The prediction of solar flares, eruptions, and high energy particle storms is of great societal importance. The data mining approach to forecasting has been shown to be very promising. Benchmark datasets are a key element in the further development of data-driven forecasting. With one or more benchmark data sets established, judicious use of both the data themselves and the selection of prediction algorithms is key to developing a high quality and robust method for the prediction of geo-effective solar activity. We review here briefly the process of generating benchmark datasets and developing prediction algorithms.

We present the results of sub-millimetre observations on three periodic methanol maser sources. Our results indicate that there are geometric differences between some periodic methanol masers which have different variability profiles.

The fundamental plane (FP) is the relation between the surface brightness (I), velocity dispersion (σ) and radius (R). The tilt of FP from the virial plane (R = σ2I) not only tells the dynamical states of the system but also its formation and evolution. We motivate to looking for an FP in Galactic open clusters (OCs). To form a sample of OCs, we access the most recent DR 14 data from the SDSS/APOGEE2 and the Gaia-ESO survey. Membership of stars is determined via radial velocity and metallicity, plus star’s location in the color-magnitude diagram. Besides the velocity dispersion (σrv) obtained from SDSS/APOGEE2 & Gaia-ESO, the average surface brightness (IKs), and apparent radii (r2) of OCs are taken from known OC catalog. A weak relation is found: log(r2) ∝ -0.34 * log(σ) - 0.08 * IKs. An implication of this FP needs further investigation.

Superburst oscillations are high frequency X-ray variations observed during hours’ long superbursts on accreting neutron stars. We investigate a potential mechanism to explain these observations; a buoyant r-mode, excited in the ocean layers of the star. These modes are affected by ash composition in the ocean so are a good probe of nuclear burning processes. The phenomenon could be used in pulse profile modelling as a way of measuring neutron star mass and radius, and so the dense matter equation of state.

The properties of the acoustic modes are sensitive to magnetic activity. The unprecedented long-term Kepler photometry, thus, allows stellar magnetic cycles to be studied through asteroseismology. We search for signatures of magnetic cycles in the seismic data of Kepler solar-type stars. We find evidence for periodic variations in the acoustic properties of about half of the 87 analysed stars. In these proceedings, we highlight the results obtained for two such stars, namely KIC 8006161 and KIC 5184732.

We have started survey observations of the 22 GHz water maser sources associated with high-mass young stellar objects (HM-YSOs) as a part of the KaVA (KVN and VERA Array) large program (LP). The aim of our LP is to understand dynamical evolution of jets/outflows from HM-YSOs by analyzing 3D velocity structures of water maser features. In the first year (2016-2017), an imaging survey toward 25 HM-YSOs has been conducted and the 22 GHz water masers are detected toward 21 sources. Spatial distributions of maser features for individual sources are mapped. To complement physical properties in the vicinity of HM-YSOs, we have carried out ALMA cycle 3 observations of thermal molecular lines and continuum emissions toward 11 selected samples. Summary of the KaVA first year observations and the initial results from the ALMA toward one of our targets, G25.82-0.17, are reported.

Using the data obtained from Kepler satellite, we have analyzed an F-type ultra-fast rotator KIC 6791060. We derive a rotational period of 0.34365±0.00004 d. Multiple periodicity with a period separation of ~0.00016 d was detected, which appears to be a result of the relative velocity between the multiple spot-groups in different stellar latitudes due to the surface differential rotation. Modeling of the surface inhomogeneities using the light curve of 3899 epochs shows the evidence of single active longitude region. The active longitude is found to drift along the longitude at a rate similar to the detected period separation of the F-type star. The surface coverage of cool spots is found to be in the range of ~0.07–0.44%. The low value of the spottedness can be interpreted probably due to the thinner convection zone on the F-type star.

Based on high-resolution spectral observations for a sample of very metal-poor stars, we investigate how well stellar chemical abundances can be derived with available theoretical methods and computational tools.

The Space WEeatherR TOr vergata university (SWERTO) service is an operational Space Weather service based on multi-instrument data from space-based (PAMELA, ALTEA) and ground-based (IBIS, MOTHII) instruments. The service (spaceweather.roma2.infn.it) is located at the Physics Department of the University of Rome Tor Vergata, Italy (UTOV) and will allow registered users to access scientific data from instrumentation available to UTOV researchers through national and international collaborations. It will provide intuitive software for the selection and visualization of such data and results from prototype forecasting codes for flare probability and Solar Energetic Particle (SEP) fluxes. The service is designed to promote access to technical and scientific information by the regional industries which employ technologies vulnerable to Space Weather effects. Basically, SWERTO aims to: i) design and construct a data-base with particle fluxes recorded by space missions and spectro-polarimetric measurements of the solar photosphere; ii) allow an Open Access to the data-base and to prototype forecasts to regional industries involved and exposed to Space Weather effects; iii) implement a tutorial and a FAQ section to help decision makers to became aware of and evaluate the risks from Space Weather events; iv) outreach and customer products. SWERTO has been financed by the Regione Lazio FILAS-RU-2014-1028 grant.

