The UVIT ultraviolet and visual band detectors and electronics for the ASTROSAT observatory were calibrated in the vacuum laboratory at the University of Calgary. This work was supported by the Canadian Space Agengy and carried out prior to integration with the UVIT optical assembly and the ASTROSAT spacecraft. The multiband (X-ray, ultraviolet and optical) ASTROSAT observatory was successfully launched by the Indian Space Research Organization on Sept. 28, 2015, with subsequent in-orbit verification and ongoing calibration activities. Here we discuss the current issues of calibrating the UVIT data, such as distortion corrections, and how the laboratory data is being used to address these issues.

We examine the metallicity trends in the Milky Way (MW) bulge – using APOGEE DR13 data – and explore their origin by comparing two N-body models of isolated galaxies which develop a bar and a boxy/peanut (b/p) bulge. Both models have been proposed as scenarios for reconciling a disc origin of the MW bulge with a negative vertical metallicity gradient. The first is a superposition of co-spatial disc populations, different scaleheights and metallicities (with flat gradients) where the thick, metal-poor populations contribute significantly to the stellar mass budget in the inner galaxy. The second model is a single disc with an initial steep radial metallicity gradient which gets mapped by the bar into the b/p bulge in such a way that the vertical metallicity gradient of the MW bulge is reproduced – as shown already in previous works in the literature. As we show here, the latter model does not reproduce the positive longitudinal metallicity gradient of the inner disc, nor the metal-poor innermost regions seen in the data. The model with co-spatial thin and thick disc populations reproduces all the aforementioned trends. We therefore see that it is possible to reconcile a (primarily) disc origin for the MW bulge with the observed trends in metallicity by mapping the inner thin and thick discs of the MW into a b/p.

If biologically complex molecules as DNA were present in the extraterrestrial targets, their spectral signatures would be rather difficult to be unambiguously identified. As a matter of fact, the molecular array of a single nucleobasis will generate a tangled spectral signature. On the other hand, a part of it, e.g. bands due to the group of HNCO of guanine may have been detected but associated to smaller molecules, e.g. isocianic acid (HNCO). However, if comprised in a nucleobasis, its detection would be misinterpreted. Five key transitions were preliminarly selected for either purines and pyrimidines that should be observed together in the same target. If this happens, it may be that we are detecting the whole from its parts.

The mass loss process along the AGB phase is crucial for the formation of circumstellar envelopes (CSEs), which in the post-AGB phase will evolve into planetary nebulae (PNe). There are still important issues that need to be further explored in this field; in particular, the formation of axially symmetric PNe from spherical CSEs. To address the problem, we have conducted high S/N IRAM 30 m observations of 12COJ = 1−0 and J = 2−1, and 13COJ = 1−0 in a volume-limited unbiased sample of semi-regular variables (SRs). We also conducted Yebes 40 m SiO J = 1−0 observations in 1/2 of the sample in order to complement our 12CO observations. We report a moderate correlation between mass loss rate and the 12CO(1−0)−to−12CO(2−1) line intensity ratio, introducing a possible new method for determining mass loss rates of SRs with short analysis time. We also find that for several stars the SiO profiles are very similar to the 12CO profiles, a totally unexpected result unless these are non-standard envelopes.

The overwhelming majority of galaxies in the Universe are dwarf galaxies. But although they are important components in understanding galaxy evolution, these systems are typically too faint to be observed at high redshifts. However, we are able to obtain an unobscured view of early star formation and chemical enrichment in these galaxies at low redshift and low-redshift analogs at high redshift. In this talk, I will review the mass-metallicity relation, the mass-star formation rate relation of galaxies, the classifications of dwarf galaxies, and the importance of dwarf galaxies for both astronomy and physics. Then I will introduce some work in our group on connections among between different types of dwarf galaxies,the mass-metallicity relations and the main sequence relations of dwarf galaxies, using the deep optical and near infrared images and spectra of large dwarf galaxy sample. At the end, I will talk about some projects of dwarf galaxies we are working on, including the spectroscopic survey for compact dwarf galaxies using the LAMOST.

To investigate the binary hypothesis in the formation of planetary nebulae, we have been doing long-term photometry and radial velocity (RV) monitoring of bright post-AGB stars which possess bipolar or ellipsoidal nebulae but no indication of a disk in their spectral energy distribution, indicative of a binary companion. RV’s are determined by cross correlating high-resolution spectra with a line mask. Stellar variability and companions both deform the cross correlation function (CCF) and induce periodic variations in the RV. To uniformly quantify the asymmetry of the CCF from a Gaussian, we propose to fit the CCF profile with a Gauss-Hermite series and determine all CCF parameters (RV, skewness, FWHM, and depth) in one single fit. We analyze the correlation and time series of these CCF parameters for V448 Lac and conclude that its RV variability is most likely due to stellar pulsation and not to an orbiting body.

