One of the ways to understand the genesis and evolution of the universe is to know how galaxies have formed and evolved. In this regard, the study of star formation history (SFH) plays an important role in the accurate understanding of galaxies. In this paper, we used long-period variable stars (LPVs) for estimating the SFH in the Andromeda galaxy (M31). These cool stars reach their peak luminosity in the final stage of their evolution also their birth mass is directly related to their luminosity. Therefore, using stellar evolution models, we construct the mass function and hence the star formation history.

Situation with highly magnetized neutron stars in binary systems is not yet certain. On the one hand, all best studied magnetars seem to be isolated objects. On the other, there are many claims based on model-dependent analysis of spin properties or/and luminosity of neutron stars in X-ray binaries in favour of large fields. In addition, there are a few results suggesting a magnetar-like activity of neutron stars in close binary systems. Most of theoretical considerations do not favour even existence, not speaking about active decay, of magnetar-scale fields in neutron stars older than ∼106 yrs. However, alternative scenarios of the field evolution exist. I provide a brief review of theoretical and observational results related to the presence of neutron stars with large magnetic field in binaries and discuss perspectives of future studies.

We investigate the broad-band behaviour of circular polarization in radio pulsar profiles and show the relationship between polarization fraction and what proportion of that polarization is circular, both across frequency, and for a large number of pulsars viewed collectively. The behaviour observed may be explained by pulsar polarization originating from the partially-coherent combination of two linearly-polarized orthogonal modes with different flux spectral indices. (See also the poster in the “supplementary information”.)

We numerically investigate the gravitational collapse of rotating magnetic protostellar clouds. The simulations are performed using 2D MHD code ‘Enlil’. The code is based on TVD scheme of increased order of accuracy. We developed a model of the initially non-uniform cloud, which self-consistently treats gas density and large-scale magnetic field distribution. Simulation results for the typical parameters of a solar mass cloud are presented. In agreement with our previous results for the uniform cloud, the isothermal collapse of the non-uniform cloud results in formation of hierarchical structure of the cloud, consisting of flattened envelope and thin quasi-magnetostatic primary disk near its equatorial plane. The non-uniform cloud collapses longer than the uniform one, since the magnetic field is dynamically stronger at the periphery of the cloud in the former case.

The nuclear equation-of-state (EOS) describing newly formed proto-neutron stars (PNSs) in core-collapse supernovae (CCSNe) is yet uncertain, and varying its prescription affects multimessenger signatures in CCSN simulations. Focusing on the gravitational wave (GW) signal, we demonstrate the effect of varying parameter values in the EOS. We conclude that an especially important parameter is the effective mass of nucleons which affect thermal properties and subsequently the PNS compactness, regulating the GW signal in both amplitude and frequency. By radially decomposing the GW emission, we show where in the PNS the GWs originate from.

The population of black widows, binary systems containing a millisecond pulsar and a very low-mass companion star exposed to the high-energy pulsar wind, has grown exponentially in the past few years. The number of black widow candidates is now over 30 systems, but only 14 have been confirmed so far. Their relevance in analysing the extremes of the neutron stars properties led to multiwavelength dedicated studies that revealed a rich phenomenology. In this work, we provide a glimpse into the black widow class through modelling of high-cadence multi-band light curves of 6 systems, accounting for almost half of the confirmed population. A better understanding of the black widow population, which hosts some of the most massive and fastest spinning neutron stars, will ultimately benefit future modelling of compact object mergers.

Many simulations have been performed to elucidate the formation process of first stars. In first star formation, radiative feedback is a key process in determining stellar masses. However, previous simulations which follow the feedback process don’t resolve the small scale ( 10 AU) to realize long-term calculation, and the structure near massive protostars is still unknown. To clarify how the radiation from the protostar works, we need to resolve small scale and calculate the interaction between the radiation and the dense gas in such a region. As a first step towards understanding the phenomenon in this region, we perform the high-resolution simulation around the massive protostar without radiative transfer. We find that dense gas covers the protostar even in the polar direction and the HII region cannot expand. Solving the radiative transfer for getting accurate results is our future work. We are currently developing the new radiation hydrodynamics code for that.

