The development of astronomy has been developed by the cooperation of amateur astronomers and researchers. Sunspot observation is a good example of Extreme citizen science in early days. Issei YAMAMOTO (1889–1959), organized “Oriental Astronomical Association (OAA),” Yamamoto’s materials (now in Kwasan observatory) include solar observation data sent from many observers in Japan. From the viewpoint of today’s Citizen Science, collaborative observation of sunspot between researchers of solar physics and amateur astronomers in Japan has clearly a context of social mission rather than mere academic interest. From the viewpoint of science communication, we can see that Yamamoto’s call includes a social mission to promote astronomy in Japan, and that amateurs responded to Yamamoto’s call by participating in the observation network. It can be said that this collaboration have not only “cultural” aspect but also “civic”or “practical” aspect.

Implementation of a novel experimental approach using a bright source of narrowband x-ray emission has enabled the production of a photoionized argon plasma of relevance to astrophysical modelling codes such as Cloudy. We present results showing that the photoionization parameter ζ = 4πF/ne generated using the VULCAN laser was ≈ 50 erg cm s−1, higher than those obtained previously with more powerful facilities. Comparison of our argon emission-line spectra in the 4.15 - 4.25 Å range at varying initial gas pressures with predictions from the Cloudy code and a simple time-dependent code are also presented. Finally we briefly discuss how this proof-of-principle experiment may be scaled to larger facilities such as ORION to produce the closest laboratory analogue to a photoionized plasma.

We show our work on the L-Galaxies semi-analytic models of galaxy formation, which includes the radial resolved distribution of star, gas, SFR and metallicity on each galaxy disk. The newest version of the codes include the H22-to-HI gas transition prescriptions and the chemical enrichment of various elements. Our revised model can give results on cold gas components, radial metallicity gradients and scaling relations, which can fit the recent observations.

In previous works, the radio-X-ray slope in FRI radio galaxies is found to be steeper compared with that in low-luminosity AGNs, indicating different origin of the X-ray emission. Here we reinvestigate this point by compiling a sample of 13 low-excitation radio galaxies (LERG) from 3CR radio catalog of galaxies, where the central engine in LERG is accepted to be a radiatively inefficient accretion flow (RIAF). The core radio and X-ray emissions in all the objects of our sample are detected by VLA/VLBI/VLBA and Chandra/XMM-Newton, respectively. Surprisingly, a shallower slope of Lr – Lx relation () is given by our sample, which demonstrates that the X-ray emission in LERG may come from accretion disk rather than a jet as suggested by previous works. In addition, the slope in the fundamental plane ((log LR = 0.52 log LX + 0.84 log MBH + 10.84) of LERG is found to be well consistent with that reported by Merloni et al. (2003).

We have examined the relationship between star formation and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) by fitting the spectral energy distributions (SED) of AKARI selected galaxies. PAHs are excited by the ultraviolet (UV) photons of young stars and can trace star formation in galaxies, but they are disassociated by the strong UV radiation in starbursts. AKARI covered the mid-infrared, where the PAHs emit their radiation, with a high density of photometric bands. These observations allow us to estimate the star formation rate and the PAH mass fraction of the dust in galaxies. In the future the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will also make measurements in this wavelength range. This research can therefore be considered as a pathfinder to similar studies that will come later from JWST observations.

NGC 300 is a near-optical twin of the Local Group galaxy M33, which are benchmarks for understanding late-type spiral galaxies. They are two bulgeless and low-mass spiral galaxies in different environments. In order to explore the common properties and differences between the two nearby low-mass systems, we first use the simple chemical evolution model to explore the star formation history (SFH) of NGC300 and M33, and then compare the feasible model predicted SFH of NGC 300 with that of M33. Through comparing the SFHs between them, it can be found that the mean stellar age of NGC 300 is older than that of M33, there is a recent lack of primordial gas infall onto the disk of NGC 300, recent star formation along the disk of NGC 300 is less active than that of M33, and the local environment may play a key role in the secular evolution of a galaxy.

This contribution presents earliest records in the Indian stone inscriptions and literature that specifically mention the eclipse as total or annular and the eclipses that timed with wars. Solar cult temples can be found all over India. In a few, the assigned dates coincide or are close to the dates of solar eclipses of large magnitude in the area.

Effective Landé g-factors (geff) are fundamental quantities in order to derive stellar magnetic field intensities. The determination of geff involves both total angular momenta and Landé g-factors of the transition levels. Theoretical g-factors are generally adopted, and the corresponding geff, often quite different from the one obtained in laboratory, affects the accuracy on magnetic field strength measurements. In this work we discuss a method to experimentally determine geff for highly ionised species, based on high resolution spectropolarimetry applied to Electron Cyclotron Resonance laboratory plasmas.

The stellar magnetic field is the driver of activity in the star and can trigger energetic flares, CMEs and ionized wind. These phenomena, specially CMEs, may have an important impact on the magnetosphere and atmosphere of the orbiting planets. To predict whether a CME will impact a planet, the effects of the background on the CME's trajectory must be taken into account. We used the MHD code ForeCAT – a model for CME deflection due to magnetic forces – to perform numerical simulations of CMEs being launched from both the Sun and Kepler-63, which is a young, solar-like star with high activity. Comparing results from Kepler-63 and the Sun gives us a panorama of the distinct activity level and star-planet interactions of these systems due to the difference of stellar ages and star-planet distances.

