We present ALMA cycle 0 observations of the luminous merger VV 114. One of the main goals is to investigate mechanisms of molecular line ratio enhancement. Regions with the high 12CO (1–0)/13CO (1–0) and 12CO (3–2)/12CO (1–0) is located at a central filamentary structure (∼6 kpc) in VV 114. The filament consists of the eastern nucleus and the overlap region, where the galaxy disks are colliding. We also investigate these molecular line ratios on the Kennicutt-Schmidt law. VV 114 fills a gap between the “starburst” sequence and the “normal disk” sequence, and regions with the high ratios show the high ΣSFR and ΣH2. We suggest that the high ratios in VV 114 are due to star-forming activities in the both progenitor's nuclei and the merger-induced overlap region.

Dynamical interactions that take place between objects in dense stellar systems lead to frequent formation of exotic stellar objects, unusual binaries, and systems of higher multiplicity. They are most important for the formation of binaries with neutron stars and black holes, which are usually observationally revealed in mass-transferring binaries. Here we review the current understanding of compact object's retention, of the metallicity dependence on the formation of low-mass X-ray binaries with neutron stars, and how mass-transferring binaries with a black hole and a white dwarf can be formed. We discuss as well one old unsolved puzzle and two new puzzles posed by recent observations: what descendants do ultra-compact X-ray binaries produce, how are very compact triples formed, and how can black hole low-mass X-ray binaries acquire non-degenerate companions?

The origin of water and other volatiles in protoplanetary disks can be either interstellar or due to chemical processing during the protoplanetary disk phase. Depending on the strength of the ionization field present during this stage, an active chemical evolution in the protoplanetary disk midplane can lead to formation of complex volatiles on timescales shorter than the disk dissipation timescale. For this reason, we investigate the effects of cosmic rays and the usually neglected cosmic ray induced UV ionization field in time dependent chemical models of protoplanetary disks. These results are benchmarked against our current knowledge of the chemical composition of cometary ices. We conclude that water and other, more complex volatiles can be preserved in the ice mantles of dust grains. This ice mantle growth can also have a significant impact on the dust opacity and hence on the temperature profile of the disk midplane. This effect will be observable in the near future with ALMA.

NEOs come close to the Earth's orbit so that any dust ejected from them, might be seen as a meteor shower. Orbits evolve rapidly, so that a similarity of orbits at one given time is not sufficient to prove a relationship, orbital evolution over a long time interval also has to be similar. Sporadic meteoroids can not be associated with a single parent body, they can only be classified as cometary or asteroidal. However, by considering one parameter criteria, many sporadics are not classified properly therefore two parameter approach was proposed.

With the advent of wide-field surveys, cosmology has entered a new golden age of data where our cosmological model and the nature of dark universe will be tested with unprecedented accuracy, so that we can strive for high precision cosmology. Observational probes like weak lensing, galaxy surveys and the cosmic microwave background as well as other observations will all contribute to these advances. These different probes trace the underlying expansion history and growth of structure in complementary ways and can be combined in order to extract cosmological parameters as best as possible. With future wide-field surveys, observational overlap means these will trace the same physical underlying dark matter distribution, and extra care must be taken when combining information from different probes. Consideration of probe combination is a fundamental aspect of cosmostatistics and important to ensure optimal use of future wide-field surveys.

Here we present the first results from the Siding Spring Southern Seyfert Spectroscopic Snapshot Survey (S7) which aims to investigate the physics of ∼140 radio-detected southern active Galaxies with z<0.02 through Integral Field Spectroscopy using the Wide Field Spectrograph (WiFeS). This instrument provides data cubes of the central 38×25 arc sec. of the target galaxies in the waveband 340–710nm with the unusually high resolution of R=7000 in the red (530–710nm), and R=3000 in the blue (340–560nm). These data provide the morphology, kinematics and the excitation structure of the extended narrow-line region, probe relationships with the black hole characteristics and the host galaxy, measures host galaxy abundance gradients and the determination of nuclear abundances from the HII regions. From photoionisation modelling, we may determine the shape of the ionising spectrum of the AGN, discover whether AGN metallicities differ from nuclear abundances determined from HII regions, and probe grain destruction in the vicinity of the AGN. Here we present some preliminary results and modelling of both Seyfert galaxies observed as part of the survey.

Red supergiant stars (RSGs) are not only a key evolutionary stage of massive stars participating in the chemical evolution of galaxies, they also represent a fantastic and challenging laboratory of (magneto-)hydrodynamics. We present recent results and on-going research on mass loss, atmospheres, and polarimetric studies of RSGs that reveal a magnetic field of unknown origin. We discuss the potential interplay between these different processes.

Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (KASI) successfully completed the development of Korea Microlensing Telescope Network (KMTNet, Park et al. 2012) in mid-2015, following which it conducted test runs for several months. ‘DEep Ecliptic Patrol of the Southern sky’ (DEEP-South, Moon et al. 2015), which will be used for asteroid and comet studies, will not only characterize targeted asteroids, carrying out blind surveys toward the sweet spots, but will also mine the data of such bodies using the KMTNet archive. We report preliminary lightcurves of four Potentially Hazardous Asteroids (PHAs) from test runs at KMTNet-CTIO in the February - May 2015 period.

We present a multiwavelength study of the core and relativistic jet of the radio loud (RL) quasar RGB J1512+020A (z=0.20). We report the discovery of a bright, 13” extended X-ray jet with a short Chandra observation. We discuss the origin of the jet X-ray emission and its properties in comparison with sample of X-ray quasar jets. The broadband core spectrum is contributed by the emission of the central quasar, by a blazar component, responsible for the γ-ray emission detected by Fermi, and by the host galaxy. We model the non-thermal blazar spectral energy distribution (SED) and constrain the total jet power. The jet power inferred from the blazar SED modeling is in agreement with the values obtained from the total radio power, pointing to a jet that efficiently carries its power up to kiloparsec scales. The quasar emission appears intrinsically weak in the optical-UV band. The disk luminosity estimated from the broad emission lines is lower than the jet power, in agreement with recent results from observations and theory.

We will discuss the evolution of star clusters with a large initial binary fraction, up to 95%. The initial binary population is chosen to follow the invariant orbital-parameter distributions suggested by Kroupa (1995). The Monte Carlo MOCCA simulations of star cluster evolution are compared to the observations of Milone et al. (2012) for photometric binaries. It is demonstrated that the observed dependence on cluster mass of both the binary fraction and the ratio of the binary fractions inside and outside of the half mass radius are well recovered by the MOCCA simulations. This is due to a rapid decrease in the initial binary fraction due to the strong density-dependent destruction of wide binaries described by Marks, Kroupa & Oh (2011). We also discuss a new scenario for the formation of intermediate mass black holes in dense star clusters. In this scenario, intermediate mass black holes are formed as a result of dynamical interactions of hard binaries containing a stellar mass black hole, with other stars and binaries. We will discuss the necessary conditions to initiate the process of intermediate mass black hole formation and the dependence of its mass accretion rate on the global cluster properties.

We present the first measurement of the correlation between the map of the CMB lensing potential derived from the Planck nominal mission data and z ≳ 1.5 galaxies detected by Herschel-ATLAS (H-ATLAS) survey covering about 550 deg2. We detect the cross-power spectrum with a significance of ∼ 8.5σ, ruling out the absence of correlation at 9σ. We check detection with a number of null tests. The amplitude of cross-correlation and the galaxy bias are estimated using joint analysis of the cross-power spectrum and the galaxy survey auto-spectrum, which allows to break degeneracy between these parameters. The estimated galaxy bias is consistent with previous estimates of the bias for the H-ATLAS data, while the cross-correlation amplitude is higher than expected for a ΛCDM model. The content of this work is to appear in a forthcoming paper Bianchini, et al. (2014).

The correlation between radio spectral steepness and redshift has been successfully used to find high redshift (z ⩾ 2) radio galaxies, but the origin of this relation is unknown. The ultra-steep spectra of high-z radio sources make them ideally suited for studies with the Low Band Antenna of the new Low Frequency Array, which covers 10–80 MHz and has baselines up to about 1300 km. As part of an ongoing survey, we use the longest baselines to map the low-frequency (< 70 MHz) spatial distributions along the jets of 5 bright extended steep spectrum high-z radio sources. From this, we will determine whether the spectra change over these spatially resolved sources, thereby constraining particle acceleration processes. We present early results from our low-frequency survey of ultra-steep spectrum radio galaxies. The first low frequency long baseline images of these objects are presented.

We implement the Single Degenerate (SD) scenario proposed for Type Ia Supernova (SNIa) progenitors in SPH simulations. We analyse the chemical evolution of bulge-type galaxies together with the observed correlations relating SNIa rates with the characteristics of the host galaxy, such as their SFR. The models reproduce the observed signatures shown by [O/Fe] ratios in the Galactic Bulge and the present day SNIa rates. Also, the observed correlation found by Sullivan et al. (2006) between SSFR (specific star formation rate) and the SNIa rate per unit of galaxy mass (SSNIaR), naturally arises. This analysis helps to set more stringent constraints to the galaxy formation models and gives some hint on the progenitor problem.

