A characterisation of the collision properties between icy interstellar grains is crucial to understand planet formation. Here, we measure collision properties on a reference elastic system to evaluate the inelasticity of ice particles collisions. We propose upgrades to correct for some experimental biases and to investigate water evaporation as possible explanation for the energy loss during collision.

The aim of diagnostic diagrams is to classify galactic nuclei according to their photoionizing source using emission-line ratios, differentiating starburst regions from active galactic nuclei (AGN). However, the three traditional diagnostic diagrams can sometimes be ambiguous with regard to a single object. The main goal of the present work is to propose alternative diagnostic diagrams by using distinct combinations of emission lines ratios. We present these diagrams using data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. With these new diagrams, it is possible to better distinguish the ionizing source in nuclei of galaxies and also to study the parameters that are relevant when considering both kinds of objects, starbursts and AGN.

The variability properties of a quasar sample, spectroscopically complete to magnitude J = 22.0, are investigated on a time baseline of 2 yr, using three different photometric bands (U, J and F). The original sample was obtained using a combination of different selection criteria: colours, slitless spectroscopy and variability, based on a time baseline of 1 yr. The main goals of this work are two-fold: first, to derive the percentage of variable quasars on a relatively short time baseline; secondly, to search for new quasar candidates, missed by the other selection criteria, and thus to estimate the completeness of the spectroscopic sample. In order to achieve these goals, we have extracted all the candidate variable objects from a sample of about 1800 stellar or quasi-stellar objects with limiting magnitude J = 22.50 over an area of about 0.50 deg2. We find that > 65% of all the objects selected as possibly variable are either confirmed quasars or quasar candidates, on the basis of their colours. This percentage increases even further if we exclude from our lists of variable candidates a number of objects equal to that expected on the basis of ‘contamination’ induced by our photometric errors. The percentage of variable quasars in the spectroscopic sample is also high, reaching about 50%. On the basis of these results, we can estimate that the incompleteness of the original spectroscopic sample is < 12%. We conclude that variability analysis of data with small photometric errors can be successfully used as an efficient and independent (or at least auxiliary) selection method in quasar surveys, even when the time baseline is relatively short. Finally, when corrected for the different intrinsic time lags corresponding to a fixed observed time baseline, our data do not show a statistically significant correlation between variability and either absolute luminosity or redshift.

The impressive transition from an era of scientific data scarcity to an era of overproduction has become particularly noticeable in archaeoastronomy. The collection of astronomical information about prehistoric societies allows the accumulation of global data on: – the oldest traces of astronomical activity on Earth, emotional and rational display of celestial phenomena in astronomical folklore, “folk astronomy” and timekeeping, in fine arts and architecture, in everyday life; – the most ancient applied “astronomy” – counting the time by lunar phases, accumulation and storage of ancient databases in drawings and pictographic compositions in caves and artificially constructed objects; – “horizon” astronomy as an initial form of observational cult astronomy, preserved only in characteristic material monuments (the oldest cult observatories) with indisputable astronomical orientations. The report shows the importance of collecting the maximum number of artifacts and monuments from prehistory associated with the early emergence of interest in celestial phenomena. Spiritual, emotional and rational (including practical) needs that have aroused interest in Heaven are discussed. The huge variety of activities in realizing the regularity (cyclicity) of celestial phenomena as a stimulus for their use for orientation in space and time is shown.

La Serena School for Data Science is a multidisciplinary program with six editions so far and a constant format: during 10-14 days, a group of ∼30 students (15 from the US, 15 from Chile and 1-3 from Caribbean countries) and ∼9 faculty gather in La Serena (Chile) to complete an intensive program in Data Science with emphasis in applications to astronomy and bio-sciences.

The students attend theoretical and hands-on sessions, and, since early on, they work in multidisciplinary groups with their “mentors” (from the faculty) on real data science problems. The SOC and LOC of the school have developed student selection guidelines to maximize diversity.

The program is very successful as proven by the high over-subscription rate (factor 5-8) and the plethora of positive testimony, not only from alumni, but also from current and former faculty that keep in contact with them.

We present some new studies of the absolute photodissociation cross sections of astrophysically-relevant diatomic radicals.

We mapped the stellar population and emission gas properties in the nuclear region of NGC 6868 using datacubes extracted with Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph (GMOS) in the Integral Field Unit (IFU) mode. To obtain the star-formation history of this galaxy we used the starlight code together with the new generation of MILES simple stellar population models. The stellar population dominating (95% in light fraction) the central region of NGC 6868 is old and metal rich (~10 Gyr, 2.2 Z⊙). We also derived the kinematics and emission line fluxes of ionized gas with the IFSCube package. A rotation disk is clearly detected in the nuclear region of the galaxy and no broad components were detected. Also, there is a region where the emission lines disappear almost completely, probably due to diffuse ionized gas component. Channel maps, diagnostic diagrams and stellar kinematics are still under analysis.

