We analyse VLBI and optical images of AGNs and their host galaxies and look for statistical correlations between the shape and orientation of the galaxy and the direction of the jet. We utilise the Astrogeo catalogue, which has over 9000 VLBI sources, many of those with a clear core-jet like structure that allows for the jet position angle to be reliably determined. We then use the VLBI source positions to search for optical counterparts within various optical surveys. In order to parameterise the orientation and shape of the host galaxy, we fitted a Gaussian elliptical model to the optical image, taking the PSF into account. We check our own shape parameters from this fit against the ones provided by the optical surveys. As of yet, no clear correlation between the galaxy morphology and the jet direction is seen.

We have carried out ALMA observations toward the environments of G333.0162+00.7615 which was considered as a candidate of high-mass young stellar object (HMYSO) in previous studies. Our dust continuum, molecular line emission and radio recombination line emission observations show that this source is not HMYSO associated with hypercompact (HC) HII regions. Instead, we discovered two new hot cores associate with earliest stages of high mass star formation region. We estimated the rotational temperatures of these cores about 270 K from J=14→13 rotational transition of CH3CN ladder. The moment maps show velocity gradients confirming that this cores are rotating.

V530 Per is a solar-like member of the young open cluster α Persei, with an ultra-short rotation period (P∼0.32d). We report on two spectropolarimetric campaigns using ESPaDOnS, aimed at characterizing the short-term variability of its magnetic activity and large-scale magnetic field. We used time-resolved spectropolarimetric observations obtained in 2006 and 2018 and reconstructed the brightness distribution and large-scale magnetic field geometry of V530 Per through Zeeman-Doppler imaging. Using the same data sets, we also mapped the spatial distribution of prominences through tomography of Hα emission. We reconstruct, at both epochs, a large, dark spot occupying the polar region of V530 Per while smaller (dark and bright) spots were reconstructed at lower latitudes. The maximal field strength reached ∼1 kG. The prominence pattern displayed a stable component that was confined close to the corotation radius. In 2018, we also observed rapidly evolving Hα emitting structures, over timescales ranging from minutes to days. The fast Hα evolution was not linked to any detected photospheric changes in the spot or magnetic coverage.

Minkowski’s Object and ‘Death Star galaxy’ are two of the famous cases of rare instances when a radio jet has been observed to directly hit a neighbouring galaxy. RAD12, the RAD@home citizen science discovery with GMRT being presented here, is not only a new system being added to nearly half a dozen rare cases known so far but also the first case where the neighbouring galaxy is not a minor/dwarf companion but a galaxy bigger than the host of the radio jet. Additionally, the jet appears to be one-sided and the jet after interaction completely stops and forms a bubble inflating laterally which is unlike previous cases of minor deviation or loss of collimation. Since the nature of radio jet-ISM coupling is poorly understood so far, more discovery of objects like RAD12 will be important to the understanding of galaxy evolution through merger and AGN feedback.

We have investigated the evolution of 12 “water fountain” sources in real time in the accompanying H2O 2o and SiO masers through our FLASHING (Finest Legacy Acquisitions of SiO-/ H2O 2o-maser Ignitions by Nobeyama Generation) project. It has been confirmed that these masers are excellent probes of new jet blob ejections, acceleration of the material supplied from the parental circumstellar envelope and entrained by the stellar jets yielding its deceleration. Possible periodic variations of the maser emission, reflecting properties of the central dying stars or binary systems, will be further investigated.

The RAD@home RGB-maker Tool is a python-based web application that enables citizen science research through collaboration using open-source technology. The tool fetches FITS image data from NASA SkyView and generates false colour images in Red-Green-Blue channels with contour. This helps in the basic multi-wavelength understanding and characterization of extragalactic objects, and further analysis along with reporting of potential new discoveries in a uniform format. Students from Universities or science-graduate citizens gain skills in RGB-C image analysis and identify unique features in objects via either one-day online-weekend events or week-long in-person training. Trained citizen scientists in turn are part of rare discoveries such as the jet-galaxy interaction system RAD12. The tool has been successfully used by thousands of citizen scientists in India since its launch on 26th January 2021 and has demonstrated the potential during IAU symposium 375 to be part of citizen science efforts with international participants.

Galaxies, particularly disc galaxies, show a wide variety of internal structures (e.g. spirals, bars, and bulges). Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory (MaNGA, part of the fourth incarnation of the Sloan Digital Sky Surveys), obtained spatially resolved spectral maps for 10,010 nearby galaxies. Many results from MaNGA have collapsed this structure into azimuthally averaged radial gradients, or symmetric 2D shapes, but there is significantly more information about the effect internal structures have on the evolution of galaxies available if we can identify different internal structures. One of the simplest ways to identify irregular internal structures in galaxies is by visual inspection. By employing a citizen science technique to ask this question of N independent volunteers we have obtained quantitatively robust masks (and errors) for spirals and bars in MaNGA target galaxies. In addition to internal features the interface asked users to identify foreground stars and foreground/background galaxies.