Within a period of ~3 months there were two extended mission flybys of comets. Both encounters have provided an exciting new view of comet activity and volatile composition that is changing our paradigm of these small early solar system remnants. The EPOXI mission flew past the nucleus of comet 103P/Hartley 2 on 4 Nov. 2010. This small nucleus was known to be exceptionally active prior to the encounter, by virtue of a very large water production rate relative to its surface area. Both the encounter and ground-based data showed that comet Hartley 2fs perihelion activity was dominated by sub-surface CO2 outgassing rather than by water, suggesting our classic comet formation picture is not correct. The gas flow carried large grains (up to >10 cm in diameter) from the nucleus, and the icy grains contributed to the large observed water production. The CO2 abundance relative to water varies with rotation between 10-20% between the two lobes of the nucleus. The bi-lobed nucleus is rotating in an excited state, with a period that varied rapidly from ~16.5 hrs to longer than 18.5 hrs over 3 months. The nucleus morphology was different from that of other nuclei visited by space craft, with some regions of rough topography in which surface ice was visible. On 2011 Feb. 14 the Stardust-NExT spacecraft flew past the nucleus of comet 9P/Tempel 1, the target of the Deep Impact (DI) experiment in July 2005. The mission goal was to look at the nucleus after and intervening perihelion passage, extending the surface area imaged during the DI encounter and also image the 2005 impact site. The layering seen during the DI flyby was exhibited over the areas newly imaged in the NExT flyby, and it was found that 30% of the nucleus was covered by smooth deposits that were likely caused by eruption of subsurface materials. Although it has long been known that comets lose on average ~ a meter of their surface per perihelion passage, it was surprising to see that in the regions imaged by both DI and NExT there was little change in the surface photometric properties and morphology with the exception of the prominent smooth flow edges. As seen from both the spacecraft and ground-based campaign, the comet continued its trend of decreasing activity from previous perihelion passages. We will present highlights from both missions and discuss implications for formation scenarios.

The Spacewatch Project uses four telescopes of apertures 0.9-m, 1.8-m, 2.3-m, and 4-m on Kitt Peak mountain in Arizona for followup astrometry of priority NEOs. Objects as faint as V=23 on the MPC's NEO Confirmation Page, targets of radar, potential impactors, targets of spacecraft observations or visits, and PHAs with future close approaches to Earth receive priority for astrometry.

In a recent study, we derived individual distances for a sample of pre-main sequence stars that define the comoving association of young stars in the Lupus star-forming region. Here, we use these new distances to investigate the mass and age distributions of Lupus T Tauri stars and derive the average disk lifetime in the Lupus association based on an empirical disk model.

We present the results of 1.3 and 3.6 cm radio continuum emission toward the NGC 2071IR star-forming region, carried out with the VLA in its A configuration. We detect continuum emission toward the infrared sources IRS 1 and IRS 3 at both wavelengths. In particular, IRS 1 breaks up into three continuum peaks (IRS 1E, 1C, and 1W), aligned in the east-west direction, being IRS 1 the central source. The morphology of the condensation IRS 1W is very interesting, which has an elongated structure and shows a significant curvature towards the north. We suggest that this morphology could be explained as the impact of a high-velocity wind or jetlike outflow from IRS 1 on a close companion or other obstruction, which also explains the strong water maser emission observed toward IRS 1W.

Combining datasets from different experiments and probes to constrain cosmological models is an important challenge in observational cosmology. We summarize a framework for measuring the constraining power and the consistency of separately or jointly analyzed data within a given model that we proposed in earlier work (Seehars et al.2014). Applying the Kullback-Leibler divergence to posterior distributions, we can quantify the difference between constraints and distinguish contributions from gains in precision and shifts in parameter space. We show results from applying this technique to a combination of datasets and probes such as the cosmic microwave background or baryon acoustic oscillations.

We have used the Submillimeter Array (SMA) to image, at ~1″ resolution, C2H(3−2) emission from the molecule-rich circumstellar disks orbiting the nearby, classical T Tauri star systems TW Hya and V4046 Sgr. The SMA imaging reveals that the C2H emission exhibits a ring-like morphology within each disk; the radius of the inner hole of the C2H ring within the V4046 Sgr disk (~70 AU) is somewhat larger than than of its counterpart within the TW Hya disk (~45 AU). We suggest that, in each case, the C2H emission likely traces irradiation of the tenuous surface layers of the outer disks by high-energy photons from the central stars.

Meteorites are some of the most important and valuable rocks available for scientific study. Approximately 43,000 meteorites are known on Earth and are egeologicalf samples of extraterrestrial bodies - meteorites are known to originate from asteroids, the Moon, Mars and possibly comets. With expanding exploration of our Solar System, meteorites provide the eground truthf to compare data collected by robotic missions with results gained from a variety of more accurate and precise techniques using laboratories on Earth. This talk will give an introduction to the history of meteorite science and the importance of meteorite collections to the field of meteoritics, planetary and solar system science. Curation of extraterrestrial samples is a particularly pertinent issue, especially with regards to particularly rare samples such as those from Mars like the recent Tissint meteorite. Future sample return missions to asteroids and Mars also pose siginificant challenges around the curation of these precious materials. Issues surrounding the curation of samples and how curation and curatorial actions can influence scientific studies will also be discussed.