During the last decade multiwavelength observations of blazars have revealed many interesting patterns in their emission across the EM spectrum. In the present article we will review the time-dependent one-zone models and the models which advocate an acceleration and a radiation zone, and we will make some comparisons between them, especially in light of recent observations of the so-called TeV blazars.

Sites of recent star formation often radiate strong maser emission from methanol transitions near 6-6 and 12 GHz. We have studied many of these masers over several years and find that intensity variations are common on both transitions. We present observations which demonstrate marked variability in 48 sources. We explore the characteristics of the variability and find it to be typically quasi-periodic, on a timescale of between a month and several years. The amplitude of the variation is most commonly less than a factor of two, but can reach factors of ten. The variability of different features in a source is usually independent. Variability of features seen at both 6·6 and 12 GHz is sometimes correlated, with larger amplitudes usually seen at 12 GHz. A likely inference is that variations are occasionally due to a change in the pump rate throughout the masing region, but most are consistent with a change in the masing path length due to large-scale motions. In addition, it is likely that the majority of 6·6-GHz masers are saturated whereas the 12-GHz masers may be somewhat less saturated.

Astronomy is entering a new era of discovery, coincident with the establishment of new facilities for observation and simulation that will routinely generate petabytes of data. While an increasing reliance on automated data analysis is anticipated, a critical role will remain for visualization-based knowledge discovery. We have investigated scientific visualization applications in astronomy through an examination of the literature published during the last two decades. We identify the two most active fields for progress — visualization of large-N particle data and spectral data cubes—discuss open areas of research, and introduce a mapping between astronomical sources of data and data representations used in general-purpose visualization tools. We discuss contributions using high-performance computing architectures (e.g. distributed processing and GPUs), collaborative astronomy visualization, the use of workflow systems to store metadata about visualization parameters, and the use of advanced interaction devices. We examine a number of issues that may be limiting the spread of scientific visualization research in astronomy and identify six grand challenges for scientific visualization research in the Petascale Astronomy Era.

The Taurus Tunable Filter (TTF) is a tunable narrowband interference filter covering wavelengths from 6300 Å to the sensitivity drop-off of conventional CCDs (∼9600 Å), although a blue ‘arm’ (4000–6500 Å) is to be added by the end of 1997. The TTF offers monochromatic imaging at the Cassegrain foci of both the Anglo-Australian and William Herschel Telescopes, with an adjustable passband of between 6 and 60 Å. In addition, frequency switching with the TTF can be synchronised with movement of charge (charge shuffling) on the CCD, which has important applications to many astrophysical problems. Here we review the different modes of TTF and suggest their use for follow-up narrowband imaging to the AAO/UKST Galactic Plane Hα Survey.

We review the evidence that the ultra-compact dwarf (UCD) galaxies we recently discovered in the Fornax Cluster form a new, previously unknown class of galaxies and we discuss possible scenarios for their formation. We then present recent results that UCDs are also present in the Virgo Cluster, and that there is a much larger than expected population of fainter UCDs in the Fornax Cluster. The size and properties of this population may lead us to revise our original ‘galaxy threshing’ hypothesis for the formation of UCDs.

At a bulge latitude of b = −4°, the average [Fe/H] and [Mg/H] values are +0.06 and +0.17 dex, roughly 0.2 and 0.7 dex higher than the local thin and thick disk values, respectively, suggesting a large bulge effective yield, perhaps due to efficient retention of supernova ejecta.

The bulge vertical [Fe/H] gradient, at ~ 0.5 dex/kpc, appears to be due to a changing mixture of sub-populations (near +0.3 dex and −0.3 dex and one possibly near −0.7 dex) with latitude. At solar [Fe/H], the bulge [Al/Fe] and [α/Fe] ratios are ~ +0.15 dex. Below [Fe/H] < ![CDATA[$ ~ −0.5 dex, the bulge and local thick disk compositions are very similar; but the measured [Mg/Fe], [⟨SiCaTi⟩/Fe], [La/Eu] and dramatic [Cu/Fe] ratios suggest higher SFR in the bulge. However, these composition differences with the thick disk could be due to measurement errors and non-LTE effects.