Radiation-driven mass-loss is an important, but still highly debated, driver for the evolution of massive stars. Current massive star evolution models rely on the theoretical prediction that low luminosity massive stars experience a sudden increase in mass loss below a stellar effective temperature of about 20 000 K. However, novel radiation-driven mass-loss rate predictions show no such bi-stability jump, which effects the post main-sequence evolution of massive stars. The ULLYSES data set provides a unique opportunity to investigate the theoretical bi-stability jump dichotomy and may help to assess the existence of the bi-stability jump in massive star winds. By utilising UV spectra from ULLYSES combined with X-shooter optical data we obtain empirical mass-loss rate constraints, that are no longer degenerate to the effects of wind clumping, and derive novel empirical constraints on the mass-loss behavior across the temperature range of the bi-stability jump. Current preliminary results do not show a clear presence of a bi-stability jump.

To understand the physical properties of the interstellar medium (ISM) in various scales, we should investigate it with pc-scale resolution over kpc scale coverage. Here, we report the sub-kpc scale Gas Density Histogram (GDH) of the Milky Way. GDH is a histogram of averaged density and corresponds to the probability density distribution (PDF) of gas volume density. We use galactic plain survey data (l =10∘− 50∘) at 12CO and 13CO (J = 1 − 0) obtained as a part of the FOREST Unbiased Galactic plane Imaging survey with the Nobeyama 45m telescope (FUGIN). With this method and data, we are free from spatial structure and molecular cloud identification. GDH can be well fitted with single or double log-normal distribution; which we call as the low-density log-normal (L-LN) and high-density log-normal (H-LN) components. We found both the H-LN fraction (fH) and L-LN width (σL) along the gas density axis show a coherent structure on the longitude-velocity diagram. It suggests that there is a relationship between the ISM property and kpc scale structure in the Milky Way.

Unlike most web-based citizen science programmes, RAD@home citizen scientists are trained in an interactive manner, both online and in person. This Collaboratory model can alleviate various geo-political and socio-economic constraints on the growth of people in underdeveloped regions which is in synergy with mandates of the IAU Office of Astronomy for Development. Owing to its Inter-University collaboratory design, supported by over 30 research institutions, it can attempt to convert the ‘Big Data Problem’ into a ‘Big Data Prospect’ by direct training and involving citizens in discoveries from multi-telescope data. Using the RAD-RGB-maker web-tool, e-astronomers learn the basics of multi-wavelength (UV-optical-IR-radio) extragalactic astronomy and create preliminary discovery reports of unusual radio sources thus becoming Co-Investigator in follow-up observations and publications (e.g. Discovery of RAD12). International expansion of RAD@home has been initiated during the recent IAU symposium 375 through its Educational and Outreach programme.

We conducted CO J=1→0 emission line observations for nearby AGB stars using the Nobeyama 45 m telescope. Comparing our results with those from CO J=3→2 observations with JCMT, the circumstellar envelopes observed in CO J=1→0 look more extended than J=3→2. Thus, we could trace the outer, cold parts of the envelopes. We also found four stars in which the CO/13CO ratio changes dramatically outward, but the change implies the effect of selective photodissociation by interstellar ultraviolet radiation, not the third dredge up in the stellar interior. We moreover found two unique stars with aspherical envelope morphology.

We studied the probability distribution function of the column density (N-PDF) of molecular clouds based on a fit with a multi-log-normal function using the Nobeyama 45-m Cygnus X CO survey data. We identified 124 molecular clouds in 13CO data using the DENDROGRAM and SCIMES algorithms. The N-PDF was constructed for 11 extended (≥ 0.4 deg2) molecular clouds of these identified clouds. We found that every N-PDF is well-fitted with one or two log-normal (LN) distributions. We investigated the distributions of the column density, C18O dense cores, and radio continuum source in each cloud and found that the N-PDF was less correlated with the star-forming activity. The LN N-PDF parameters showed two impressive features. First, the LN distribution at the low-density part had the same mean column density (∼1021.5 cm−2 ) for almost all the molecular clouds. Second, the wider LN distribution tended to show the lower mean density of the structures.

Particle-in-Cell simulations can provide a possible answer to an important key issue for astrophysical plasma jets; namely on how a toroidal magnetic field affects the evolution of pair and electron-ion jets. We show that Weibel, mushroom, and kinetic Kelvin-Helmhotz instabilities excited at the linear stage, generate a quasi-steady x-component of the electric field which accelerates and decelerates electrons. We observe significant differences in the structure of the strong electromagnetic fields that are driven by the kinetic instabilities with the pair jet. We find that the two different jet compositions (e± and e– - i+) generate different instability modes respectively. Moreover, the magnetic field in the non-linear stage generated by different instabilities is dissipated and reorganized into new topologies. A 3D magnetic field topology depiction indicates possible reconnection sites in the non-linear stage where the particles are significantly accelerated by the dissipation of the magnetic field associated to a possible reconnection manifestation.

