Based on the Sloan Digital Sky Survey DR 7, we investigate the environment, morphology, and stellar population of bulgeless low surface-brightness (LSB) galaxies in a volume-limited sample with redshift ranging from 0.024 to 0.04 and M r ≤ −18.8. We find that, for bulgeless galaxies, the surface brightness does not depend on the environment. Irregular LSB galaxies have more young stars and are more metal-poor than regular LSB galaxies. These results suggest that the evolution of LSB galaxies may be driven by their dynamics, including mergers rather than by their large-scale environment.

The influence of both major and minor mergers is expected to significantly affect gradients of stellar ages and metallicities in the outskirts of galaxies. Measurements of observed gradients are beginning to reach large radii in galaxies, but a theoretical framework for connecting the findings to a picture of galactic build-up is still in its infancy. We analyze stellar populations of a statistically representative sample of quiescent galaxies over a wide mass range from the Illustris simulation. We measure metallicity and age profiles in the stellar halos of quiescent Illustris galaxies ranging in stellar mass from 1010 to 1012M⊙, accounting for observational projection and luminosity-weighting effects. We find wide variance in stellar population gradients between galaxies of similar mass, with typical gradients agreeing with observed galaxies. We show that, at fixed mass, the fraction of stars born in-situ within galaxies is correlated with the metallicity gradient in the halo, confirming that stellar halos contain unique information about the build-up and merger histories of galaxies.

We performed high resolution 3D hydrodynamical simulations of the barred galaxy M83 and investigated formation and evolution of the giant molecular clouds (GMCs) and star formation activity. We compared two simulations with and without stellar feedback. We found that the feedback disperses the cloud gas and causes clouds to inflow toward the galactic centre region due to hydrodynamical drag. The effect raises the star formation rate (SFR) and star formation efficiency (SFE) in the central bar region.

In an effort to better constrain the relevant physical processes dictating the co-evolution of supermassive black holes and the galaxies in which they reside we turn to local Seyfert AGN. It is only with these local AGN that we can reach the spatial resolution needed to adequately characterize the inflow and outflow mechanisms thought to be the driving forces in establishing the relationship between black holes and their host galaxies at higher redshift. We present the first results from the KONA (Keck OSIRIS Nearby AGN) survey, which takes advantage of the integral field unit OSIRIS plus laser and natural guide star adaptive optics to probe down to scales of 5-30 parsecs in a sample of 40 local Seyfert galaxies. With these K-band data we measure the two-dimensional distribution and kinematics of the nuclear stars, molecular gas, and ionized gas within the central few hundred parsecs.

Stellar populations are fossil records of several physical processes which occur in galaxies and their distribution within these objects may provide important clues on how they form and evolve. By using parameters from image processing we have been developing a new approach to understand the spatial distribution of stellar populations and how this is correlated with the form and evolution of galaxies. In this work we present some results obtained with data from the CALIFA survey.

The combined catalogue of AGN selected from optical identifications of X-ray sources based on Hamburg–ROSAT and Byurakan–Hamburg–ROSAT catalogues is a homogeneous sample for statistical studies. Optically identified X-ray sources from ROSAT BSC and FSC are included, 4253 X-ray selected AGN in total. We carried out classification for 210 of these candidate sources based on available SDSS spectra and enlarged the sample of confirmed AGN. Statistical investigations of the sample were also carried out. Multiwavelength SEDs have also been constructed to link them to classifications.

At a distance of 61 kpc, the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) affords an absolutely unique view of the low metallicity star-forming interstellar medium, providing the nearest laboratory to study processes relevant to star formation at high redshifts. We present new ALMA 7m-array maps of CO and 12CO (2-1) for one of the four observed regions in the Southwest Bar of the SMC. These maps are the first high-resolution (~6″ ~ 1.7 pc) images of CO in a molecular cloud at 1/5 Solar metallicity. We show the structure of photodissociation regions for the first time at 1/5 Solar metallicity by combining the new ALMA data with Herschel maps of [C ii] and [O i]. We present preliminary evidence that there is extended, faint 12CO (2-1) emission near where we expect the Hi-to-H2 transition. We also compare our data to the low metallicity 3D simulations by Glover & Mac Low (2011) and Shetty et al. (2011).

Gamma-ray astronomy has a huge potential in astrophysics, particle physics and cosmology. The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) is an international initiative to build the next-generation ground-based gamma-ray observatory which will have a factor of 5-10 improvement in sensitivity in the 100 GeV - 10 TeV range and an extension to energies well below 100 GeV and above 100 TeV. CTA is planned to consist of two arrays (one in the North and another in the South Hemisphere) and will provide the deepest insight ever reached into the non-thermal high-energy Universe and its particle accelerators.

