If galaxies consisted only of stars, and some early-type systems in general and dwarf spheroidal galaxies in particular fit this prescription, then the calculation of the SED in principle is straightforward. The emergent luminosity at any wavelength simply is the sum over all the luminosities of all the stars in the system. This can be calculated, of course provided that one has a complete understanding of stellar populations, which remains a non-trivial issue. Most galaxies, however, also contain an interstellar medium (ISM). The ISM absorbs, scatters and reprocesses the radiation and relativistic particles from sources within galaxies, primarily stars and AGN. That the ISM is neither isotropic nor homogeneous adds to the challenge of how to properly account for its influence on the luminosity emerging from galaxies.

VO-KOREL is a web service exploiting the technology of the Virtual Observatory for providing astronomers with the intuitive graphical front-end and distributed computing back-end running the most recent version of the Fourier disentangling code KOREL.

The system integrates the ideas of the e-shop basket, conserving the privacy of every user by transfer encryption and access authentication, with features of laboratory notebook, allowing the easy housekeeping of both input parameters and final results, as well as it explores a newly emerging technology of cloud computing.

While the web-based front-end allows the user to submit data and parameter files, edit parameters, manage a job list, resubmit or cancel running jobs and mainly watching the text and graphical results of a disentangling process, the main part of the back-end is a simple job queue submission system executing in parallel multiple instances of the FORTRAN code KOREL. This may be easily extended for GRID-based deployment on massively parallel computing clusters.

The short introduction into underlying technologies is given, briefly mentioning advantages as well as bottlenecks of the design used.

PG 1034+001 is an extremely hot, helium-rich DO-type star that excites the planetary nebula Hewett 1 and large parts of the surrounding interstellar medium. We present preliminary results of an ongoing spectral analysis by means of non-LTE model atmospheres that consider most elements from hydrogen to nickel. This analysis is based on high-resolution ultraviolet (FUSE, IUE) and optical (VLT/UVES, Keck) data. The results are compared with those of PG 1034+001's spectroscopic twin, the DO star PG 0038+199.

Gaia, the forthcoming astrometric ESA survey, is expected to substantially improve our knowledge about the distances to galactic planetary nebulae (PNe). We present an overview of Gaia mission and focus in some aspects which are relevant for the study of PNe. In particular, we present our simulations on Gaia spectrophotometric observations obtained by means of GOG (Gaia Object Generator) for a catalogue of proto-PNe and PNe (Suárez et al. 2006) which can be used as templates to classify and study the suitability of Gaia spectrophotometry to infer physical properties of the sources.

Gaia is a European Space Agency (ESA) astrometry space mission, and a successor to the ESA Hipparcos mission. Gaia's main goal is to collect high-precision astrometric data (positions, parallaxes, and proper motions) for the 1 billion brightest objects in the sky. Those data, complemented with multi-band, multi-epoch photometric and spectroscopic data observed from the same observing platform, will allow astronomers to reconstruct the formation history, structure, and evolution of the Galaxy.

Gaia will observe the whole sky for 5 years, providing a unique opportunity for the discovery of large numbers of transient and anomalous events such as supernovæ, novæ and microlensing events, GRB afterglows, fallback supernovæ, and other theoretical or unexpected phenomena. The Photometric Science Alerts team has been tasked with the early detection, classification and prompt release of anomalous sources in the Gaia data stream. In this paper we discuss the challenges we face in preparing to use Gaia to search for transient pheonomena at optical wavelengths.

The spectral disentangling technique makes possible separation of individual component spectra in binary or multiple systems, and determination of the orbital elements in a self-consistent way. Since its introduction, a number of variants of their basic idea have been implemented. We present yet another ‘direct’ approach using optimization by genetic algorithm. Starting with an initial random flux distribution representing individual spectra, genetic optimization returns both individual component spectra and an optimal set of orbital parameters only constrained by time-series of the observed composite spectra of the binary system. Benchmark tests on V453 Cyg, which is an eclipsing binary with total eclipse, as well as tests on the artificial time-series spectra, have proven that ‘constrained genetic disentangling’ is performing correctly and efficiently, albeit with high demand on CPU time. Since genetic optimization can be easily parallelized, we expect our second release to run on cluster in a less time-consuming way.