Atmospheric escape is a fundamental phenomenon shaping the structure and evolution of planetary atmospheres. Physics of planetary winds range from global processes such as tidal interactions with the host star, through large-scale hydrodynamic outflow, to essentially microphysical kinetic effects, including Jeans-like escape and the interaction of planetary atmospheres with stellar winds and the own magnetic fields of planets. Each of these processes is expected to be most relevant for planets of different properties and at different stages in planetary and stellar evolution. Thus, it is expected that the hydrodynamic outflow guides the evolution of hydrogen-dominated atmospheres of planets having low masses (below that of Neptune) and/or close-in orbits, while the kinetic effects are most important for the long-term evolution of planets with secondary atmospheres, similar to the inner planets in the Solar System. Finally, each of these processes is affected by the interaction with stellar winds.

Ultra-luminous infrared galaxies (ULIRGs) are extreme in many ways. The major mergers trigger star formation at very high rates that cause the ISM to be dominated by infrared (IR) photons. We show the ammonia spectra toward the two cores of Arp 220, the nearest ULIRG, in three Very Large Array (VLA) bands (Ku, K, Ka). Typical decay times of the non-metastable transitions ∼ 100 s and are therefore usually difficult to observe. The FIR excitation of Arp 220, however, shows that non-metastable states are widely populated up to a limiting energy of ∼ 1500 K. We assume that this atypical ammonia spectrum is due to the strong FIR field that re-excites the ammonia molecule on timescales much shorter than the already short decay times. The resulting level population causes a break-down of the typical assumptions made for the use of ammonia as a molecular thermometer.

Recent theoretical considerations and observational evidence evince the spine-sheath morphology of relativistic jets emitted from active galactic nuclei (AGNs) or gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). The resulting shear boundary layers (SBLs) are likely to be an avenue for particle acceleration in relativistic jets. The effect of radiation drag on radiating particles has yet to be addressed in most studies of particle acceleration at shear boundary layers, even though radiative cooling may considerably affect particle dynamics. By using particle-in-cell simulations, we study the effects of inverse Compton cooling on particle dynamics and emerging particle spectra.

We present a new algorithm for the identification and physical characterization of current sheets and reconnection sites as well as the update of post-reconnection particles spectra in 2D and 3D large scale relativistic magnetohydrodynamic simulations. Lagrangian particles, which follow the fluid, are used to sample plasma parameters before entering the reconnection sites that form during the evolution of the different configurations considered. With the sampled parameters and a subgrid model based on results of Particle-in-Cell simulations we introduced in the PLUTO code an algorithm able to describe the post-reconnection spectra associated to the non-thermal component.

The stellar wind from low-mass stars affects the evolution of the whole stellar system in various ways. To better describe its quantitative contributions, we need to understand the theoretical aspects of stellar wind formation. Here, we present an overview of the theoretical models of stellar wind. The classical thermally-driven wind model fails in reproducing the anti-correlation between the coronal temperature and wind speed observed in the solar wind, thus needs modification with magnetic-energy injection. Specifically, energy input by Alfvén wave is likely to be important. Indeed, a number of solar-wind observations are well reproduced by the Alfvén-wave models, although it could be risky to directly apply the Alfvén-wave models to general low-mass stars. For a better description of stellar wind from low-mass stars with a variety of activity levels, the hybrid model would be better, in which we consider the effect of flux emergence as well as Alfvén wave.

We present maps of the “Survey of Water and Ammonia toward the Galactic center” (SWAG). SWAG was observed over three years (∼550 h) with the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA) and covers the entire Central Molecular Zone (CMZ) at about 26” or ∼1 pc resolution. The observed 21.2–25.6 GHz range contains tens of spectral lines and 4 GHz of continuum. Here, we present some final maps. These include multiple NH3 lines, radio recombination lines, shock tracers like HNCO and methanol (CH3OH), high resolution 22 GHz water masers, and a continuum map. The maps are the foundation for ongoing comprehensive temperature mapping of the CMZ, including the identification of heating mechanisms, the characterization of water maser sources as young stellar objects or AGB stars, as well as chemistry, dynamics, and star formation studies of the ISM in this unique environment.

With high-sensitivity kiloparsec-scale radio polarimetry, we can examine the jet-medium interactions and get a better understanding of the blazar divide in radio-loud (RL) AGN. We are analyzing the radio polarimetric observations with the EVLA and GMRT of 24 quasars and BL Lacs belonging to the Palomar-Green (PG) sample. The RL quasars show extensive polarisation structures in their cores, jets, lobes, and hotspots, whereas preliminary results suggest that BL Lacs exhibit polarisation primarily in their cores and inner jet regions. These findings imply that both intrinsic (central engine-related) and extrinsic (environment-related) variables are important in the formation of the blazar subclasses. The Fanaroff-Riley (FR) dichotomy can also be studied assuming RL unification and looking through the lens of blazars. Due to the radio-unbiased nature of the optically/UV-selected PG sample, we find a large fraction of the PG quasars are restarted, distorted (S- or X-shaped), or have a hybrid FR morphology.