Throughout the past decade, significant advances have been made in the size and scope of large-scale spectroscopic surveys, allowing for the opportunity to study in-depth the formation history of the Milky Way. Using the fourth data release of the RAdial Velocity Experiment (RAVE), we study the age-metallicity-velocity space of ~ 100,000 FGK stars in the extended solar neighborhood in order to explore evolutionary processes. Combining these three parameters, we better constrain our understanding of these interconnected, fundamental processes.

Division XI, the predecessor to Division D until 2012, was formed in 1994 at the IAU General Assembly in The Hague by merging Commission 44 Astronomy from Space and Commission 48 High Energy Astrophysics. Historically, space astrophysics started with the high energy wavelengths (far UV, X-ray, and gamma-ray astronomy) which are only accessible from space. However, in modern astronomy, to study high energy astrophysical processes, almost all wavelengths are used (including gamma-ray, X-ray, UV, optical, infrared, submillimeter and radio). In addition other ground-based facilities, including gravitational wave antennas, neutrino detectors and high-energy cosmic ray arrays are joining in this era of multi-messenger astrophysics, as well as space missions with the primary goals to discover and study exoplanets, are under the umbrella of Division XI.

How does a star cluster of more than few 10,000 solar masses form? We present the case of the cluster NGC 346 in the Small Magellanic Cloud, still embedded in its natal star-forming region N66, and we propose a scenario for its formation, based on observations of the rich stellar populations in the region. Young massive clusters host a high fraction of early-type stars, indicating an extremely high star formation efficiency. The Milky Way galaxy hosts several young massive clusters that fill the gap between young low-mass open clusters and old massive globular clusters. Only a handful, though, are young enough to study their formation. Moreover, the investigation of their gaseous natal environments suffers from contamination by the Galactic disk. Young massive clusters are very abundant in distant starburst and interacting galaxies, but the distance of their hosting galaxies do not also allow a detailed analysis of their formation. The Magellanic Clouds, on the other hand, host young massive clusters in a wide range of ages with the youngest being still embedded in their giant HII regions. Hubble Space Telescope imaging of such star-forming complexes provide a stellar sampling with a high dynamic range in stellar masses, allowing the detailed study of star formation at scales typical for molecular clouds. Our cluster analysis on the distribution of newly-born stars in N66 shows that star formation in the region proceeds in a clumpy hierarchical fashion, leading to the formation of both a dominant young massive cluster, hosting about half of the observed pre–main-sequence population, and a self-similar dispersed distribution of the remaining stars. We investigate the correlation between stellar surface density (and star formation rate derived from star-counts) and molecular gas surface density (derived from dust column density) in order to unravel the physical conditions that gave birth to NGC 346. A power law fit to the data yields a steep correlation between these two parameters with a considerable scatter. The fraction of stellar over the total (gas plus young stars) mass is found to be systematically higher within the central 15 pc (where the young massive cluster is located) than outside, which suggests variations in the star formation efficiency within the same star-forming complex. This trend possibly reflects a change of star formation efficiency in N66 between clustered and non-clustered star formation. Our findings suggest that the formation of NGC 346 is the combined result of star formation regulated by turbulence and of early dynamical evolution induced by the gravitational potential of the dense interstellar medium.

There is growing evidence that massive stars sometimes form in extremely sparse environments. The RIOTS4 survey presents a variety of evidence supporting this scenario, including a sample of 14 OB stars in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) that appear to have formed in situ as field stars. This is based on the presence of dense, symmetric HII regions hosting apparent non-runaway stars. We also present a spatially complete IMF of SMC field OB stars for masses > 7 M ⊙, showing that the slope is much steeper than the Salpeter value. The binary fraction among field OB stars is also the same as in clusters, based on a RIOTS4 subsample. These results suggest a relative, but incomplete, suppression of massive star formation in the sparsest regimes.

Photometric data increase with large survey projects running. The huge volume of data influences the means and methods to deal with them. As such, the techniques of photometric redshift estimation based on photometric data must be developed and improved.

Astrophysical dynamos are usually characterised by huge values of the magnetic Reynolds number (Rm). This reflects the short turn-over time compared to the resistive time. The extreme values of Rm relevant to astrophysical objects cannot be tackled with today's numerical resources and this number is always under-estimated by several orders of magnitudes in numerical models.