We have searched for correlated trends in He/H, N/H, O/H, Ne/H, Ar/H, Cl/H, and S/H abundances with their luminosities, Peimbert types, galactocentric radius, emission-line luminosities, diameters, morphologies, surface brightnesses among Galactic planetary nebulae (PNe) using a database of 119 PNe with well measured properties. We report selected highlights.

Binary stars provide an excellent calibration of the success or otherwise of star formation simulations, since the reproduction of their statistical properties can be challenging. Here, I summarise the direction that the field has taken in recent years, with an emphasis on binary formation in the cluster context, and discuss which observational diagnostics are most ripe for meaningful theoretical comparison. I focus on two issues: the prediction of binary mass ratio distributions and the formation of the widest binaries in dissolving clusters, showing how in the latter case the incidence of ultra-wide pairs constrains the typical membership number of natal clusters to be of order a hundred. I end by drawing attention to recent works that include magnetic fields and which will set the direction of future research in this area.

We presented our analysis of a sample of type II supernova (SN) light curves measured by the Caltech Core Collapse Project (CCCP). CCCP is a large observational program which made use of the robotic 60-in and the Hale 200-in telescopes to obtain optical photometry, spectroscopy and IR photometry of 49 nearby core-collapse supernovae (SNe). It provides a fair sample of core-collapse events, with well-defined selection criteria, and uniform, high-quality optical/IR observations. Our goal is to characterize the little-studied properties of core-collapse supernovae as a population. Preliminary data indicate a diverse set of sub-populations including “standard” type IIP supernovæ, declining supernovæ (at different rates) and slowly rising peculiar supernovæ. Work is in progress to map and quantify that diversity better. It is hoped that a single tunable formula will be able to describe most light-curve shapes, thereby helping us attain a better understanding of the physical mechanisms underlying these results.

Various processes can lead to non-conservative evolution in binary stars. Under conservative mass transfer, both the total mass and the orbital angular momentum of the system are conserved. Thus, the transfer of angular momentum between the orbit and the spins of the stars can represent one such effect. Stars generally lose mass and angular momentum in a stellar wind so, even with no interaction, evolution is non-conservative. Indeed, a strong wind can actually drive mass transfer. During Roche lobe overflow itself, mass transfer becomes non-conservative when the companion cannot accrete all the material transferred by the donor. In some cases, material is simply temporarily stored in an accretion disc. In others, the companion may swell up and initiate common envelope evolution. Often the transferred material carries enough angular momentum to spin the companion up to break-up, at which point it could not accrete more. We investigate how this is alleviated by non-conservative evolution.

We carry out plasma diagnostic analysis for a number of planetary nebulae (PNe) and H ii regions. We use N ii and O ii optical recombination lines (ORLs) with new effective recombination coefficients calculated under the intermediate coupling scheme, for a range of electron temperatures (Te) and densities (Ne), and fitted against the most reliable measurements. Comparing Te derived from ORLs, collisionally excited lines (CELs), the hydrogen Balmer Jump, and/or He i if available, we find the relation Te (ORLs) < Te (He i) < Te (H i BJ) < Te (CELs), confirming the physical conditions in the bi-abundance model postulated by Liu et al., i.e. the nebula contains another cold, metal-rich and probably H-deficient component.

Protoplanetary disks are ubiquitously observed around young solar-mass stars and are considered to be not only natural by-products of stellar evolution but also precursors of planet formation. If a forming star has close companions, the protoplanetary disk may be seriously influenced. It is important to consider this effect because most stars form as multiples. Thus, studies of protoplanetary disks in multiple systems are essential to describe the general processes of star and planet formation.

