We describe system verification tests and early science results from the pulsar processor (PTUSE) developed for the newly commissioned 64-dish SARAO MeerKAT radio telescope in South Africa. MeerKAT is a high-gain (${\sim}2.8\,\mbox{K Jy}^{-1}$) low-system temperature (${\sim}18\,\mbox{K at }20\,\mbox{cm}$) radio array that currently operates at 580–1 670 MHz and can produce tied-array beams suitable for pulsar observations. This paper presents results from the MeerTime Large Survey Project and commissioning tests with PTUSE. Highlights include observations of the double pulsar $\mbox{J}0737{-}3039\mbox{A}$, pulse profiles from 34 millisecond pulsars (MSPs) from a single 2.5-h observation of the Globular cluster Terzan 5, the rotation measure of Ter5O, a 420-sigma giant pulse from the Large Magellanic Cloud pulsar PSR $\mbox{J}0540{-}6919$, and nulling identified in the slow pulsar PSR J0633–2015. One of the key design specifications for MeerKAT was absolute timing errors of less than 5 ns using their novel precise time system. Our timing of two bright MSPs confirm that MeerKAT delivers exceptional timing. PSR $\mbox{J}2241{-}5236$ exhibits a jitter limit of $<4\,\mbox{ns h}^{-1}$ whilst timing of PSR $\mbox{J}1909{-}3744$ over almost 11 months yields an rms residual of 66 ns with only 4 min integrations. Our results confirm that the MeerKAT is an exceptional pulsar telescope. The array can be split into four separate sub-arrays to time over 1 000 pulsars per day and the future deployment of S-band (1 750–3 500 MHz) receivers will further enhance its capabilities.

We illustrate the extraordinary discovery potential for extragalactic astrophysics of a far-infrared/submillimetre (far-IR/submm) all-sky spectroscopic survey with a 3-m-class space telescope. Spectroscopy provides a three-dimensional view of the Universe and allows us to take full advantage of the sensitivity of present-day instrumentation, close to fundamental limits, overcoming the spatial confusion that affects broadband far-IR/submm surveys. A space telescope of the 3-m class (which has already been described in recent papers) will detect emission lines powered by star formation in galaxies out to $z\,{\simeq}\,8$. It will specifically provide measurements of spectroscopic redshifts, star-formation rates (SFRs), dust masses, and metal content for millions of galaxies at the peak epoch of cosmic star formation and of hundreds of them at the epoch of reionisation. Many of these star-forming galaxies will be strongly lensed; the brightness amplification and stretching of their sizes will make it possible to investigate (by means of follow-up observations with high-resolution instruments like ALMA, JWST, and SKA) their internal structure and dynamics on the scales of giant molecular clouds (40–100 pc). This will provide direct information on the physics driving the evolution of star-forming galaxies. Furthermore, the arcmin resolution of the telescope at submm wavelengths is ideal for detecting the cores of galaxy proto-clusters, out to the epoch of reionisation. Due to the integrated emission of member galaxies, such objects (as well as strongly lensed sources) will dominate at the highest apparent far-IR luminosities. Tens of millions of these galaxy-clusters-in-formation will be detected at $z \simeq 2 - 3$–3, with a tail extending out to $z\,{\simeq}\,7$, and thousands of detections at $6\,{<}\,z\,{<}\,7$. Their study will allow us to track the growth of the most massive halos well beyond what is possible with classical cluster surveys (mostly limited to $z\,\lesssim\, 1.5 - 2$–2), tracing the history of star formation in dense environments and teaching us how star formation and galaxy-cluster formation are related across all epochs. The obscured cosmic SFR density of the Universe will thereby be constrained. Such a survey will overcome the current lack of spectroscopic redshifts of dusty star-forming galaxies and galaxy proto-clusters, representing a quantum leap in far-IR/submm extragalactic astrophysics.

