Over the past 15 years, our knowledge of the interior of the Sun has tremendously progressed by the use of helioseismic measurements. However, to go further in our understanding of the solar core, we need to measure gravity (g) modes. Thanks to the high quality of the Doppler-velocity signal measured by GOLF/SoHO, it has been possible to unveil the signature of the asymptotic properties of the solar g modes, thus obtaining a hint of the rotation rate in the core (García et al. 2007, 2008a). However, the quest for the detection of individual g modes is not yet over. In this work, we apply the latest theoretical developments to guide our research using GOLF velocity time series. In contrary to what was thought till now, we are maybe starting to identify individual low-frequency g modes. . .

We show that ALMA is the first telescope that can probe the (dust) obscured central region of quasars at z > 5 with a maximum resolution of ~ 30 pc employing the 18 km baseline.

It has been realised in the last few years that strong constraints on the time-variations of dimensionless fundamental constants of physics can be derived at any redshift from QSO absorption line systems. Variations of the fine structure constant, α, the proton-to-electron mass ratio, μ, or the combination, x=α2gp/μ, where gp is the proton gyromagnetic factor, have been constrained. However, for the latter two constants, the number of lines of sight where these measurements can be performed is limited. In particular the number of known molecular and 21 cm absorbers is small. Our group has started several surveys to search for these systems. Here is a summary of some of the characteristics of these absorbers that can be used to find these systems.

The origin of magnetic fields in the Universe is an open problem in astrophysics and fundamental physics. Forthcoming radio telescopes will open a new era in studying cosmic magnetic fields. Low-frequency radio waves will reveal the structure of weak magnetic fields in the outer regions and halos of galaxies and in intracluster media. At higher frequencies, the EVLA and the SKA will map the structure of magnetic fields in galaxies in unprecedented detail. All-sky surveys of Faraday rotation measures (RM) towards a huge number of polarized background sources with the SKA and its pathfinders will allow us to model the structure and strength of the regular magnetic fields in the Milky Way, the interstellar medium of galaxies, in galaxy clusters and the intergalactic medium.

It has been known for two decades that sunspots both absorb and advance the phase of solar f and p-modes. More recently, Time-Distance and other local helioseismic techniques have been used to probe active regions by exploring phase shifts which are interpreted as travel-time perturbations. Although absorption is an intrinsically magnetic effect, phase shifts may be produced by both thermal and magnetic effects (and of course flows, though these can be factored out by averaging travel times in opposite directions). We will show how these two effects alter wave phase, and conclude that phase shifts in umbrae are predominantly thermal, whilst those in highly inclined field characteristic of penumbrae are essentially magnetic. The two effects are generally not additive.

Most of the baryonic matter in the Universe is permeated by magnetic fields which affect many, if not most, of astrophysical phenomena both, in compact sources and in diffuse gas.

New method of precise clocks comparison based on observation and registration of giant pulses of the millisecond pulsars is discussed. It was shown that expected accuracy of comparison is about 0.2–2 ns and depends on uncertainty of delay in the Earth ionosphere and troposphere.

We review the stability and accuracy achieved by the reference atomic time scales TAI and TT(BIPM). We show that they presently are at the level of a few 10−16 in relative value, based on the performance of primary standards, of the ensemble time scale and of the time transfer techniques. We consider how the 1 × 10−16 value could be reached or superseded and which are the present limitations to attain this goal.

We examined EUV movies of the Sun during the period of the Whole Heliospheric Interval (WHI) campaign of 20 March–16 April 2008, searching for indications of eruptive events. Our data set was obtained from EIT on SOHO, using its 195 Å filter, and from EUVI on the two STEREO satellites, using their 171 Å, 195 Å, 284 Å, and 304 Å filters. Here we present a table showing results from our preliminary search.

The helium produced by AGB and super-AGB stars is a key quantity to understand whether these objects may have been the main polluters of the interstellar medium within globular clusters, and originate a second generation of stars with a chemistry showing the imprinting of their ejecta. Helium is the most important element for this topic, as any difference in the original helium between the two populations would determine clearly distinguishable features both in the morphology of the Horizontal Branches and in the Main Sequences. We present the helium yields from massive AGB stars, and show that the results are rather robust, being approximately independent of the various uncertainties that affect the description of the evolution of these stars. The implications for the self-enrichment scenario are discussed and commented.

We have obtained high-resolution, high signal-to-noise spectra for 899 F and G dwarf stars in the Solar neighbourhood. The stars were selected on the basis of their kinematic properties to trace the thin and thick discs, the Hercules stream, and the metal-rich stellar halo. A significant number of stars with kinematic properties ‘in between’ the thin and thick discs were also observed to investigate in greater detail the dichotomy of the Galactic disc. All stars have been homogeneously analysed, using the exact same methods, atomic data, model atmospheres, etc., and also truly differentially to the Sun. Hence, the sample is likely to be free from internal errors, allowing us to, in a multi-dimensional space consisting of detailed elemental abundances, stellar ages, and the full three-dimensional space velocities, reveal very small differences between the stellar populations.