Blazars are powered by super-massive black holes at their centers and are known for extreme variability on timescales from minutes to years. In case of a binary black hole system, this duality is traceable as periodic modulation of their MeV to GeV emission. So far, no high-significance periodicity has been found with standard approaches. We developed a method to search for periodic patterns in Fermi/LAT light curves, using information field theory (IFT). IFT is a formulation of Bayesian statistics in terms of fields. Bayesian statistics is ideal for the problem at hand since the data is incomplete, irregularly sampled and obeys non-Gaussian statistics such that common least-squares methods do not apply. We present a proof of principle of this method, analyzing a sample of promising binary black hole candidates like PG 1553 + 113 and Mrk 501.

Connection between star formation and AGN activity has been studied widely over the past years, which shown to be very important for understanding better the role of AGN in galaxy evolution. In this context, what are the stellar ages and average stellar populations of AGN host galaxies, and if there are any differences depending on AGN type, are still open questions that brought many inconsistencies, very often due to different selection criteria used. The AGN sample detected in the ultra-hard X-rays (14–195 keV) by the Swift BAT telescope is not affected by obscuration nor is it contaminated by stellar emission, and presents some of the most unbiased samples. In this talk we will present the results obtained on AGN stellar populations and ages through spectral fittings by using the Swift-BAT AGN Spectroscopic Survey (BASS) which gives us an unique opportunity to understand better the connection between AGN and their host galaxies.

We evaluated a new approach to the automated morphological classification of large galaxy samples based on the supervised machine learning techniques (Naive Bayes, Random Forest, Support Vector Machine, Logistic Regression, and k-Nearest Neighbours) and Deep Learning using the Python programming language. A representative sample of ∼315000 SDSS DR9 galaxies at z < 0.1 and stellar magnitudes r < 17.7m was considered as a target sample of galaxies with indeterminate morphological types. Classical machine learning methods were used to binary morphologically classification of galaxies into early and late types (96.4% with Support Vector Machine). Deep machine learning methods were used to classify images of galaxies into five visual types (completely rounded, rounded in-between, smooth cigar-shaped, edge-on, and spiral) with the Xception architecture (94% accuracy for four classes and 88% for cigar-like galaxies). These results created a basis for educational manual on the processing of large data sets in the Python programming language, which is intended for students of the Ukrainian universities.

We perform simultaneous multi-band fitting, using the routine GALFITM, of the galaxy NGC3115, in order to recover the stellar populations of its main components (a bulge, a thin disc and a thick disc). We model 11 bands, from ultraviolet to infrared, in order to take into account the galaxy younger stellar population and the presence of the Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN). We find that the majority of the galaxy baryonic mass belongs to the thick disc, which is also the oldest galaxy component, consistent with results from the literature. Differently from previous works, we find that the bulge has the bluest colour and it is younger than the thick disc, either as a result of recent star formation activity, or AGN feedback, or white dwarf emission in an old stellar population. Finally, we propose that NGC3115 was formed either through a two-phase formation scenario, or via an outside-in quenching of an isolated spiral galaxy, whose thick disc had been heated-up via minor mergers with dwarf satellites.

Episodic accretion is an important process in the evolution of young stars and their surroundings. A consequence of an episodic accretion event is a luminosity burst, which heats the protostellar environment and has a long lasting impact on the chemical evolution of the disk and envelope of young stars. We present a new model for the chemistry of episodic accretion based on the 2D radiation thermo-chemical disk code ProDiMo. We discuss the impact of an episodic accretion burst on the chemical evolution of CO and its observables. Furthermore we present a model for the outbursting source V883 Ori where we fitted available observational data to get an accurate physical structure that allows for a detailed study of the chemistry.

The cross sections for rotational inelastic collisions between atoms and a molecular anion can be very large, if the anion has a dipole moment. This makes molecular anions very efficient in cooling atomic gases. We address rotational inelastic collisions of Helium atoms with the molecular anion C2N–. Here we present preliminary calculations of the potential energy surface.

During the last years, the amount of data has skyrocketed. As a consequence, the data has become more expensive to store than to generate. The storage needs for astronomical data are also following this trend. Storage systems in Astronomy contain redundant copies of data such as identical files or within sub-file regions. We propose the use of the Hadoop Distributed and Deduplicated File System (HD2FS) in Astronomy. HD2FS is a deduplication storage system that was created to improve data storage capacity and efficiency in distributed file systems without compromising Input/Output performance. HD2FS can be developed by modifying existing storage system environments such as the Hadoop Distributed File System. By taking advantage of deduplication technology, we can better manage the underlying redundancy of data in astronomy and reduce the space needed to store these files in the file systems, thus allowing for more capacity per volume.