The role of starburst winds versus active galactic nuclei (AGN) jets/winds in the formation of the kiloparsec scale radio emission seen in Seyferts is not yet well understood. In order to be able to disentangle the role of various components, we have observed a sample of Seyfert galaxies exhibiting kpc-scale radio emission suggesting outflows, along with a comparison sample of starburst galaxies, with the EVLA B-array in polarimetric mode at 1.4 GHz and 5 GHz. The Seyfert galaxy NGC 2639, shows highly polarized secondary radio lobes, not observed before, which are aligned perpendicular to the known pair of radio lobes. The additional pair of lobes represent an older epoch of emission. A multi-epoch multi-frequency study of the starburst-Seyfert composite galaxy NGC 3079, reveals that the jet together with the starburst superwind and the galactic magnetic fields might be responsible for the well-known 8-shaped radio lobes observed in this galaxy. We find that many of the Seyfert galaxies in our sample show bubble-shaped lobes, which are absent in the starburst galaxies that do not host an AGN.

To sustain star formation rates (SFRs) of hundreds to thousands of solar masses per year over millions of years, a galaxy must efficiently cool its gas. At z ∼ 2, the peak epoch for stellar mass assembly, tracers of gas heating and cooling remain largely unexplored. For one z ∼ 2 starburst galaxy GS IRS20, we present Spitzer IRS spectroscopy of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon (PAH) emission, and ALMA observations of [C II] 158 μm fine-structure emission which we use to probe ISM heating/cooling. Coupled with an unusually warm dust component, the ratio of [C II] /PAH emission suggests a low photolelectric efficiency, and/or the importance of cooling from other far-IR lines in this galaxy. A low photoelectric efficiency at z ∼ 2 could be key for the peak in the SFR density of the universe by decoupling stellar radiation from ISM gas temperatures.

We investigate the ionized gas excitation and kinematics in the inner 4.3 × 6.2 kpc2 of the merger radio galaxy 4C +29.30. Using optical integral field spectroscopy with the Gemini North Telescope, we find signatures of gas outflows, including high blueshifts of up to ∼−650 km s−1 observed in a region ∼1″ south of the nucleus, which also presents high velocity dispersion (∼250 km s−1). A possible redshifted counterpart is observed north from the nucleus. We propose that these regions correspond to a bipolar outflow possibly due to the interaction of the radio jet with the ambient gas. We estimate a total ionized gas mass outflow rate of $\[{\dot M_{out}} = 18.1\begin{array}{c} + 8.2\\ - 5.3\end{array}{\kern 1pt} {\kern 1pt} \]$ with a kinetic power of $\[\dot E = 5.8\begin{array}{c} + 7.6\\ - 2.9\end{array} \times {10^{42}}{\kern 1pt} {\kern 1pt} \]$, which represents $\[3.9\begin{array}{c} + 5.1\\ - 1.5\end{array}\% \]$ of the AGN bolometric luminosity. These values are higher than usually observed in nearby active galaxies and could imply a significant impact of the outflows on the evolution of the host galaxy.

The Sun's atmosphere increases in temperature from 6000 degrees at the surface to over a million degrees at heights of a few thousand kilometers. This surprising temperature increase is still an active area of scientific study, but is generally thought to be driven by the dynamics of the Sun's magnetic field. The combination of a 2-to-3 order of magnitude temperature range and a low plasma density makes the solar atmosphere perhaps the best natural laboratory for the study of ionized atoms. Atomic transitions at ultraviolet (UV) and X-ray wavelength regions generally show no optical depth effects, and the lines are not subject to the interstellar absorption that affects astronomical sources. Here I highlight the importance of atomic data to modeling UV and X-ray solar spectra, with a particular focus on the CHIANTI atomic database. Atomic data needs and problems are discussed and future solar mission concepts presented.

The astrophysics of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) is one of the long outstanding issues in searches among the scientific communities raised with diverse perspectives like nebula, quasars, etc some decades ago. Currently, this exotic system is at least understood as the center of an active galaxy. Thus, the consensus of this recent theory has opened up a number of research issues for the progress of astrophysical science including how the hosting galaxy evolves with the AGN, how matter and energy flow towards and outwards, etc. Moreover, most of the AGNs possess Supermassive Black Holes (SMBHs) and accrete matter at a very high rate as current observations report. Consequently, both observations of electromagnetic (EM) spectrum and Gravity Waves (GWs) will considered to provide complementary information about the AGNs and the roles in their environments including black holes in their centers, outflow and inflow of matter-energy. Interested with this background rationale, we study the mechanisms of AGN interaction with its environment and flow of relativistic jets where General Relativistic (GR) Magneto-Hydrodynamic (MHD) equations are being considered. The solutions of the field equations are treated with a metric that involves charged systems for the possible relativistic jets including accretions. Then, numerical data is being generated using the latest version Mathematic software. Finally, the theoretical data is being compared with that of observation for validation of the model.

