The business meeting of IAU Commission 15 (C15) took place in Beijing on 29 August 2012, from 14:00 to 18:00, in room 405 of the China National Convention Center. This report of the business meeting of Commission 15 at the 2012 IAU GA is based on the report provided by Alberto Cellino, past president, and on the minutes taken by Daniel Hestroffer, secretary of Commission 15 in the triennium 2009 to 2012, and current secretary.

A total of 85 CP stars of various types are identified among 814 members of the Orion OB1 association. We selected 59 Bp stars, which account for 13.4% of the total number of B type stars in the association. The fraction of peculiar B type stars in the association is found to be twice higher than that of peculiar A type stars.

Magnetic field are found in 22 stars, 17 of them are objects with anomalous helium lines. No significant differences are found between the field strengths in the Bp type stars of the association and Bp type field stars. We identified 17 binaries, which make up 20% of the total number of peculiar stars studied which is the standard ratio for CP stars.

The X-ray surface fluxes of intermediate-mass G and K giants are correlated with their rotation periods and Rossby numbers. Empirical relationships are presented that accounts for the X-ray luminosity evolution of single intermediate-mass giants, such as FK Comae-type stars, and of giants in close or long-period binaries, such as RS CVn-type systems, as they evolve off the main sequence towards the top of the red giant branch.

Using data of fast-rotating active dwarf stars in the Kepler database, we perform time-frequency analysis of the light curves in order to search for signs of activity cycles. We use the phenomenon that the active region latitudes vary with the cycle (like the solar butterfly diagram), which causes the observed rotation period to change as a consequence of differential rotation. We find cycles in 8 cases of the 39 promising targets with periods between of 300–900 days.

Dynamos operating in the interiors of rapidly rotating planets and low-mass stars might belong to a similar category where rotation plays a vital role. We quantify this similarity using scaling laws. We analyse direct numerical simulations of Boussinesq and anelastic spherical shell dynamos. These dynamos represent simplified models which span from Earth-like planets to rapidly rotating low-mass stars. We find that magnetic field and velocity in these dynamos are related to the available buoyancy power via a simple power law which holds over wide variety of control parameters.

Eclipsing binaries can in principle provide additional constraints to facilitate asteroseismology of one or more pulsating components. We have identified 94 possible eclipsing binary systems in a sample of over 1800 stars observed in long cadence as part of the Kepler Guest Observer Program to search for γ Doradus and δ Scuti star candidates. We show the results of a procedure to fold the light curve to identify the potential binary period, subtract a fit to the binary light curve, and perform a Fourier analysis on the residuals to search for pulsation frequencies that may arise in one or both of the stellar components. From this sample, we have found a large variety of light curve types; about a dozen stars show frequencies consistent with δ Sct or γ Dor pulsations, or light curve features possibly produced by stellar activity (rotating spots). For several stars, the folded candidate ‘binary’ light curve resembles more closely that of an RR Lyr, Cepheid, or high-amplitude δ Sct star. We show highlights of our results and discuss the potential for asteroseismology of the most interesting objects.

The bipolar or more complex morphology observed in planetary nebulae have been explained by two principal hypothesis: by the existence of a companion and an accreting disk or by the effects of magnetic field, (or a combination of both). Symbiotics are binary systems and some of them show morphologies similar to those observed on planetary nebulae. This fact could support the binary hypothesis for PNe. We have therefore performed polarimetric observations of symbiotic systems and some planetary nebulae in order, first to detect linear polarisation with POLIMA at the San Pedro Mártir observatory, and ultimately to prove the existence and physical properties of those disks. We present here the first results of a project dedicated to the analysis of the polarisation observed in evolved objects starting with the PN M2-9 and R Aqr.

We present a time-series Doppler imaging study of the K-subgiant component in the RS CVn-type binary system IL Hya (Porb=12.905 d). From re-processing the unique long-term spectroscopic dataset of 70 days taken in 1996/97, we perform a thorough cross-correlation analysis to derive surface differential rotation. As a result we get solar-type differential rotation with a shear value α of 0.05, in agreement with preliminary suggestions from previous attempts. A possible surface pattern of meridional circulation is also detected.

Stars consume hydrogen in their interiors but, generally speaking, their surfaces continue to contain some 70% hydrogen (by mass) throughout their lives. Nevertheless, many types of star can be found with hydrogen-deficient surfaces, in some cases with as little as one hydrogen atom in 10 000. Amongst these, the luminous B- and A-type extreme helium stars are genuinely rare; only ~15 are known within a very substantial volume of the Galaxy.

Evidence from surface composition suggests a connection to the cooler R CrB variables and some of the hotter helium-rich subdwarf O stars. Arguments currently favour an origin in the merger of two white dwarfs; thus there are also connections with AM CVn variables and Type Ia supernovae. Pulsations in many extreme helium stars provide an opportune window into their interiors. These pulsations have unusual properties, some being “strange” modes, and others being driven by Z-bump opacities. They have the potential to deliver distance-independent masses and to provide a unique view of pulsation physics.

We review the evolutionary origin and pulsations of these stars, and introduce recent progress and continuing challenges.

It is now believed that magnetohydrodynamic equilibria can exist in stably stratified stars due to the seminal works of Braithwaite & Spruit (2004) and Braithwaite & Nordlund (2006). What is still not known is whether magnetohydrodynamic equilibria can exist in a barotropic star, in which stable stratification is not present. It has been conjectured by Reisenegger (2009) that there will likely not exist any magnetohydrodynamical equilibria in barotropic stars. We aim to test this claim by presenting preliminary MHD simulations of barotropic stars using the three dimensional stagger code of Nordlund & Galsgaard (1995).

