The effects of metallicity on both the dust production and mass loss of evolved stars have consequences for stellar masses, stellar lifetimes, progenitors of core-collapse SNe, and the origin of dust in the ISM. With the DUST in Nearby Galaxies with Spitzer (DUSTiNGS) survey, we have discovered samples of dusty evolved AGB stars out to the edge of the Local Group with metallicities down to 0.6% solar. This makes them the nearest analogs of AGB stars in high-redshift galaxies. We present new infrared light curves of the dustiest AGB stars in 10 galaxies from the DUSTiNGS survey and show how the infrared Period-Luminosity (PL) relation is affected by dust and metallicity. These results have implications for the efficiency of AGB dust production at high-redshift and for the use of the Mira PL relation as a distance indicator.

As self-gravitating systems, dense star clusters exhibit a natural diffusion of energy from their innermost to outermost regions, leading to a slow and steady contraction of the core until it ultimately collapses under gravity. However, in spite of the natural tendency toward “core collapse,” the globular clusters (GCs) in the Milky Way exhibit a well-observed bimodal distribution in core radii separating the core-collapsed and non-core-collapsed clusters. This suggests an internal energy source is at work, delaying the onset of core collapse in many clusters. Over the past decade, a large amount of work has suggested that stellar black holes (BHs) play a dynamically-significant role in clusters throughout their entire lifetimes. Here we review our latest understanding of BH populations in GCs and demonstrate that, through their dynamical interaction with their host cluster, BHs can naturally explain the distinction between core-collapsed and non-core-collapsed clusters through a process we call “black hole burning.”

For the observed 18 pairs of double neutron star (DNS) systems, we find that DNS mass distribution is very narrow and its mean value (about 1.34 solar mass) is less than the mean of all measured pulsars of about 1.4 solar mass. To interpret the special DNS mass characteristics, we analyze the DNS formation process, via the phases of HMXBs, by investigating the evolution of massive binary stars. Moreover, in DNSs, two classes of NSs are taken into account, formed by supernova (SN) and electron capture (EC), respectively, and generally the NS mass by SN is bigger than that by EC. Quantitatively, with various initial conditions of binary stars, the observed special DNS distribution can be satisfactorily explained.

PNe are known to be photoionized objects. However they also have low-ionization structures (LIS) with different excitation behavior. We are only now starting to answer why most LIS have lower electron densities than the PN shells hosting them, and whether or not their intense emission in low-ionization lines is the key to their main excitation mechanism. Can LIS line ratios, chemical abundances and kinematics enlight the interplay between the different excitation and formation processes in PNe? Based on the spectra of five PNe with LIS and using new diagnostic diagrams from shock models, we demonstrate that LIS’s main excitation is due to shocks, whereas the other components are mainly photoionized. We propose new diagnostic diagrams involving a few emission lines ([N II], [O III], [S II]) and fshocks/f*, where fshocks and f* are the ionization photon fluxes due to the shocks and to the central star ionizing continuum, respectively.

We present a database of galaxies in the Local Volume (LV) (https://www.sao.ru/lv/lvgdb/) Kaisina et al. (2012) having individual distance estimates within 11Â Mpc or corrected radial velocities VLG < 600 km s-1. It collects data on the following galaxy observables: angular diameters, apparent magnitudes in far-UV, B, and Ks bands, Hα and HI fluxes, morphological types, HI -line widths, radial velocities, and distance estimates. It also contains a consolidated set of optical images of all the galaxies from the SDSS and DSS surveys and Hα images of galaxies that were derived with the 6-m BTA telescope. The latest version of the Updated Nearby Galaxy Catalog (UNGC) Karachentsev et al. (2013) contains 869 objects, now the database consist of 1175 objects. We present basic relations, describing the updated LV sample: Hubble flow, distribution galaxies according to their distance estimates and on the sky, et al.