A report on studies using the observed line ratios of high-density molecular tracers to diagnose the physics and chemistry of the ISM in star-formation environments.

New helium abundances of planetary nebulae located towards the bulge of the Galaxy were derived, based on observations made at OPD (Brazil). We present accurate helium abundances for 56 PNe located towards the galactic bulge. The data show good agreement with other results in the literature, in the sense that the distribution of the abundances is similar to previous works. Furthermore, the radial helium gradient is extended towards the galactic center. The results show that no trend can be identified when comparing the internal gradient (R ≤ 4 kpc) to the whole galactic disk.

We present results of numerical 3D simulation of propagation of MHD waves in sunspots. We used two self consistent magnetohydrostatic background models of sunspots. There are two main differences between these models: (i) the topology of the magnetic field and (ii) dependence of the horizontal profile of the sound speed on depth. The model with convex shape of the magnetic field lines near the photosphere has non-zero horizorntal perturbations of the sound speed up to the depth of 7.5 Mm (deep model). In the model with concave shape of the magnetic field lines near the photosphere Δ c/c is close to zero everywhere below 2 Mm (shallow model). Strong Alfven wave is generated at the wave source location in the deep model. This wave is almost unnoticeable in the shallow model. Using filtering technique we separated magnetoacoustic and magnetogravity waves. It is shown, that inside the sunspot magnetoacoustic and magnetogravity waves are not spatially separated unlike the case of the horizontally uniform background model. The sunspot causes anisotropy of the amplitude distribution along the wavefront and changes the shape of the wavefront. The amplitude of the waves is reduced inside the sunspot. This effect is stronger for the magnetogravity waves than for magnetoacoustic waves. The shape of the wavefront of the magnetogravity waves is distorted stronger as well. The deep model causes bigger anisotropy for both mgnetoacoustic and magneto gravity waves than the shallow model.

I review recent studies of transitional protoplanetary disks, in which the planet forming regions are being cleared of material. The dust and accretion characteristics of these objects as a function of their environment and host star age and mass reveal important clues as to how disk structure is modified and ultimately destroyed. Clearing mechanisms such as grain growth, dynamical interactions with embedded planets or stellar companions, and photoevaporation are likely all involved, pointing to diverse disk evolutionary paths.

Much of the progress in our understanding of dynamo mechanisms, has been made within the theoretical framework of magnetohydrodynamics (MHD). However, for sufficiently diffuse media, the Hall effect eventually becomes non-negligible. We present results from three dimensional simulations of the Hall-MHD equations subjected to random non-helical forcing. We study the role of the Hall effect in the dynamo efficiency for different values of the Hall parameter, using a pseudospectral code to achieve exponentially fast convergence.

The aim of the LUCAS program is to observe chlorophyll and atmospheric molecules in the Earthshine spectrum in order to prepare the detection of life in terrestrial extrasolar planets to be discovered. Actually, observations from Antarctica offer a unique possibility to study the variations of Earthshine spectrum during Earth rotation while various parts of Earth are facing the Moon. Special instrumentation for the LUCAS program was designed and put in the Concordia station in the Dome C. Observations are in progress.

We summarize the motivations and main conclusions of the joint discussion “Dark Matter in Early-type Galaxies”.

Accretion of planetary (metal-rich) material onto a star in its early phases can produce episodes of thermohaline convection below the outer convective zone. These extra-mixing phases lead to rapid lithium destruction. The observed dispersion of lithium abundances in solar-type stars can be related to such events.

To better characterise infrared dark clouds (IRDCs), and the star formation within them, a comprehensive catalogue of IRDCs has been constructed from the Spitzer GLIMPSE and MIPSGAL archival data. Mosaicing the individual survey blocks together, we have used a new extraction method to identify dark clouds up to 30′ in size, and produce a column density image of each cloud. In total the catalogue contains over 11,000 clouds, defined as connected regions with 8 micron optical depth > 0.35 (corresponding to column densities < 1022 cm−2). The extraction algorithm also identifies sub-structures (fragments) within each cloud. These Spitzer dark clouds (SDCs) range in mass from 10M⊙ to 104M⊙. About 80% of the SDCs were previously unidentified. Only ~ 30% of the SDCs are associated with 24μm point-like sources, leaving the majority of these clouds with no apparent sign of star formation activity. This new catalogue provides an important new resource for future studies of the initial conditions of star formation in the Galaxy.