Unusual zig-zag trends of [Cu/Fe] and [Na/Fe] suggest metallicity-dependent nucleosynthesis by core-collapse supernovae in the Type Ia supernova time-delay scenario.

The bulge sub-population compositions resemble the local thin and thick disks, but at higher [Fe/H], suggesting a radial [Fe/H] gradient of − $0.04]] > to − 0.05 dex/kpc for both the thin and thick disks. If the bulge formed through accretion of inner thin and thick disk stars, it appears that these stars retained vertical scale heights characteristic of their kinematic origin, resulting in the vertical [Fe/H] gradient and [α/Fe] trends seen today.

Diffusive shock acceleration produces a power law momentum distribution f(p)α p−b, with b ≥ 4 for a single shock, and b = 4 for a single strong shock. It has been shown that the distribution for acceleration at a sequence of identical shocks is flatter, approaching f(p)α p−3 below a high energy knee, for an arbitrarily large number of shocks. We show how this flatter distribution arises and discuss the range of momenta over which it extends after a finite number of shocks.

Our re-examination of the neutral hydrogen gas in the Small Magellan Cloud has led to four important results. Firstly, we find that Hindman’s (1967) total content HI map is a satisfactory representation of the gas in the line of sight. Secondly, we find that the HI gas in the SMC exists in four distinct large masses separated from one another in radial velocity by 20 to 30 km s−1. Thirdly, having made this division of the gas we show that there is good correlation between the radial velocities of HII regions, supergiant stars and HI. Finally, we believe that our observations reveal that the SMC is associated with an extremely large trailing halo of HI gas which forms the major component of the inter-cloud bridge region.

The fine-tuning of the universe for intelligent life has received a great deal of attention in recent years, both in the philosophical and scientific literature. The claim is that in the space of possible physical laws, parameters and initial conditions, the set that permits the evolution of intelligent life is very small. I present here a review of the scientific literature, outlining cases of fine-tuning in the classic works of Carter, Carr and Rees, and Barrow and Tipler, as well as more recent work. To sharpen the discussion, the role of the antagonist will be played by Victor Stenger's recent book The Fallacy of Fine-Tuning: Why the Universe is Not Designed for Us. Stenger claims that all known fine-tuning cases can be explained without the need for a multiverse. Many of Stenger's claims will be found to be highly problematic. We will touch on such issues as the logical necessity of the laws of nature; objectivity, invariance and symmetry; theoretical physics and possible universes; entropy in cosmology; cosmic inflation and initial conditions; galaxy formation; the cosmological constant; stars and their formation; the properties of elementary particles and their effect on chemistry and the macroscopic world; the origin of mass; grand unified theories; and the dimensionality of space and time. I also provide an assessment of the multiverse, noting the significant challenges that it must face. I do not attempt to defend any conclusion based on the fine-tuning of the universe for intelligent life. This paper can be viewed as a critique of Stenger's book, or read independently.

Cosmic rays with energies above 1018 eV are currently of considerable interest in astrophysics and are to be further studied in a number of projects which are either currently under construction or the subject of well-developed proposals. This paper aims to discuss some of the physics of such particles in terms of current knowledge and information from particle astrophysics at other energies.