We present the results of a systematic study of all magnetar outbursts observed to date through a reanalysis of data acquired in about 1100 X-ray observations. We track the temporal evolution of the luminosity for all these events, model empirically their decays, and estimate the characteristic decay time-scales and the energy involved. We study the link between different parameters, and reveal several correlations between different quantities. We discuss our results in the framework of the models proposed to explain the triggering mechanism and evolution of magnetar outbursts.

We have conducted a large-scale survey of variable stars in the northern Galactic plane, about 320 square degrees using Kiso Wide Field Camera attached to the 105-cm Schmidt telescope at Kiso observatory. In the KISOGP (KWFC Intensive Survey of the Galactic Plane), we collected 40–100 epoch I-band images between 2012 and 2017. In our survey region roughly 5 million stars exist down to the limiting magnitude of ~16.5 mag in I. In the initial data analysis, we detected a couple of thousands of variable stars including approximately 100 Cepheids and more than 700 Miras. More than 80 percents of them were not previously reported as variable stars, indicating that there are still many relatively bright variables to be found in the Galactic plane.

For the high-sensitivity 6.7 GHz methanol maser observations, we developed a new technology for coherently combining the two signals from the Hitachi 32 m radio telescope and the Takahagi 32 m radio telescope of the Japanese VLBI Network. Furthermore, we compared the SNRs of the 6.7 GHz maser spectra for two methods. One is a VLBI method and the other is the newly developed digital position switching, which is a similar technology to that used in noise-cancelling headphones. We report the phase-up technique and the observation.

Radio continuum surveys are equally sensitive to all pulsars, not affected by dispersion measure smearing, scattering or orbital modulation of spin periods, and therefore allow us to search for extreme pulsars, such as sub-millisecond pulsars, pulsar-black hole systems and pulsars in the Galactic Centre. As we move towards the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) era, searching for pulsars in continuum images will complement conventional pulsar searches, and make it possible to find extreme objects.

We have begun a project aimed at providing a large consistent set of well- vetted solar analogs in order to address questions of stellar rotation, activity, dynamos, and gyrochronology. We make use of the K2 mission fields to obtain precise photometric time series, supplemented by ground-based photometric and spectroscopic data for promising candidates. From this data we will derive rotation periods, spot coverages, and flare rates for a well- defined and well-calibrated sample of solar analogs.

The aim of the Ionosphere Prediction Service (IPS) project is to design and develop a prototype platform to translate the prediction and forecast of the ionosphere effects into a service customized for specific GNSS user communities. The project team is composed by Telespazio (coordinator), Nottingham Scientific Ltd, Telespazio Vega Deutschland, the University of Nottingham, the University of Rome “Tor Vergata” and the Italian Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV). The IPS development is conceived of two concurrent activities: prototype service design and development & research activity that will run along the whole project. Service design and development is conceived into four phases: user requirements collection, architecture specification, implementation and validation of the prototype. A sub-activity analyses also the integration feasibility in the Galileo Service center, located in Madrid. The research activity is the scientific backbone of IPS that will provide the models and algorithms for the forecasting products.

Using high-precision photometry from the Kepler mission, we investigate patterns of spot activity on the K1-type subgiant component of KIC 11560447, a short-period late-type eclipsing binary. We tested the validity of maximum entropy reconstructions of starspots by numerical simulations. Our procedure successfully captures up to three large spot clusters migrating in longitude. We suggest a way to measure a lower limit for stellar differential rotation, using slopes of spot patterns in the reconstructed time-longitude diagram. We find solar-like differential rotation and recurrent spot activity with a long-term trend towards a dominant axisymmetric spot distribution during the period of observations.

We report the results of abundance analysis for high-resolution spectra of eight extremely metal-poor turn-off stars selected from SDSS/SEGUE. Based on differential analysis adopting stellar parameters from Balmer line profiles, we obtain the following results: i) Statistically significant scatter is found in [X/Fe] (X=Na, Mg, Cr, Ti, Sr and Ba), among which [Na/Fe] shows an apparent bimodal distribution, ii) Li abundances are ~0.3 dex lower in [Fe/H]<−3.5 than the Spite plateau value without significant scatter.

The overview of a Phased Array Feed (PAF) system and the early results with it on the 100 m diameter telescope at Effelsberg are presented in the paper.

The paper outlines the space-weather-related observations, instrumentation, research and service developments carried out at the Geophysical Centre of the Royal Meteorological Institute (RMI) in Dourbes, Belgium.

We will report the activities of the VERA single-dish observations. We are carrying out single-dish observations with two purposes. The first purpose is the monitoring of known H2O maser sources. At present, we are carrying out monitoring observations for 312 H2O maser sources at intervals of two months. The second purpose is the search for new water maser sources. We selected 901 target sources from the AKARI FIS Bright Source Catalogue. We found 61 new H2O maser sources.