We report the bivariate $\rm HI$- and $\rm H_{2}$-stellar mass distributions of local galaxies in addition of an inventory of galaxy mass functions, MFs, for $\rm HI$, $\rm H_{2}$, cold gas, and baryonic mass, separately into early- and late-type galaxies. The MFs are determined using the $\rm HI$ and $\rm H_{2}$ conditional distributions and the galaxy stellar mass function (GSMF). For the conditional distributions we use the results from the compilation presented in Calette et al. [(2018) RMxAA, 54, 443.]. For determining the GSMF from $M_{*}\sim3\times10^{7}$ to $3\times10^{12}\ \text{M}_{\odot}$, we combine two spectroscopic samples from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey at the redshift range $0.0033<z<0.2$. We find that the low-mass end slope of the GSMF, after correcting from surface brightness incompleteness, is $\alpha\approx-1.4$, consistent with previous determinations. The obtained $\rm HI\,$MFs agree with radio blind surveys. Similarly, the $\rm H_{2}\,$MFs are consistent with CO follow-up optically-selected samples. We estimate the impact of systematics due to mass-to-light ratios and find that our MFs are robust against systematic errors. We deconvolve our MFs from random errors to obtain the intrinsic MFs. Using the MFs, we calculate cosmic density parameters of all the baryonic components. Baryons locked inside galaxies represent 5.4% of the universal baryon content, while $\sim\! 96\%$ of the $\rm HI$ and $\rm H_{2}$ mass inside galaxies reside in late-type morphologies. Our results imply cosmic depletion times of $\rm H_{2}$ and total neutral H in late-type galaxies of $\sim\!1.3$ and 7.2 Gyr, respectively, which shows that late type galaxies are on average inefficient in converting $\rm H_{2}$ into stars and in transforming $\rm HI$ gas into $\rm H_{2}$. Our results provide a fully self-consistent empirical description of galaxy demographics in terms of the bivariate gas–stellar mass distribution and their projections, the MFs. This description is ideal to compare and/or to constrain galaxy formation models.

We present a calibration component for the Murchison Widefield Array All-Sky Virtual Observatory (MWA ASVO) utilising a newly developed PostgreSQL database of calibration solutions. Since its inauguration in 2013, the MWA has recorded over 34 petabytes of data archived at the Pawsey Supercomputing Centre. According to the MWA Data Access policy, data become publicly available 18 months after collection. Therefore, most of the archival data are now available to the public. Access to public data was provided in 2017 via the MWA ASVO interface, which allowed researchers worldwide to download MWA uncalibrated data in standard radio astronomy data formats (CASA measurement sets or UV FITS files). The addition of the MWA ASVO calibration feature opens a new, powerful avenue for researchers without a detailed knowledge of the MWA telescope and data processing to download calibrated visibility data and create images using standard radio astronomy software packages. In order to populate the database with calibration solutions from the last 6 yr we developed fully automated pipelines. A near-real-time pipeline has been used to process new calibration observations as soon as they are collected and upload calibration solutions to the database, which enables monitoring of the interferometric performance of the telescope. Based on this database, we present an analysis of the stability of the MWA calibration solutions over long time intervals.

The observations and simulations have revealed that large-scale magnetic field and outflows can exist in the inner regions of an advection-dominated accretion disc where the resistive diffusion may also be important. In the present paper, the roles of large-scale magnetic field and outflows in the structure of resistive advection-dominated accretion discs are explored by assuming that the accretion flow is radially self-similar. In the non-ideal magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) approximation, the results show that the angular velocity is always sub-Keplerian when both the outflow and the large-scale magnetic field are taken into account. A stronger toroidal field component leads to faster rotation, while the disc rotates with faster rate if the vertical field component is weaker. The increase of magnetic diffusivity causes the infall velocity to be close to Keplerian velocity. Although the previous studies in the ideal MHD approximation have shown that the disc temperature decreases due to the vertical field component, we find that the effect of vertical field component on the temperature of a resistive disc depends on the magnetic diffusivity. When the magnetic diffusivity is high, the more efficient mechanism for decreasing the disc temperature can be the outflows, and not the large-scale magnetic field. In such a limit of the magnetic diffusivity, the components of the large-scale magnetic field enhance the gas temperature. The increase of temperature can lead to heating and acceleration of the electrons and help us to explain the origin of phenomena such as the flares in Sgr A*. On the other hand, the infall velocity in such a limit rises as the temperature increases, and therefore the surface density falls to too low values. Any change in the density profile can alter the structure and the emitted spectrum of disc.

We derive transformation equations between GALEX and UBV colours by using the reliable data of 556 stars. We present two sets of equations: as a function of (only) luminosity class and as a function of both luminosity class and metallicity. The metallicities are provided from the literature, while the luminosity classes are determined by using the PARSEC mass tracks in this study. Small colour residuals and high squared correlation coefficients promise accurate derived colours. The application of the transformation equations to 70 stars with reliable data shows that the metallicity plays an important role in estimation of more accurate colours.

We describe 14 yr of public data from the Parkes Pulsar Timing Array (PPTA), an ongoing project that is producing precise measurements of pulse times of arrival from 26 millisecond pulsars using the 64-m Parkes radio telescope with a cadence of approximately 3 weeks in three observing bands. A comprehensive description of the pulsar observing systems employed at the telescope since 2004 is provided, including the calibration methodology and an analysis of the stability of system components. We attempt to provide full accounting of the reduction from the raw measured Stokes parameters to pulse times of arrival to aid third parties in reproducing our results. This conversion is encapsulated in a processing pipeline designed to track provenance. Our data products include pulse times of arrival for each of the pulsars along with an initial set of pulsar parameters and noise models. The calibrated pulse profiles and timing template profiles are also available. These data represent almost 21 000 h of recorded data spanning over 14 yr. After accounting for processes that induce time-correlated noise, 22 of the pulsars have weighted root-mean-square timing residuals of $<\!\!1\,\mu\text{s}$ in at least one radio band. The data should allow end users to quickly undertake their own gravitational wave analyses, for example, without having to understand the intricacies of pulsar polarisation calibration or attain a mastery of radio frequency interference mitigation as is required when analysing raw data files.