Future facilities and deep surveys such as LSST, JWST and WFIRST, will require a network of standards faint enough to avoid saturation and homogenously distributed in both hemispheres. DA white dwarfs have almost pure hydrogen atmospheres and they are the simplest stars to model. The opacities are known from first principles, and for temperatures higher than ∼ 20,000 K, their photospheres are purely radiative and should be photometrically stable. DA white dwarfs are then the best candidates to establish a network of faint spectrophotometric standards. In order to provide standards in the dynamic range of large aperture (d > 4m) telescopes, we collected Hubble Space Telescope WFC3 images and ground-based spectroscopy for 23 DA white dwarfs fainter than r ∼ 16.5 mag, distributed at equatorial and northern latitudes (see Saha et al. in these conference proceedings).

An excellent laboratory for studying large scale magnetic fields is the grand design face-on spiral galaxy M51. Due to wavelength-dependent Faraday depolarization, linearly polarized synchrotron emission at different radio frequencies gives a picture of the galaxy at different depths: Observations at L-band (1 – 2 GHz) probe the halo region while at C- and X-band (4 – 8 GHz) the linearly polarized emission probe the disk region of M51. We present new observations of M51 using the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) at S-band (2 – 4 GHz), where previously no polarization observations existed, to shed new light on the transition region between the disk and the halo. We discuss a model of the depolarization of synchrotron radiation in a multilayer magneto-ionic medium and compare the model predictions to the multi-frequency polarization data of M51 between 1 – 8 GHz. The new S-band data are essential to distinguish between different models. Our study shows that the initial model parameters, i.e. the total regular and turbulent magnetic field strengths in the disk and halo of M51, need to be adjusted to successfully fit the models to the data.

Red Supergiant Stars (RSGs) are important probes of stellar and chemical evolution in star-forming environments. They represent the brightest near-IR stellar components of external galaxies and probe the most recent stellar population to provide robust, independent abundance estimates. The Local Group dwarf irregular galaxy, NGC6822, is a reasonably isolated galaxy with an interesting structure and turbulent history. Using RSGs as chemical abundance probes, we estimate metallicities in the central region of NGC6822, finding a suggestion of a metallicity gradient (in broad agreement with nebular tracers), however, this requires further study for confirmation. With intermediate resolution Multi-object spectroscopy (from e.g. KMOS, EMIR, MOSFIRE) combined with state-of-the-art stellar model atmospheres, we demonstrate how RSGs can be used to estimate stellar abundances in external galaxies. In this context, we compare stellar and nebular abundance tracers in NGC 6822 and by combining stellar and nebular tracers we estimate an abundance gradient of −0.18 ± 0.05 dex/kpc.

We aim to analyse the co-added Herschel images of various categories of evolved stars in the LMC and SMC from the Herschel HERITAGE survey in order to identify, in a statistical sense, a cool historic dust mass component emitted by these sources. The fluxes derived from the co-added stacks can then be compared with those predicted by the GRAMS model grid in order to refine the DPRs estimated for the SMC and LMC.

We estimated several parameters of dwarf galaxies, including their star formation rate and dust mass, and compared them with galaxies with larger stellar masses.

We have chosen dwarf galaxies in the ELAIS N1 field, and fitted their Spectral Energy Distributions (SED). We used data from the new Herschel SPIRE and PACS Point Source catalogues to constrain the infrared radiation. Data available in VIZIER from multiple surveys have also been used.

We determined that the star formation rate (SFR), M* and Mdust is one order of magnitude lower in dwarf galaxies compared to galaxies with larger stellar masses. However, the starburtiness was higher in the dwarf galaxies. They also had lower redshifts than normal galaxies, so we compared them to a subsample of normal galaxies with lower redshifts. The dust masses and SFRs of the dwarf galaxies were slightly lower, but their starburtiness was higher.

Long-term and short-term multicolor photometric variations of the X-ray binary system Her X-1 (HZ Her) has been studied. We obtained new VRI observations of the system by using the 60cm Robotic telescope at the TÜBİTAK National Observatory (TUG) in 2018. Using newly obtained data, we modified the orbital period of the binary system with a neutron star component.

The list of planets discovered in the habitable zone of its star is continuously growing. We present a simple one-dimension radiative transfer model in order to better infer on the habitability of such systems. Particular focus is on the TRAPPIST-1 planets (Gillon et al.2017), particularly on planets b, c, d, e and f.