Here we chose to focus on an extremely simplified problem (dynamo action from a periodic steady flow) and take advantage of this simplicity to numerically investigate the limit of very large magnetic Reynolds number. We present results recently published in physics journals, which highlight the difficulty of approaching the limit in which dynamo action is independent of the value of the ohmic resistivity (measured by 1/Rm), known as the “fast dynamo” limit. Using state of the art high performance computing, we present high resolution simulations (up to (40963) and extend the value of (Rm) up to (5⋅105).

The Planck satellite has mapped the polarized microwave sky (from 30 GHz to 353 GHz) with unprecedented sensitivity and angular resolution. This wealth of data yields the first complete map of polarized thermal emission from dust in our own Galaxy, shedding new light on the formation of dense cold structures within which new stars and planetary systems are born, under the combined effects of gravity, turbulence and magnetic fields. We present a statistical analysis of this polarized emission from nearby molecular clouds, with an emphasis on the evolution of the maximum polarization fraction observed as a function of column density, and on the anti-correlation between the polarization fraction and the local dispersion of polarization angles. To interpret this data, numerical simulations of anisotropic MHD turbulence underline the essential role played by the topology of the interstellar magnetic field, in particular its large-scale component. As an extension to this work published in Planck Intermediate Results XX (A&A, 576, 105, 2015), the statistical properties of the random component of the interstellar magnetic field are explored using a toy model based on fractional Brownian motion (fBm) fields.

Significant advances have been made in the sensitivity of pulsar timing arrays for the detection of gravitational waves in the last decade. This presentation looked forward to consider where the development of pulsar timing arrays might go as we head towards the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) and then beyond. I reviewed where progress needs to be made in terms of sensitivity to gravitational waves, including improvements to existing observing approaches and new telescopes such as MeerKAT and FAST and techniques like LEAP. The dramatic increase in the number of millisecond pulsars is presented and how that might affect progress towards a first detection is discussed. Developments in analytic techniques were also discussed, including the removal of interstellar medium effects, red noise and pulse profile variations. A summary of how the SKA can contribute through an increased millisecond pulsar population and pulsar timing sensitivity was presented. With the likelihood that the SKA will implement some form of Key Science Project approach, some ideas of how will this affect how the International Pulsar Timing Array effort and how it might evolve into a KSP were discussed.

Superluminous supernovae (SLSNe) are an emerging class of SNe that exhibit luminosities exceeding those of SN Ia by an order of magnitude and have light curves with characteristic timescales of hundreds of days. Here we present observations of the host galaxies of 21 SLSNe observed with the Hubble Space Telescope, and show that their ultraviolet (UV) and near-infrared (nIR) luminosities and sizes and very different from those of the hosts of other core collapse events, with significant implications for their progenitors.

It is crucially important to observe dense cores in order to investigate the initial condition of star formation since protostars are formed via dynamical collapse of dense cores, inhering the physical properties from their natal dense cores. Here we present the results of ALMA Cycle 0 and Cycle 1 observations of dust continuum emission and molecular rotational lines toward a dense core, MC27 (aka L1521F), which is considered to be very close to the first protostellar core phase. We revealed the spatial/velocity structures of the core are very complex and and suggest that the star formation is highly dynamical.

We present the Three-mm Ultimate Mopra Milky Way Survey, a new mm-wave molecular-line mapping survey of the southern Galactic Plane, and its first data releases and science results. ThrUMMS maps a 60° × 2° sector of our Galaxy's fourth quadrant, using a combination of fast mapping techniques with the Mopra radio telescope, simultaneously in the J = 1→0 lines of 12CO, 13CO, C18O, and CN near 112 GHz, at 1′.2 and 0.3 km s−1 resolution, with 1.2 K/ch sensitivity for 12CO and 0.7 K/ch for the other transitions. The calibrated data cubes from these observations are made freely available to the community on the ThrUMMS website, http://www.astro.ufl.edu/thrumms, after processing through our pipeline. Here, we summarise the first science results, on global variations in the iso-CO line ratios and on a detailed multiwavelength study of the GMCs near l=333°.

This brief overview stresses the importance of molecular processes in modern astrophysics and provides examples where the availability of new laboratory or theoretical data proved crucial in the analysis. This includes basic data such as spectroscopy and collisional rate coefficients, but also an improved understanding of reactions and photoprocesses in the gaseous and solid state. In spite of many lingering uncertainties, the future of molecular astrophysics is bright with new facilities such as ALMA, JWST and ELTs on the horizon. Together, they will allow increased understanding of the journey of gas and solids from clouds to stars and planets, and back to the interstellar medium.