There are indications that the magnetic field evolution in galaxies might be massively shaped by tidal interactions and mergers between galaxies. The details of the connection between the evolution of magnetic fields and that of their host galaxies is still a field of research.

We use a combined approach of magnetohydrodynamics for the baryons and an N-body scheme for the dark matter to investigate magnetic field amplification and evolution in interacting galaxies.

We find that, for two colliding equal-mass galaxies and for varying initial relative spatial orientations, magnetic fields are amplified during interactions, yet cannot be sustained. Furthermore, we find clues for an active mean-field dynamo.

We present here self-consistent zoom-in simulations of massive galaxies forming in a full cosmological setting. The simulations are run with an updated version of the KETJU code, which is able to resolve the gravitational dynamics of their supermassive black holes, while simultaneously modelling the large-scale astrophysical processes in the surrounding galaxies, such as gas cooling, star formation and stellar and AGN feedback. The KETJU code is able to accurately model the complex behaviour of multiple SMBHs, including dynamical friction, stellar scattering and gravitational wave emission, and also to resolve Lidov–Kozai oscillations that naturally occur in hierarchical triplet SMBH systems. In general most of the SMBH binaries form at moderately high eccentricities, with typical values in the range of , meaning that the circular binary models that are commonly used in the literature are insufficient for capturing the typical binary evolution.

The physical properties of AGN such as accretion rate, column density, temperature of hot corona and other characteristics can be found from X-ray spectral data. We present the results of spatial and spectral analysis for Sy2 type galaxy NGC 3081 obtained with different mathematical tools of the Chandra Interactive Analysis of Observations software. We found evidence of extended emission in 0.5-3.0 keV as well as derived parameters for model A: photon index , column density , warm component and hot component . We detected the presence of a component of the reflection spectrum, Fe Kα emission line with and .

The Sun moves with respect to the local interstellar medium (LISM) and modifies its properties to heliocentric distances as large as 1 pc. The solar wind (SW) is affected by penetration of the LISM neutral particles, especially H and He atoms. Charge exchange between the LISM atoms and SW ions creates pickup ions (PUIs) and secondary neutral atoms that can propagate deep into the LISM. Neutral atoms measured at 1 au can provide us with valuable information on the properties of pristine LISM. Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft perform in situ measurements of the LISM perturbed by the presence of the heliosphere and relate them to the unperturbed region. We discuss observational data and numerical simulations that shed light onto the mutual influence of the SW and LISM. Physical phenomena accompanying the SW–LISM interaction are discussed, including the coupling of the heliospheric and interstellar magnetic field at the heliopause.

Thousands of ring-like bubbles appear on infrared images of the Galaxy plane. Most of these infrared bubbles form during expansion of Hii regions around massive stars. However, the physical effects that determine their morphology are still under debate. Namely, the absence of the infrared emission toward the centres of the bubbles can be explained by pushing the dust grains by stellar radiation pressure. At the same time, small graphite grains and PAHs are not strongly affected by the radiation pressure and must be removed by another process. Stellar ultraviolet emission can destroy the smallest PAHs but the photodestruction is ineffective for the large PAHs. Meanwhile, the stellar wind can evacuate all types of grains from Hii regions. In the frame of our chemo-dynamical model we vary parameters of the stellar wind and illustrate their influence on the morphology and synthetic infrared images of the bubbles.

The detection of an electromagnetic counterpart to the gravitational-wave source GW 170817 marked year zero of the multi-messenger gravitational-wave era. This event was generated by the merger of two neutron stars and gave rise to an electromagnetic transient, dubbed a “kilonova”. In this proceeding article, I will show how radiative transfer simulations can illuminate neutron star mergers and provide a connection between numerical models and observational data. I will present viewing-angle dependent kilonova predictions made with the Monte Carlo radiative transfer code POSSIS and show how these can be used to interpret data, place constraints on models and guide future follow-up campaigns of gravitational-wave triggers.

The hot accretion flow around Kerr black holes is strongly magnetized. Magnetic field loops sustained by a surrounding accretion disk can close within the event horizon. We performed particle-in-cell simulations in Kerr metric to capture the dynamics of the electromagnetic field and of the ambient collisionless plasma in this coupled configuration. We find that a hybrid magnetic topology develops with a closed magnetosphere co-existing with open field lines threading the horizon reminiscent of the Blandford-Znajek solution. Further in the disk, highly inclined open magnetic field lines can launch a magnetically-driven wind. While the plasma is essentially force-free, a current sheet forms above the disk where magnetic reconnection produces macroscopic plasmoids and accelerates particles up to relativistic Lorentz factors. A highly dynamic Y-point forms on the furthest closed magnetic field line, with episodic reconnection events responsible for transient synchrotron emission and coronal heating.

