The BINSYN program suite has been ported to a Linux-based operating system. The new program structure is a major revision from the original version and a public version is nearing completion. This paper describes research areas where the program suite is particularly applicabile.

Recent studies have shown that for suitable initial conditions both super- and sub-Chandrasekhar mass carbon-oxygen white dwarf mergers produce explosions similar to observed SNe Ia. The question remains, however, how much fine tuning is necessary to produce these conditions. We performed a large set of SPH merger simulations, sweeping the possible parameter space. We find trends for merger remnant properties, and discuss how our results affect the viability of our recently proposed sub-Chandrasekhar merger channel for SNe Ia.

We report on the simultaneous g′,r′,i′,z′ multiband, high time sampling (18-24s) ground-based photometric observations, which we use to measure the planetary radius and orbital inclination of the extrasolar transiting hot Jupiter WASP-4b. We recorded 987 images during three complete transits with the GROND instrument, mounted on the MPG/ESO-2.2m telescope at La Silla Observatory. Assuming a quadratic law for the stellar limb darkening we derive system parameters by fitting a composite transit light curve over all bandpasses simultaneously. To compute uncertainties of the fitted parameters we employ the Bootstrap Monte Carlo Method. The three central transit times are measured with precision down to 6 s. We find a planetary radius Rp = 1.413 ± 0.020RJup, an orbital inclination i = 88.°57 ± 0.45° and calculate new ephemeris, a period P = 1.33823144 ± 0.00000032 days and reference transit epoch T0 = 2454697.798311 ± 0.000046 (BJD). The analysis of the new transit mid-times in combination with previous measurements imply a constant orbital period and no compelling evidence for TTVs due to additional bodies in the system.

Atmospheric parameters of the Galactic early B-supergiant HD 198478 (55 Cyg) were determined from the UV silicon lines and optical Balmer Hδ 4101 Å line. TLUSTY synthetic spectra were broadened using the ROTIN numerical code in order to determine effective temperature, surface gravity, rotational and macroturbulent velocity.

In this paper we give a progress report on the Herschel observations of planetary nebulae that are carried out as part of the MESS guaranteed time key program.

We present an observational study of three oint-ymmetric lanetary ebulae (PS-PNe): PC 19, He 2-429, and He 1-1, whose kinematics has been previously reported in the literature. The study includes an analysis of physical conditions and chemical abundances. We found that the abundances of He 2-429 and He 1-1 correspond to a Peimbert Type I PNe while those of PC 19 are in good agreement with a Type IV PN. Kinematic evidence derived from proper motion measurement support PC 19 classification and suggest that the progenitor star was a low-mass low-metallicity member of the galactic halo population.

The modelling of the insufficient orbital elements of extra-solar planets (EPs) revolving around one component in a binary star system is investigated in the present paper. This problem is considered in the frame of the three-body problem using the analytical theory of Orlov & Solovaya (1998). In the general case, the motion is defined by the masses of the components and by the six pairs of the initial values of the Keplerian elements. For EPs, it is not possible to obtain the complete set of elements for the orbit, in particular, the ascending node and the angle of the inclination. So, it is possible the two different variants of orbital evolution of EPs depend on the initial conditions. In one case, the orbit is unstable. Using the stability conditions of Solovaya & Pittich (2004), which are presented by the angle of the mutual inclination of the orbits between the EP and distant star, we varied unknown angular elements and defined the regions with possible values of the elements for which the motion of EP stays stable. We applied these calculations to the particular specific EPs: HD19994b, HD196885Ab and HD222404b.

In the frame of ISW model the rates of the evolutionary changes of the flux density and the critical frequency in radio continuum spectrum have been calculated in dependence on the kinematic age of a planetary nebula. The time changes of the instantaneous radio spectra of IC 418 and NGC 6369 do not contradict accounts.

The investigation of post-AGB objects (proto-planetary nebulae) is very important from the standpoint of physical and chemical changes occurring during the late stages of stellar evolution. The Toruń catalogue of Galactic post-AGB and related objects is an evolutive catalogue containing astrometric, photometric and spectroscopic data as well as HST images for all known post-AGB objects and candidates in our Galaxy. This free-access catalogue can serve as an ideal tool to study different groups of post-AGB objects, especially due to the fact that all information is gathered in one place. The second release of our catalogue introduces a simple classification scheme of post-AGB objects and includes a significant number of new objects, photometric data, spectra and images. Here, using objects from the catalogue we consider the problem of the termination of the AGB phase.

We review gas-phase abundances in PNe and describe their dual utility as archives of original progenitor metallicity via the α elements, as well as sources of processed material from nucleosynthesis during the star's evolution, i.e., C, N, and s-process elements. We describe the analysis of PN spectra to derive abundances and discuss the discrepancies that arise from different choices at each step. Abundance results for the Milky Way and Magellanic Clouds from various groups of investigators are presented; the observational results are compared with theoretical predictions of AGB stellar yields. Finally, we suggest areas where more work is needed to improve our abilities to determine abundances in PNe.