We investigate the present distributions of gas and young stars in the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds (LMC and SMC) based on fully self-consistent numerical simulations of the Clouds for the last ∼0.8 Gyr. Our principal results, which can be tested against observations, are as follows. The last dynamical and hydrodynamical interaction between the Clouds about ∼0.2 Gyr ago can form the apparently off-center bar and peculiar Hı spirals of the LMC. The present spatial distributions of young stars with ages less than ∼20 Myr in the LMC can be significantly asymmetric and clumpy owing to the interaction. A small but non-negligible fraction of stellar and gaseous components can be transferred from the SMC into the LMC during the interaction to form diffuse halo components around the LMC. The burst of star formation in the SMC can be synchronized with that of the LMC about 0.2 Gyr ago in some models. New stars can form from gas in the SMC's tidal tails, one of which can be observed as the Magellanic Bridge (MB). The metallicity distribution function of new stars in the MB has a peak of [Fe/H] ∼ −0.8, which is significantly smaller than the stellar metallicity of the SMC. Based on these results, we discuss the origin of 30 Doradus, the southern molecular ridge of the LMC, the globular cluster ESO 121-SC03, metal-poor inter-Cloud stars within the MB, and giant Hı holes of the LMC.

The abundance of the neutron-rich magnesium isotopes observed in metal-poor stars is explained quantitatively with a chemical evolution model of the local Galaxy that considers — for the first time — the metallicity-dependent contribution from intermediate mass stars. Previous models that simulate the variation of Mg isotopic ratios with metallicity in the solar neighbourhood have attributed the production of 25Mg and 26Mg exclusively to hydrostatic burning in massive stars. These models match the data well for [Fe/H] > –1.0 but severely underestimate 25,26Mg/24Mg at lower metallicities. Earlier studies have noted that this discrepancy may indicate a significant role played by intermediate mass stars. Only recently have detailed calculations of intermediate mass stellar yields of 25Mg and 26Mg become available with which to test this hypothesis. In an extension of previous work, we present a model that successfully matches the Mg isotopic abundances in nearby Galactic disk stars through the incorporation of nucleosynthesis predictions of Mg isotopic production in asymptotic giant branch stars.

With detections of quasars powered by increasingly massive black holes at increasingly early times in cosmic history over the past decade, there has been correspondingly rapid progress made on the theory of early black hole formation and growth. Here, we review the emerging picture of how the first massive black holes formed from the primordial gas and then grew to supermassive scales. We discuss the initial conditions for the formation of the progenitors of these seed black holes, the factors dictating the initial masses with which they form, and their initial stages of growth via accretion, which may occur at super-Eddington rates. Finally, we briefly discuss how these results connect to large-scale simulations of the growth of supermassive black holes in the first billion years after the Big Bang.

We evaluated new colour transformations for the Sloan photometry by 224 standards and used them to revise both the equations for photometric parallax estimation and metallicity calibration cited by Karaali et al. (2003). This process improves the metallicity and absolute magnitude estimations by [Fe/H] ≤ 0.3 dex and Mg′H ≥ 0.1 mag respectively. There is a high correlation for metallicities and absolute magnitudes derived for two systems, UBV and Sloan, by means of the revised calibrations.

We discuss possible stellar origins of short-lived radioactive nuclei with meanlife τ ≤ 100 Myr, which were shown to be alive in the Early Solar System (ESS). We first review current ideas on the production of nuclides having 10 ≤ τ ≤ 100 Myr, which presumably derive from the continuous interplay of galactic astration, nucleosynthesis from massive supernovae and free decay in the interstellar medium. The abundance of the shorter lived 53Mn might be explained by this same scenario. Then we consider the nuclei 107Pd, 26Al, 41Ca and 60Fe, whose early solar system abundances are too high to have originated in this way. Present evidence favours a stellar origin, particularly for 107Pd, 26Al and 60Fe, rather than an in situ production by energetic solar particles. The idea of an encounter (rather close in time and space) between the forming Sun and a dying star is therefore discussed: this star may or may not have also triggered the solar formation. Recent nucleosynthesis calculations for the yields of the relevant short-lived isotopes and of their stable reference nuclei are discussed. Massive stars evolving to type II supernovae (either leaving a neutron star or a black hole as a remnant) seem incapable of explaining the four most critical ESS radioactivities in their observed abundance ratios. An asymptotic giant branch (AGB) star seems to be a viable source, especially if of relatively low initial mass (M ≤ 3 M⊙) and with low neutron exposure: this model can provide a solution for 26Al, 41Ca and 107Pd, with important contributions to 60Fe, which are inside the present uncertainty range of the 60Fe early solar system abundance. Such a model requires that 26Al is produced substantially on the AGB by cool bottom processing. The remaining inventory of short-lived species in the solar nebula would then be attributed to the continuous galactic processing, with the exception of 10Be, which must reflect production by later proton bombardment at a low level during early solar history.