In the first observed neutron star merger, GW170817, two dynamical components, mildly- and ultra-relativistic outflows were detected independently. The first component triggered a rapidly evolving thermal transient named macronova (kilonova), while the second caused an observed short GRB where the early gamma-ray signal was followed by a multi-wavelength afterglow. These two distinct components are typically modelled independently and the observational consequences of their interplay are hardly explored. Here we summarize the results of 3D special-relativistic simulations that we have used to investigate the consequences of jet propagation through a realistic environment. We show how the presence of a jet can lead to the macronova being brighter and bluer for on-axis observers in the first few days. Then we show the consequences on the interaction on the shape of the emerging jet. Finally, we will discuss how small scale features in the emerging jet structure can impact the best-fit afterglow parameters.

The dust properties of the line-of-sight materials in neutron star low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs) can be probed by X-ray observations and laboratory experiments. We use a Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) method to conduct a spectral analysis of Chandra ACIS-S/HETG archival data of a sample of LMXBs, including GX 5-1 and GX 13+1. Our MCMC-based analysis puts constraints on the Si K-edge dust properties of the outflowing disk winds in this sample. Further X-ray observations of other LMXBs will help us better understand the grain features of dense outflows and accretion flows in neutron star binary systems.

The Radio Neutrino Observatory Greenland (RNO-G) is currently being deployed and it is currently gathering data. As a precursor and complementary detector to the future radio array of IceCube-Gen2 in Antarctica, it will explore mainly the Northern sky via in-ice radio detection technique. The total array configuration includes 35 radio stations and will be fully completed within three years from now. The antennas will register the radio signals produced by the Askaryan effect in cascades generated in ice by neutrinos. RNO-G’s scientific purpose is to detect UHE neutrinos at energies above 10 PeV. Due to the attenuation length of radio waves in ice (order of 1 km) the radio detection allows to address neutrino energies above several PeV. The detector will reach unprecedented sensitivity in the scale from tens of PeV up to EeV. Models predict GRBs induced by binary neutron star mergers as likely transient sources of such highly energetic neutrinos. The current study of NS-NS mergers will therefore possibly be complemented by future RNO-G detections through multimessenger temporal and spatial coincidence, including an alert system. In this presentation, we will describe the instrument capabilities and explore the possibility of detection of such sources with RNO-G.

The Earth’s atmosphere is incessantly bombarded by energetic charged particles called cosmic rays (CR) which are having either solar or non-solar origin. Analysis based on information theoretic estimators can be effectively employed as a potential technique to analyze the dynamical changes in cosmic ray intensity during different solar cycles. In the present study, dynamical complexity based analysis using Jensen-Shannon divergence (JSD) has been employed which reveals the existence of some peculiar fluctuation properties in CRI flux at Jung neutron monitor station. JSD based dynamical complexity analyses confirm the existence of difference in dynamical properties of CR flux during solar cycles 20-21 and 22-23.

Multiphase outflows driven by active galactic nuclei (AGN) have a profound impact on the evolution of their host galaxies. The effects of AGN feedback are especially prominent in the brightest cluster galaxies (BCGs) of cool-core clusters, where there is a concentration of gas in all phases, ranging from cold molecular gas to hot, >107 K ionized plasma. In this proceeding I describe recent simulation efforts to understand the formation and evolution of the 10-kpc-scale Hα-emitting filaments driven by AGN activities. Combined with observed star formation regions co-spatial with the filaments, this feedback mechanism can directly contribute to the growth of the central galaxy, albeit delayed by the characteristic radiative cooling timescale, ∼10 Myr, of the outflowing plasma.

The evolution of the magnetic field in neutron star crusts because of the Hall effect has received significant attention over the last two decades, which is strongly justified because of the dominance of this effect in highly magnetised neutron stars. However, the applicability of the Hall effect is based on the assumption that the crust does not fail and sustains its rigidity. This assumption can be violated for substantially strong magnetic fields. If this is the case, the evolution of the magnetic field is described by a different set of equations, which include the effects of a non-rigid crust. In this talk, after a brief review of the main characteristic of the Hall evolution, I will discuss the impact a plastic flow of the crust has on the magnetic field, studying axisymmetric models. Moreover, the way the crust fails impacts the overall evolution, with major differences appearing if the failure is local, intermediate or global. Quite remarkably, crustal failure and plasticity do not annul the Hall effect, and under certain circumstances they may even lead to a more dramatic evolution. I will discuss the impact of these effects in the context of neutron star timing behaviour, with special focus on timing noise, outbursts and glitches.