Dust evolution in disks around young stars is a key ingredient for the global disk evolution and accompanying planet formation. The mutual sticking of initially small grains is not straightforward and can be hampered by several processes. This includes dust grain bouncing, fragmentation, electrostatic repulsion and fast drift to the central star. In this study we aim at theoretical modeling of the dust coagulation coupled with the dust charging and disk ionization calculations. We show that the electrostatic barrier is a strong restraining factor to the coagulation of micron-size dust. While the sustained turbulence helps to overcome the electrostatic barrier, dust fluffiness limits this opportunity. Coulomb repulsion may keep a significant fraction of m dust in large regions of protoplanetary disks.

We developed a numerical method[-70pt] to compute the gravitational field of an infinitely-thin axisymmetric disc with an arbitrary surface mass density profile. We evaluate the gravitational potential by a split quadrature using the double exponential rule and obtain the acceleration vector by numerically differentiating the potential by Ridders’ algorithm. By using the new method, we show the rotation curves of some non-trivial discs: (i) truncated power-law discs, (ii) discs with a non-negligible center hole, (iii) truncated Mestel discs with edge-softening, (iv) double power-law discs, (v) exponentially-damped power-law discs, and (vi) an exponential disc with a sinusoidal modulation of the density profile. Also, we present a couple of model fittings to the observed rotation curve of M33: (i) the standard deconvolution by assuming a spherical distributin of the dark matter and (ii) a direct fit of infinitely-thin disc mass with a double power-law distribution of the surface mass density.

Translucent molecular clouds represent a vastly underexplored regime of cloud evolution in terms of the effect of the magnetic field. Their pristine nature renders them ideal for investigating the initial properties of the magnetic field, prior to the onset of star formation. Using starlight polarimetry, we map the plane-of-sky magnetic field orientation throughout 10 sq. degrees of the Polaris Flare translucent molecular cloud. We provide the first quantitative estimate of the magnetic field strength in this type of system. By combining our measurements with the high-resolution Herschel dust emission map, we find a preferred alignment between filaments and the observed magnetic field. Our results support the presence of a strong magnetic field in this system (Panopoulou et al. 2016).

Our ALMA observations of HCO+ and HCN show such redshifted absorption toward an isolated core, BHR 71. Both lines show a similar redshifted absorption profile. We also found emissions of complex organic molecules (COMs) around 345 GHz from a compact region centered on the continuum source, which is barely resolved with a beam of 0″27, corresponding to ∼50 AU.

TIGvival is a spectroscopic monitoring program of long-period variables (LPV) using our robotic telescope TIGRE. Since 2013, we obtain low-noise, high-resolution spectra (R= 20 000) that cover the optical regime (3800 Å to 8800 Å). We are now continuously monitoring 7 LPVs with different periods and chemical properties. Our 350+ spectra evenly sample the target cycles, as far as ground-based observations allow. Analyzing the TIGvival spectra of Mira as a sample case, our measurements indicate that the strength of the TiO-absorption is phase-shifted with respect to the visual light curve.

In Bertrang et al. (2018), we present new data of the protoplanetary disk surrounding the Herbig Ae/Be star HD 169142 obtained in the very broad-band (VBB) with the Zurich imaging polarimeter (ZIMPOL), a subsystem of the Spectro-Polarimetric High-contrast Exoplanet REsearch instrument (SPHERE) at the Very Large Telescope (VLT). Our Polarimetric Differential Imaging (PDI) observations probe the disk as close as 0.″3 (3.5au) to the star and are able to trace the disk out to ~1.″08 (~126 au). We find an inner hole, a bright ring bearing substructures around ~0.″18 (21au), and an elliptically shaped gap stretching from 0.″25 to 0.″47 (29–55 au). Outside of 0.″47, the surface brightness drops off, discontinued only by a narrow annular brightness minimum at ~0.″63–0.″74 (74–87 au). These observations confirm features found in less-well resolved data as well as reveal yet undetected indications for planet-disk interactions, such as small-scale structures, star-disk offsets, and potentially moving shadows.

We have studied young stellar populations and star clusters in the dwarf irregular galaxy Leo A using multicolor (B, V, R, I, Hα) photometry data obtained with the Subaru Suprime-Cam and two-color photometry results measured on archival HST/ACS F475W & F814W frames. The analysis of the main sequence (MS) and blue supergiant (BSG – “blue loop”) stars enabled us to study the star formation history in the Leo A galaxy during the last ~200 Myr. Also, we have discovered 5 low-mass (≲ 400 M⊙) star clusters within the ACS field. This finding, taking into account a low metallicity environment and a yet-undetected molecular gas in Leo A, constrains star formation efficiency estimates and scenarios. Inside the well known “hole” in the H i column density map (Hunter et al. 2012) we found a shock front (prominent in Hα), implying an unseen progenitor and reminding the “hole” problems widely discussed by Warren et al. (2011).