We analyse the chromospherical activity of stars with extrasolar planets and search for a possible correlation between the equivalent width of the core of the Ca II K line and orbital parameters of the planet. We found statistically significant evidence that the equivalent width of the Ca II K line reversal, which originates in the stellar chromosphere, depends on the orbital period Porb of the exoplanet. Planets orbiting stars with Teff < 5 500 K and with Porb < 20 days generally have much stronger emission than planets at similar temperatures but at longer orbital periods. Porb = 20 days marks a sudden change in behaviour, which might be associated with a qualitative change in the star-planet interaction.

Spectrophotometric data of a number of planetary nebulae and compact HII regions of NGC 300 have been obtained with the FORS 2 spectrograph of the VLT. We present a preliminary analysis of such data.

K3-35 is an extremely young bipolar planetary nebula that contains a precessing bipolar jet and a small (radius 80 AU) water maser equatorial ring. We have obtained VISIR-VLT images of K3-35 in the PAH1 (λ=8.6 μm), [S iv] (λ=10.6 μm), and SiC (λ=11.85 μm) filters to analize the mid-IR morphology and the temperature structure of its dust emission. The images show the innermost nebular regions undetected at optical wavelegths and the precessing bipolar jets. The temperature map shows variations in the temperature in the equatorial zone and in regions associated to its jets.

A preliminary VLT-UVES spectrum of NGC 6302 (Casassus et al. 2002, MN), which hosts one of the hottest PN nuclei known (T eff ~ 220000 K; Wright et al. 2011, MN), has been recently analysed by means of X-SSN, a spectrum synthesis code for nebulae (Morisset and Péquignot). Permitted recombination lines from highly-ionized species are detected/identified for the first time in a PN, and some of them probably for the first time in (astro)physics. The need for a homogeneous, high signal-to-noise UVES spectrum for NGC 6302 is advocated.

Using our new general-relativistic, radiation hydrodynamics, Lagrangian code, we computed a rather extended grid of hydrogen-rich core-collapse supernovae (CC-SNe) models and explored the potentials of their “standardization” as distance indicators. We discuss the properties of some calibrations previously reported in the literature, and present new correlations based on the behavior of the light curve that can be employed for calibrating hydrogen-rich CC-SNe using only photometric data.

Galactic bulge planetary nebulae show evidence of mixed chemistry with emission from both silicate dust and PAHs. This mixed chemistry is unlikely to be related to carbon dredge up, as third dredge-up is not expected to occur in the low mass bulge stars. We show that the phenomenon is widespread, and is seen in 30 nebulae out of our sample of 40. A strong correlation is found between strength of the PAH bands and morphology, in particular, the presence of a dense torus. A chemical model is presented which shows that hydrocarbon chains can form within oxygen-rich gas through gas-phase chemical reactions. We conclude that the mixed chemistry phenomenon occurring in the galactic bulge planetary nebulae is best explained through hydrocarbon chemistry in an UV-irradiated, dense torus.

We analyze the kinematics of disk planetary nebulae (PNe) to derive the formal Galactic center distance, R 0, for three catalogues of PNe distances. Then we correct the catalogues' distance scales renormalizing the PNe distances by the ratios of formal R 0 values to a best modern value of R 0 =7.9 kpc. The created new catalogue of disk's PNe distances was found to be in a good agreement with distances by Stanghellini et al. (2008). Our catalogue of PNe distances was used to recalibrate the statistical distance scale for all Galactic PNe.

We present preliminary results of our deep Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA) radio-continuum survey of the Magellanic Clouds Planetary Nebulae.

In this review, I summarize the observational attempts made so far to unveil the nature of the progenitor system(s) of Type Ia supernovae. In particular, I focus on the most recent developments that followed the claimed detection of circumstellar material around a few events, and on the link this possibly establishes with recurrent novae. In this framework, I then discuss the case of RS Oph, what we know of its circumstellar environment, and what this is telling us about its supposed connection to Type Ia supernovae explosions.

I review our current understanding of the evolution of stars which experience carbon burning under conditions of partial electron degeneracy and ultimately become thermally pulsing “super” asymptotic giant branch (SAGB) stars with electron-degenerate cores composed primarily of oxygen and neon. The range in stellar mass over which this occurs is very narrow and the interior evolutionary characteristics vary rapidly over this range. Consequently, while those stars with larger masses (~11 M⊙) are likely to undergo electron-capture accretion induced collapse, those models with smaller masses (8.5 ≲ M/M⊙ ≲ 10.5) will presumably form massive (M ≳ 1.1 M⊙) white dwarfs. The final outcome depends sensitively on the adopted mass-loss rates, the chemical composition of the massive envelopes, and on the adopted prescription for convective mixing.