particles flying from space and their source is not clarified yet. Recently, the Pierre Auger Observatory (PAO) suggests that UHECRs involve heavy nuclei. The PAO results require that a considerable fraction of metal nuclei must exist in the accelerating site, which can be realized only in the stellar interior. This puts strong constraints on the origin of UHECRs. In order to definitize the constraints from PAO results, we investigate the fraction of metal nuclei in a relativistic jet in gamma-ray burst associated with core-collapse supernova. If the jet is initially dominated by radiation field, quasi-statistical equilibrium (QSE) is established and heavy nuclei are dissociated to light particles such as 4He during the acceleration and expansion. On the other hand, if the jet is mainly accelerated by magnetic field heavy or intermediate mass nuclei can survive. The criterion to contain the metal nuclei is that the temperature at the launch site is below 4.5 × 109K. Therefore, if the composition of UHECRs is dominated by metal nuclei, a GRB with the magnetized jet is the most plausible candidate of the accelerating site.

We present 663 QSO candidates in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) that were selected using multiple diagnostics. We started with a set of 2,566 QSO candidates selected using the methodology presented in our previous work based on time variability of the MACHO LMC light curves. We then obtained additional information for the candidates by cross-matching them with the Spitzer SAGE, the 2MASS, the Chandra, the XMM, and an LMC UBVI catalogues. Using that information, we specified diagnostic features based on mid-IR colours, photometric redshifts using SED template fitting, and X-ray luminosities, in order to discriminate more high-confidence QSO candidates in the absence of spectral information. We then trained a one-class Support Vector Machine model using those diagnostics features. We applied the trained model to the original candidates, and finally selected 663 high-confidence QSO candidates. We cross-matched those 663 QSO candidates with 152 newly-confirmed QSOs and 275 non-QSOs in the LMC fields, and found that the false positive rate was less than 1%.

During the late stages of stellar evolution in massive stars (carbon fusion and later), the fusion and neutrino luminosities in the core of the star exceed the Eddington luminosity. This can drive vigorous convective motions which in turn excite a super-Eddington flux in internal gravity waves. We show that an interesting fraction of the energy in excited gravity waves can, in some cases, convert into sound waves as the gravity waves propagate (tunnel) towards the stellar surface. The subsequent dissipation of the sound waves can unbind up to several M⊙ of the stellar envelope. This wave-driven mass loss can explain the existence of extremely large stellar mass loss rates just prior to core-collapse, which are inferred via circumstellar interaction in some core-collapse supernovae (e.g., SNe 2006gy and PTF 09uj).

The discovery that interstellar scintillation (ISS) is suppressed for compact radio sources at z ≳ 2 has enabled ISS surveys to be used as cosmological probes. We discuss briefly the potential and challenges involved in such an undertaking, based on a dual-frequency survey of ISS carried out to determine the origin of this redshift dependence.

The Galactic centre – as the closest galactic nucleus – holds both intrinsic interest and possibly represents a useful analogue to starburst nuclei which we can observe with orders of magnitude finer detail than these external systems. The environmental conditions in the GC – here taken to mean the inner 200 pc in diameter of the Milky Way – are extreme with respect to those typically encountered in the Galactic disk. The energy densities of the various GC ISM components are typically ~two orders of magnitude larger than those found locally and the star-formation rate density ~three orders of magnitude larger. Unusually within the Galaxy, the Galactic centre exhibits hard-spectrum, diffuse TeV (=1012 eV) gamma-ray emission spatially coincident with the region's molecular gas. Recently the nuclei of local starburst galaxies NGC 253 and M82 have also been detected in gamma-rays of such energies. We have embarked on an extended campaign of modelling the broadband (radio continuum to TeV gamma-ray), non- thermal signals received from the inner 200 pc of the Galaxy. On the basis of this modelling we find that star-formation and associated supernova activity is the ultimate driver of the region's non-thermal activity. This activity drives a large-scale wind of hot plasma and cosmic rays out of the GC. The wind advects the locally-accelerated cosmic rays quickly, before they can lose much energy in situ or penetrate into the densest molecular gas cores where star-formation occurs. The cosmic rays can, however, heat/ionize the lower density/warm H2 phase enveloping the cores. On very large scales (~10 kpc) the non-thermal signature of the escaping GC cosmic rays has probably been detected recently as the spectacular ‘Fermi bubbles’ and corresponding ‘YWMAP haze’.

We present preliminary results from low resolution spectroscopic observations of planetary nebulae located in the southern Milky Way disk.

MY Ser is an eclipsing early-type contact system. Both components are of spectral type O6 III. Using ESO archive spectra, we show that the radial velocity of the third body, which contributes about half of the total luminosity, changed from 2006 to 2009. The line profiles of the eclipsing system have peculiar shapes and strengths; namely around conjunctions, they are affected by circumbinary matter.