The President of C12, Alexander Kosovichev, presented the status of the Commission and its working Group(s). Primary activities included organization of international meetings (IAU Symposia, Special Sessions and Joint Discussion); review and support of proposals for IAU sponsored meetings; organization of working groups on the Commission topics to promote the international cooperation; preparation of triennial report on the organizational and science activities of Commission members. Commission 12 broadly encompasses topics of solar research which include studies of the Sun's internal structure, composition, dynamics and magnetism (through helioseismology and other techniques), studies of the quiet photosphere, chromosphere and corona, and also research of the mechanisms of solar radiation, and its variability on various time scales. Some overlap with topics covered by Commission 10 Solar Activity is unavoidable, and many activities are sponsored jointly by these two commissions. The Commission website can be found at http://sun.stanford.edu/IAU-Com12/, with information about related IAU Symposiums and activities, and links to appropriate web sites.

The President of the IAU, Prof. Robert Williams, welcomed the delegates and members to this first business session of the General Assembly. The President invited the General Secretary, Dr. Ian Corbett, to start the business session.

We present some results of long-term studies of pulsating stars conducted in the course of the OGLE and Araucaria projects. In particular, very scarce eclipsing binaries containing pulsating stars are discussed. Such systems provide a unique opportunity to improve calibration of the cosmic distance scale and to better calibrate stellar evolutionary models.

Using a cosmological hydrodynamical simulation of a galaxy of similar mass to the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), we examine the predicted characteristics of its lowest metallicity populations. In particular, we emphasise the spatial distributions of first (Pop III) and second (polluted by only immediate Pop III ancestors) generation stars. We find that primordial composition stars form not only in the central galaxy’s progenitor, but also in locally collapsed subhaloes during the early phases of galaxy formation. The lowest metallicity stars in these subhaloes end up in a relatively extended distribution around the host, with these accreted stars possessing present-day galactocentric distances as great as ~40 kpc. By contrast, the earliest stars formed within the central galaxy remain in the inner region, where the vast majority of star formation occurs, for the entirety of the simulation. Consequently, the fraction of stars that are from the earliest generation increases strongly with radius.

The Five-hundred-metre Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST) uses adaptive spherical panels to achieve a huge collecting area for radio waves. In this paper, we try to explore the optimal parameters for the curvature radius of spherical panels and the focal distance by comparison of the calculated beam patterns. We show that to get the best beam shape and maximum gain, the optimal curvature radius of panels is around 300 m, and a small shift in the focal distance of a few cm is needed. The aperture efficiency can be improved by ~10% at 3 GHz by this small shift. We also try to optimise the panel positioning for the best beam, and find that panel shifts of a few mm can improve the beam pattern by a similar extent. Our results indicate that accurate control of the feed and panel positions to the mm level is very crucial for the stability of FAST's observational performance.

We present metallicity-dependent transformation equations between UBV and SDSS ugr colours for red giants with synthetic data. The ranges of the colours used for the transformations are 0.400 ≤ (B − V)0 ≤ 1.460, −0.085 ≤ (U − B)0 ≤ 1.868, 0.291 ≤ (g − r)0 ≤ 1.326, and 1.030 ≤ (u − g)0 ≤ 3.316 mag, and cover almost all the observational colours of red giants. We applied the transformation equations to six clusters with different metallicities and compared the resulting (u − g)0 colours with those estimated by the calibration of the fiducial sequences of the clusters. The mean and standard deviation of the residuals for all clusters are <Δ(u − g)0> = −0.01 and σ(u − g)0 = 0.07 mag, respectively. We showed that interstellar reddening plays an important role on the derived colours. The transformations can be applied to clusters as well as to field stars. They can be used to extend the colour range of the red giants in the clusters which are restricted due to the saturation of the SDSS data.

The differences between cold dark matter (CDM) and warm dark matter (WDM) in the formation of a group of galaxies are examined by running two identical simulations, where in the WDM case the initial power spectrum has been altered to mimic a 1-keV dark matter particle. The CDM initial conditions were constrained to reproduce at z = 0 the correct local environment within which a ‘Local Group’ (LG) of galaxies may form. Two significant differences between the two simulations are found. While in the CDM case a group of galaxies that resembles the real LG forms, the WDM run fails to reproduce a viable LG, instead forming a diffuse group which is still expanding at z = 0. This is surprising since, due to the suppression of small-scale power in its power spectrum, WDM is naively expected to only affect the collapse of small haloes and not necessarily the dynamics on a scale of a group of galaxies. Furthermore, the concentration of baryons in halo centre is greater in CDM than in WDM and the properties of the discs differ.

We characterise the Millimetre Astronomy Legacy Team 90 GHz Survey (MALT90) and the Mopra telescope at 90 GHz. We combine repeated position-switched observations of the source G300.968+01.145 with a map of the same source in order to estimate the pointing reliability of the position-switched observations and, by extension, the MALT90 survey; we estimate our pointing uncertainty to be 8 arcsec. We model the two strongest sources of systematic gain variability as functions of elevation and time-of-day and quantify the remaining absolute flux uncertainty. Corrections based on these two variables reduce the scatter in repeated observations from 12%–25% down to 10%–17%. We find no evidence for intrinsic source variability in G300.968+01.145. For certain applications, the corrections described herein will be integral for improving the absolute flux calibration of MALT90 maps and other observations using the Mopra telescope at 90 GHz.