The existence of exoplanets around evolved objects is one of the most interesting subjects from the viewpoint of planetary system evolution and its fate. What happens to the exoplanets engulfed in the host star envelope during red giant branch (RGB) phase? Can planets survive this evolutionary stage of the host star? Here, we are showing that at least some of the exoplanetary candidates recently found around a couple of sdBV stars, KIC 5807616 and KIC 10001893, might not be exoplanets after all. One “exoplanetary signal” visible in the light curve FT of KIC 10001893 can be just a frequency combination of stellar pulsation modes, while others are likely artifacts. Similarly, low frequency signals found in KIC 5807616 light curve FT, are beating frequencies of stellar oscillations, rather than resulting from the exoplanetary radiation. We also analyzed frequency and amplitude changes of the signal around 0.256 c/d (∼3.9 day) visible in the light curve FT of the KIC 10449976 sdO star. Our simulations show that it is difficult to reproduce the observed signal frequency variations by the weather changes in the exoplanet atmosphere.

Sources from Ancient Mesopotamia contain mention of transient astronomical phenomena in two contexts: in records of observations, many of which can be dated, and in collections of omens, which use the appearance of such phenomena to predict future events. These omens consider quite a range of phenomena, but only rarely can they be dated in a precise way. This paper describes how transient phenomena were handled in both kinds of context.

The features and make up of the population of X-ray sources in Galactic star clusters reflect the properties of the underlying stellar environment. Cluster age, mass, stellar encounter rate, binary frequency, metallicity, and maybe other properties as well, determine to what extent we can expect a contribution to the cluster X-ray emission from low-mass X-ray binaries, millisecond pulsars, cataclysmic variables, and magnetically active binaries. Sensitive X-ray observations withXMM-Newton and certainlyChandra have yielded new insights into the nature of individual sources and the effects of dynamical encounters. They have also provided a new perspective on the collective X-ray properties of clusters, in which the X-ray emissivities of globular clusters and old open clusters can be compared to each other and to those of other environments. I will review our current understanding of cluster X-ray sources, focusing on star clusters older than about 1 Gyr, illustrated with recent results.

The broad-lined Type Ic Supernovæ (SNe) associated with Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) were long considered the most luminous class as a whole among core-collapse SNe, until the discovery of Superluminous SNe (SLSNe) during the last decade. There are many differences between the two classes, but in recent years events have been discovered which form a link between them. Associated with GRBs but more luminous and hotter, and in one case clearly dissimilar spectrally from any other known GRB-SNe, these sources point the way towards common mechanisms underlying GRBs and SLSNe.

RCW 98 is an HII region with an active star formation in its immediate neighbourhood. At least three early-type stars ionize it and it contains the bright rimmed cloud. Our observations of this region in the optical regime shows that RCW 98 is a complex and dynamical region. We have created a simple model of the dust distribution in this object, but it is not fully consistent with the optical observations. We also study the effects of ionizing stars on the dust.

The observational properties of a special class of stars (the so-called Blue Straggler stars - BSSs) in Globular Clusters are discussed in the framework of using this stellar population as probe of the dynamical processes occurring in high-density stellar systems. In particular, the shape of the BSS radial distribution and their level of central segregation have been found to be powerful tracers of the level of the dynamical evolution of the hosting cluster, thus allowing the definition of an empirical chronometer able to measure the dynamical age of star clusters.

The Updated Nearby Galaxy Catalog (=UNGC) of 1047 Local Volume (=LV) galaxies, situated within a distance of 11 Mpc, contains 870 dwarfs, i.e. 5/6 of the sample. Almost 40% of them have accurate distances measured with Hubble Space Telescope. Most of the LV dwarfs have been observed in HI and Hα emission lines, as well in far-ultraviolet with GALEX. We present basic properties of the LV dwarfs, their HI -mass content and star-formation rate in different local environments. We discuss a baryonic Tully-Fisher relation for the LV dwarfs, and apply it to determine TF -distances for several hundreds local galaxies. The accurate distances and radial velocities of the LV dwarfs are used by us to trace dark matter distribution within 11 Mpc. We discuss also does the Local Group may be treated as a typical or uncommon representative of the LV population.

Previous theoretical studies can only explain part of the observed intermediate-mass binary pulsars (IMBPs) with short orbital periods. Note that an ONe white dwarf (WD) accreting mass from a He star may experience the accretion-induced collapse process and eventually form IMBPs, known as the ONe WD+He star scenario. By investigating the evolution of a large number of ONe WD+He star binaries, we found that the ONe WD+He star scenario can form IMBPs including pulsars with 5 – 340 ms spin periods, and the orbital periods range from 0.04 to 900 d. Compared with the observed IMBPs, this scenario can cover almost all of the IMBPs with short orbital periods. Thus, we suggest that the ONe WD+He star channel is responsible for the formation of IMBPs with short orbital periods.