We present the results of over two decades of radio observations of type IIb Supernovae with the Very Large Array and the Australia Telescope Compact Array. These radio studies illustrate the need for multi-wavelength follow-up to determine the progenitor scenario for type IIb events.

New CCD photometric observations of SZ Her were obtained between February and May 2008. More than 1,100 times of minimum light spanning more than one century were used for the period analysis. We find that the orbital period of SZ Her has varied due to a combination of two periodic variations, with cycle lengths of P3 = 85.8 yr and P4 = 42.5 yr and semi-amplitudes of K3 = 0.013 days and K4 = 0.007 days, respectively. The most reasonable explanation for them is a pair of light-time-travel (LTT) effects driven by the existence of two M-type companions with minimum masses of M3 = 0.22 M⊙ and M4 = 0.19 M⊙, located at nearly 2:1 mean motion resonance. Then, SZ Her is a quadruple system and the 3rd and 4th components would stay in the stable orbital resonance.

The star formation rate (SFR) is still a poorly known characteristic of the Milky Way, especially concerning the possibility of an irregular SFR, compared to a constant rate. Some recent results based on the distribution of dwarf stars with chromospheric ages suggest at least two major bursts in the past 10 Gyr, while other investigations are consistent with an approximately constant SFR. The SFR also shows important spatial variations, particularly concerning the radial variations along the galactic disc. In this work, we investigate two different problems relative to the galactic SFR: (i) We estimate the star formation rate in the galactic disc based on the age distribution of the planetary nebula central stars (CSPN), and compare these results with previous investigations based on dwarf stars. The CSPN ages were derived on the basis of five different methods, involving the observed nebular metallicities and kinematical properties; (ii) We derive radial abundance gradients from several elements in planetary nebulae, and compare these results with recent determinations based on younger objects, such as HII regions and cepheid variables. Since the gradients are linked to the formation process of the galactic disc, we can estimate the spatial variation of the SFR. Preliminary results indicate that at least one major star formation burst is obtained, as well as a relatively smooth variation of the SFR along the galactocentric radius.

We present the discovery and monitoring observations of Swift 1644+57, a luminous outburst from the nucleus of a galaxy at z = 0.35. Precise astrometry ties the source to within a few hundred parsecs of the nucleus of its host, and suggests a link to the massive black hole that probably resides there. The high luminosity and rapid variability are strongly indicative of a beamed source. We suggest that this event is best explained by the tidal disruption of a passing star by the supermassive black hole, which simultaneously created a powerful panchromatic explosion. However, it has also been proposed that such events may be related to the core collapse of massive stars. Future observations of a sample of similar events, focussing on their locations within the hosts, should distinguish in a straightforward manner between the two proposals.

We report on the ongoing study of the infrared properties of different types of planetary nebulae based on the data from recent photometric and spectroscopic infrared surveys. We present our first results concerning the relation between nebular morphology and infrared properties using the observations from the AKARI mission.

Kn 26 is a recently identified planetary nebula (PN). To confirm its nature and study its spatio-kinematical structure, we have obtained high spatial-resolution optical and near-IR narrowband images, high-dispersion long-slit echelle spectra, and intermediate-resolution spectroscopic observations. The new data confirm the PN nature of Kn 26 and reveal features typical of bipolar PNe: hourglass morphology, H2 emission, and nitrogen enrichment. A detailed analysis of its morphology and kinematics, however, suggests the presence of one additional pair of bipolar lobes that would make Kn 26 a new member of the class of quadrupolar PNe.

We modeled the broad wings of the OVI 1032,1038Å resonance lines and HeII 1640Å line in the spectra of some symbiotic stars by the electron-scattering process. We determined an empirical relationship between the emission measure of the symbiotic nebula and the electron optical depth. This allowed us to determine a contribution from the electron-scattering also to emission lines, which originate in a more extended, low density part of the nebula. For example, subtracting the electron-scattering contribution from the Hα line profile makes it possible to determine more precisely the mass loss rate via the wind from the hot star in symbiotic binaries.

The impact of non-thermal processes on the spectral energy distributions of galaxies can be dramatic, but such processes are often neglected in considerations of their structure and evolution. Particle acceleration associated with high mass star formation and AGN activity not only leads to very broad band (radio-γ-ray) emission, but may also produce very significant feedback effects on galaxies and their environment. The recent detections of starburst galaxies at GeV and TeV energies suggest that γ-ray instruments have now reached the critical level of sensitivity to probe the connection between particle acceleration and star-formation in galaxies. In this paper we will try to summarise this recent progress, put it into a multi-wavelength context and also discuss the prospects for more precise and sensitive γ-ray measurements with the upcoming CTA observatory.