The first massive galaxies (z ∼ 6) have (1) very high energy density due to their small diameters and extreme luminosities in young stars and (2) interstellar dust relatively deficient in carbon compared with silicates. Both of these attributes should raise their interstellar dust temperatures compared with lower redshift galaxies. Not only is this temperature trend observed, but the high-z spectral energy distributions (SEDs) are very broad due to very warm dust. As a result total infrared luminosities – and star formation rates – at the highest redshifts estimated by fitting blackbodies to submm- and mm-wave observations can be low by a factor of ∼2.

Solar coronal dimmings have been observed extensively in the past two decades and are believed to have close association with coronal mass ejections (CMEs). Recent study found that coronal dimming is the only signature that could differentiate powerful flares that have CMEs from those that do not. Therefore, dimming might be one of the best candidates to observe the stellar CMEs on distant Sun-like stars. In this study, we investigate the possibility of using coronal dimming as a proxy to diagnose stellar CMEs. By simulating a realistic solar CME event and corresponding coronal dimming using a global magnetohydrodynamics model (AWSoM: Alfvén-wave Solar Model), we first demonstrate the capability of the model to reproduce solar observations. We then extend the model for simulating stellar CMEs by modifying the input magnetic flux density as well as the initial magnetic energy of the CME flux rope. Our result suggests that with improved instrument sensitivity, it is possible to detect the coronal dimming signals induced by the stellar CMEs.

We present the environmental properties of a sample of 260 Lyα emitters (LAEs) with extremely large equivalent widths (EW0 > 240 Å) at z ∼ 3. Such large EW LAEs may be very low-metal / young starbursts in void regions or Hi gas /galaxies illuminated by ionizing radiation from the QSO. We undertook Subaru/HSC Lyα imaging observations around a hyper luminous QSO at z = 2.84. We identified 3490 LAEs including 260 large EW LAEs. We found that the large EW LAEs tend to lie at galaxy over-dense regions surrounding the QSO, suggesting that most of the large EW LAEs are illuminated by the QSO. From the radial distribution of the large EW LAEs from the QSO, we found that the fraction of large EW LAE shows two excesses in the range of 2 to 5 Mpc and 14 to 16 Mpc from the QSO. If the two peaks are reflected with the QSO activity, the QSO should have episodic lifetimes with ∼10 Myr duration and ∼30 Myr separations. However, we require future spectroscopic observations to investigate if the large EW LAEs far from the QSO are low-metal young starbursts.

This project is designed for children under 18 years that have to frequently visit hospitals or that have to endure long-term hospital stays. The aims are to entertain these children and their families, to increase their scientific culture, and to promote scientific vocations. So far we have visited one hospital in Mexico City bringing astronomy to the patients and their families. We have developed five hands-on activities and one musical activity that ensures that all the children can participate independently of their conditions. We plan to expand this project to other hospitals and other cities in the country. Our next challenge is to start virtual visits to hospitals.

Often associated with the regulation of star formation in galaxies, active galactic nuclei (AGN) play a fundamental role in the evolution of galaxies through their feedback effects. To investigate the impact of these effects, we analysed the optical emission-line properties of 8 type II AGNs with bolometric luminosities LBol > 1045 erg s−1, using integral field spectroscopy (IFS) observations with Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph (GMOS). The gas kinematics was obtained by fitting Gaussian components to the profiles of the emission lines of the ionized gas. Using only the broadest component – that we associate with the gas in outflow – we calculated the mass outflow rate (Ṁout), finding values of up to 10 M⊙ yr−1. The outflow kinetic power (Ėout reaches maximum values between 1041 and 1043 erg s−1, which correspond to feedback efficiencies of ∼0.001−0.1 % of Lbol. These values are below that required to quench the star formation during the evolution of galaxies in simulations and analytical models. We also investigated the effect of uncertainties on the values of the physical quantities used in the calculations – such as the electron density – on the final values of Ṁout and Ėout.

I will present our ongoing multi-wavelength study on the prevalence and impact of radio jets in a sample of z < 0.2 type 2 ‘obscured’ quasars who’s high bolometric luminosities make them ideal local analogues of distant, more common, quasars. Despite being classified as ‘radio quiet’ (log L[1.4GHz] = 23.3 - 24.4 W/Hz), our high spatial resolution (∼0.25”) radio observations (VLA and eMERLIN) reveal jet like structures on 1–25kpc scales in ∼80% of the sample. Our integral field spectroscopy reveals jet-ISM interaction and outflows in all cases. Our work suggests that radio jets are an important feedback mechanism even during a typical ‘quasar’ phase. Using ALMA and APEX we are now investigating the impact of these jets and outflows on the molecular, star forming, gas; looking for signs of depletion and excitation. Preliminary results suggest a depleted molecular gas supply in these sources. I will present all of these results, focused on our pilot study of 10 targets and then introduce our on-going work on an expanded sample of 42 low-redshift quasars. Our latest results come from MUSE/AO and ALMA from which we are carefully characterising the properties of the ionised and molecular outflows at sub-kpc resolution.