Scattering of radiation from solar radio sources by in homogeneities in the electron density structure of the corona can have marked effects on the observed time profile and the brightness distribution. These effects are appreciable for any localized source emitting a brief burst of radiation and are most pronounced when the radiation propagates close to the plasma level; it is such sources, illustrated here by those of type III bursts, that will be considered in this paper.

Close double neutron stars (DNSs) have been observed as Galactic radio pulsars, while their mergers have been detected as gamma-ray bursts and gravitational wave sources. They are believed to have experienced at least one common envelope episode (CEE) during their evolution prior to DNS formation. In the last decades, there have been numerous efforts to understand the details of the common envelope (CE) phase, but its computational modelling remains challenging. We present and discuss the properties of the donor and the binary at the onset of the Roche lobe overflow (RLOF) leading to these CEEs as predicted by rapid binary population synthesis models. These properties can be used as initial conditions for detailed simulations of the CE phase. There are three distinctive populations, classified by the evolutionary stage of the donor at the moment of the onset of the RLOF: giant donors with fully convective envelopes, cool donors with partially convective envelopes, and hot donors with radiative envelopes. We also estimate that, for standard assumptions, tides would not circularise a large fraction of these systems by the onset of RLOF. This makes the study and understanding of eccentric mass-transferring systems relevant for DNS populations.

The primary present-day observables upon which theories of galaxy evolution are based are a system’s morphology, dynamics, colour, and chemistry. Individually, each provides an important constraint to any given model; in concert, the four represent a fundamental (intractable) boundary condition for chemodynamical simulations. We review the current state-of-the-art semi-analytical and chemodynamical models for the Milky Way, emphasising the strengths and weaknesses of both approaches.

At less than 4 Mpc distance the radio galaxy NGC 5128 (Centaurus A) is the prime example to study the supermassive black hole and its influence on the environment in great detail. To model and understand the feeding and feedback mechanisms one needs an accurate determination of the mass of the supermassive black hole. The aim of this review is to give an overview of the recent studies that have been dedicated to measure the black hole mass in Centaurus A from both gas and stellar kinematics. It shows how the advancement in observing techniques and instrumentation drive the field of black hole mass measurements and concludes that adaptive optics assisted integral field spectroscopy is the key to identify the effects of the AGN on the surrounding ionised gas. Using data from SINFONI at the ESO Very Large Telescope, the best-fit black hole mass is MBH = 4.5(+1.7, −1.0) × 107 M⊙ (from H2 kinematics) and MBH = (5.5 ± 3.0) × 107 M⊙ (from stellar kinematics). This is one of the cleanest gas-versus-star comparisons of a MBH determination, and brings Centaurus A into agreement with the MBH−σ relation.

The Galactic bulge, that is the prominent out-of-plane over-density present in the inner few kiloparsecs of the Galaxy, is a complex structure, as the morphology, kinematics, chemistry, and ages of its stars indicate. To understand the nature of its main components—those at [Fe/H] ≳ −1 dex—it is necessary to make an inventory of the stellar populations of the Galactic disc(s), and of their borders: the chemistry of the disc at the solar vicinity, well known from detailed studies of stars over many years, is not representative of the whole disc. This finding, together with the recent revisions of the mass and sizes of the thin and thick discs, constitutes a major step in understanding the bulge complexity. N-body models of a boxy-/peanut-shaped bulge formed from a thin disc through the intermediary of a bar have been successful in interpreting a number of global properties of the Galactic bulge, but they fail in reproducing the detailed chemo-kinematic relations satisfied by its components and their morphology. It is only by adding the thick disc to the picture that we can understand the nature of the Galactic bulge.