The stellar mass–star formation rate–metallicity relation provides clues on the chemical evolution of galaxies. We revisit this relation by measuring the gas-phase metallicity using the direct method. For metal-rich galaxies this is not straightforward, because auroral emission lines sensitive the electron temperature are lost in spectral noise. In order to increase the spectral signal-to-noise ratio and detect faint auroral lines, we stack the spectra of similar galaxies. This allows us to use the direct method to obtain consistent metallicity measurements.

3C 294 is a powerful FR II type radio galaxy at z = 1.786. Due to its proximity of a bright star, it has been subject to several adaptive optics supported imaging studies. The system shows a clumpy structure indicative of a merging system. There is even tentative evidence that 3C 294 hosts a dual AGN. In order to distinguish between the various scenarios for 3C 294 we performed deep high-resolution adaptive optics imaging and optical spectroscopy of 3C 294 with the Large Binocular Telescope. We resolve the 3C 294 system in three distinct components separated by a few tenths of an arcsecond. One of them is compact, the other two are extended. The nature of the latter is unclear. They could be a single galaxy with an internal dust absorption feature, a galaxy merger, or two galaxies at different redshifts. We can now uniquely associate the radio source of 3c 294 with one of the extended components. Based on our spectroscopy, we determine a slightly different redshift of z = 1.784. We find, however, in addition a single emission line at a wavelength of 6745 AA, which might be identified with Lyα at z = 4.56. It thus appears unlikely that 3C294 hosts a dual AGN; it might rather be a pair of AGNs with very small projected separation.

Bright quasars at low z have generally been found in massive, evolved host galaxies, consistent with formation at early epochs. However, deep, high resolution, multicolor imaging of some quasar hosts have found morphological evidence of tidal tails and colors indicative of active star formation. These results are consistent with theories of galaxy formation and evolution in which merger processes trigger the activation of the quasar phase, and energetic feedback is essential. Understanding the role the black hole population plays in the galaxy formation process is important, but imaging the host galaxies around bright quasars is difficult because of the contribution of the bright nuclei. Very high resolution, deep imaging is necessary to successfully remove the nuclear component. We made high-resolution near-infrared images of several bright z ˜ 0.3 BL Lacs with the Gemini Multi-Conjugate Adaptive Optics System (GeMS)/GSAOI in order to study their host galaxies. We will present the results of this imaging with the 1 arcmin AO-corrected field provided by GeMS/GSAOI and compare with available HST imaging available in the archive.

HD 163296 is a young star surrounded by a planet-forming disk that shows clear signatures of dust gaps and rings; likely an indication of ongoing planet formation. We use the radiation thermochemical disk code ProDiMo to investigate the impact of dust/gas gaps on the temperature, chemistry and observables. Furthermore, we model high spatial resolution gas and dust observation of HD 163296 (ALMA/DSHARP). Our first results indicate that features in the observed radial intensity profile of the 12CO line are a consequence of the dust gaps and do not require gas depletion. Those preliminary results indicate that self-consistent modelling of the gas (chemistry, heating/cooling) and dust is necessary to accurately infer the degree of gas depletion within dust gaps. Such information is crucial to understand the processes that generate the disk substructure and their relation to planet formation.

The 2020 pandemics has brought about a revolution in education, thanks to the pervasiveness of online teaching. Contents, methods and techniques can now be rapidly shared across the globe. On the downside, a number of disciplines have been neglected or dropped altogether. Our paper aims to address the following questions: How has Astronomy in culture been affected? Why is it important to keep it alive? What are the solutions? We suggest that it has been dismissed for two reasons: first, it is perceived as a niche topic – some sort of erudite chatter about non-essential curiosities – that can be sacrificed in favour of more practical information; second, it is heavily culture-specific, meaning that it requires extra effort from the teachers, as it cannot be easily copied or translated from other sources.

We analyzed the inner 320 × 535 pc2 of the elliptical galaxy NGC 1052 with integral field spectroscopy, both in the optical and in the near-infrared (NIR). The stellar population analysis revealed a dominance of old stellar populations from the optical data, and an intermediate-age ring from NIR data. When combining optical+NIR data, optical results were favoured. The emission-line analysis revealed five kinematic components, where two of them are unresolved and probably associated with the active galactic nucleus (AGN), one is associated with large-scale shocks, one with the radio jets, and the last could be explained by either a bipolar outflow, rotation in an eccentric disc or a combination of a disc and large-scale gas bubbles. Our results also indicate that the emission within the galaxy is caused by a combination of shocks and photoionization by the AGN.