We present the direct image of an interacting binary protoplanetary system. We obtained an infrared image of a young multiple circumstellar disk system, SR24, with the Subaru 8.2-m Telescope. Both circumprimary and circumsecondary disks are clearly resolved with a 0.1 arcsecond resolution. The binary system exhibits a bridge of infrared emission connecting the two disks and a long spiral arm extending from the circumprimary disk. A spiral arm would suggest that the SR24 system rotates counter-clockwise. The orbital period of the binary is 15,000 yr. Numerical simulations reveal that the bridge corresponds to gas flow and a shock wave caused by the collision of gas rotating around the primary and secondary stars. The simulations also show that fresh material streams along the spiral arm, confirming the theoretical proposal that gas is replenished from a circum-multiple reservoir. These results reveal the mechanism of interacting protoplanetary disks in young multiple systems. Furthermore, our observations provide the first direct image that enables a comparison with theoretical models of mass accretion in binary systems. The observations of this binary system provide a great opportunity to test and refine theoretical models of star and planet formation in binary systems.

The week's communications and deliberations concentrated on dQ/dt and how we could enhance our detection and interpretation of such occurrences, whether Q were a distance, an emission of energy, a velocity, a brightness, an orbital property or a spectroscopic feature. For us mortals, the derivative of Q is in respect of Time—yet rather little attention was paid during the week to Time itself. Maybe that was just as well. As was said by way of introducing the Astronomer Royal to give the public lecture, From Microseconds to Æons, Time is ever-present yet always elusive. It flies and yet it drags. We never seem to have enough of it, yet it can weigh heavily on our hands. It is free but it is priceless. You can't own it but you can spend it. Einstein said bluntly that the only reason for Time is so that everything doesn't happen at once.

Using the Subaru telescope and its FOCAS spectrograph in multi-object mode, we have obtained spectra of a selection of bright PNs in two galaxies: the Virgo giant elliptical M 60 (NGC 4649), and the starburst spiral M 82. We report on individual extinctions, as determined from the Balmer decrement, and also on the intensities of [O III] 4959 and 5007 relative to Hβ.

The formation of planetary systems is a natural byproduct of the star formation process. Planets can form inside the protoplanetary disk by two alternative processes. Either through a sequence of sticking collisions, the so-called sequential accretion scenario, or via gravitational instability from an over-dense clump inside the protoplanetary disk. The first process is believed to have occurred in the solar system. The most important steps in this process will be outlined. The observed orbital properties of exoplanetary systems are distinctly different from our own Solar System. In particular, their small distance from the star, their high eccentricity and large mass point to the existence of a phase with strong mutual excitations. These are believed to be a result of early evolution of planets due to planet-disk interaction. The importance of this process in shaping the dynamical structure of planetary systems will be presented.

When Bob asked me a couple of days ago to give this talk, he said it should be “pithy and wise.” When I spoke to Aris the next day he said it should be “informal and funny.” Then Elizabeth spoke to me and said it would be great if it was “controversial and challenging.” I mentioned to Aris just before dinner that I had put a talk together, and he said “Oh, you've written a talk—I thought it would be something more spontaneous!” Faced with an obviously impossible spec, I did what any reasonable programmer would do and rewrote the spec myself. So what I'm going to talk about this evening is a reflection on my week in Oxford.

Using new, high signal-to-noise CFHT ESPaDOnS visual spectrograms, and archive IUE and FUSE UV spectrograms, together with state-of-the-art non-LTE hydrodynamical model atmospheres, we have obtained accurate He, C, N, O photospheric abundance determinations in the central stars of NGC 2392, IC 4593, and NGC 6826. We compare with the corresponding nebular abundances, taken from the literature. The central star of NGC 2392 shows high He, N, and very low C, O abundances. We propose that these peculiar abundances must have originated in a common-envelope phase of interaction with a close binary companion. If we assume that the companion is more evolved than the visible central star, this offers a way of solving the old mystery of the discrepant He II Zanstra temperature of NGC 2392.