I present integrated colors and surface brightness fluctuation magnitudes in the mid-IR, derived from stellar population synthesis models that include the effects of the dusty envelopes around TP-AGB stars. The models are based on the Bruzual & Charlot CB* isochrones; they are single-burst, range in age from a few Myr to 14 Gyr, and comprise metallicities between Z = 0.0001 and Z = 0.04. I compare these models to mid-IR data of AGB stars and star clusters in the Magellanic Clouds, and study the effects of varying self-consistently the mass-loss rate, the stellar parameters, and the output spectra of the stars plus their dusty envelopes.

Clustering algorithms constitute a multi-disciplinary analytical tool commonly used to summarise large data sets. Astronomical classifications are based on similarity, where celestial objects are assigned to a specific class according to specific physical features. The aim of this project is to obtain relevant information from high-dimensional data (at least three input variables in a data-frame) derived from stellar light-curves using a number of clustering algorithms such as K-means and Expectation Maximisation. In addition to identifying the best performing algorithm, we also identify a subset of features that best define stellar groups. Three methodologies are applied to a sample of Kepler time series in the temperature range 6500–19,000 K. In that spectral range, at least four classes of variable stars are expected to be found: δ Scuti, γ Doradus, Slowly Pulsating B (SPB), and (the still equivocal) Maia stars.

This paper brings together the chief points raised during FM5 by astronomers, archaeologists, and historians whose research interests centred on novæ and supernovæ. The common focus was the use of historical observations to study transient astronomical phenomena. The presenters covered a wide variety of topics within that theme, and this report summarizes some of the aspects specific to historical novæ and supernovæ.

Analyzing 41 targets data of the Kepler K2 Campaign 2 mission suspected to be Long Period Variables (LPVs), we developed a method for the prediction of periods longer than the observation period of 77.48d using the 3500 data points provided by K2. The ‘Self-Flat-Field’ method (K2SFF or SFF) of the ‘ Kepler K2 High Level Science Product’ (K2HLSP) corrected the instrumental effects best.

Stone inscriptions from all over India provide records of eclipses, solstices and planetary conjunctions. Extending the study to South Asia, to include Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Thailand, threw light on many new aspects such as evolution of calendars independently from the influence of Indian system of time measurement as early as the 3rd Century BCE. Many interesting records of planetary conjunctions are available. One record from Cambodia hints at a possible sighting of the 1054 supernova, while another from Thailand suggests a pre-planetary nebula event.

Over the last decade, our abilities to observe the internal kinematics of star clusters have drastically increased. Where a few years back only small numbers of bright stars with radial velocity measurements were available, we can nowadays study the three-dimensional motions of large stellar samples, thanks to the combined datasets gathered by state-of-art spectrographs and astrometric satellites. In this work, I summarise the contribution of integral-field spectrographs, in particular MUSE, to this paradigm change. Using dedicated software tools, we were able to overcome a fundamental limitation of spectroscopy and advance to the crowded cluster centres. This allowed us to study the central kinematics in unprecedented detail and to start uncovering the populations of black holes that reside in massive star clusters.

Based on the data from the Next Generation Virgo cluster Survey (NGVS), we statistically study the photometric properties of globular clusters (GCs), ultra-compact dwarfs (UCDs) and dwarf nuclei in the Virgo core (M87) region. We found an obvious negative color (g - z) gradient in GC system associate with M87, i.e. GCs in the outer regions are bluer. However, such color gradient does not exist in UCD system, neither in dwarf nuclei system around M87. In addition, we found that many UCDs are surrounded by extended, low surface brightness envelopes. The dwarf nuclei and UCDs show different spatial distributions from GCs, with dwarf nuclei and UCDs (especially for the UCDs with visible envelopes) lying at larger distances to the Virgo center. These results support the view that UCDs (at least for a fraction of UCDs) are more tied to dwarf nuclei than to GCs.