So far detached compact binaries containing neutron stars have been observed either at intermediate stages of the evolution by radio telescopes or at merger by ground-based gravitational wave detectors. Sensitive to gravitational waves from binaries millions to thousands years prior to the merger, the future Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) will be crucial for bridging the gap between the currently accessible regimes. Depending on the binary type, LISA could potentially discover from a few to several hundreds in the entirely new regime throughout the Milky Way. Here we provide a concise summary of the current expectation for the detection of Galactic binaries containing neutron stars with LISA, focusing on double neutron stars and neutron star - white dwarf binaries. We outline a few examples of science investigations that LISA data will enable for these binaries.

We report on our observing campaign of the compact binary merger GW190814, detected by the Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo detectors on August 14th, 2019. This signal has the best localisation of any observed gravitational wave (GW) source, with a 90% probability area of 18.5 deg2, and an estimated distance of ≈240 Mpc. We obtained wide-field observations with the Deca-Degree Optical Transient Imager (DDOTI) covering 88% of the probability area down to a limiting magnitude of w = 19.9 AB. Nearby galaxies within the high probability region were targeted with the Lowell Discovery Telescope (LDT), whereas promising candidate counterparts were characterized through multi-colour photometry with the Reionization and Transients InfraRed (RATIR) and spectroscopy with the Gran Telescopio de Canarias (GTC). We use our optical and near-infrared limits in conjunction with the upper limits obtained by the community to constrain the possible electromagnetic counterparts associated with the merger. A gamma-ray burst seen along its jet’s axis is disfavoured by the multi-wavelength dataset, whereas the presence of a burst seen at larger viewing angles is not well constrained. Although our observations are not sensitive to a kilonova similar to AT2017gfo, we can rule out high-mass (> 0.1 M⊙) fast-moving (mean velocity ≥ 0.3c) wind ejecta for a possible kilonova associated with this merger.

To form stars in hydrodynamical simulations, we introduce the grouped star formation prescription to convert the grouped sink particles into stars that follow the IMF. We show that this method is robust in different physical scales. Such methods to form stars are likely to become more important as galactic or even cosmological scale simulations begin to probe sub-parsec scales.

In this poster we present the structure of an axisymmetric, force-free magnetosphere of a twisted, aligned rotating dipole within a corotating plasma-filled magnetosphere. We explore various profiles for the twist. We find that as the current increases more field lines cross the light cylinder leading to more efficient spin-down. Moreover, we notice that the twist cannot be increased indefinitely and after a finite twist of about π/2 the field becomes approximately radial. This could have implications for torque variations of magnetars related to outbursts.

The late-time effect of primordial non-Gaussianity offers a window into the physics of inflation and the very early Universe. In this work we study the consequences of a particular class of primordial non-Gaussianity that is fully characterized by initial density fluctuations drawn from a non-Gaussian probability density function, rather than by construction of a particular form for the primordial bispectrum. We numerically generate multiple realisations of cosmological structure and use the late-time matter polyspectra to determine the effect of these modified initial conditions. In this non-Gaussianity has only a small imprint on the first polyspectra, when compared to a standard Gaussian cosmology. Furthermore, some of our models present an interesting scale-dependent deviation from the Gaussian case in the bispectrum and trispectrum, although the signal is at most at the percent level.

Continuous gravitational Waves (CWs) are a very promising, not yet detected, and interesting class of persistent and semi-periodic signals. They are emitted mainly by rapidly rotating asymmetric neutron stars, with frequencies that are well covered by the [10-3 000] Hz range of the advanced LIGO-Virgo detectors. Due to the expected small degree of asymmetry of a neutron star, the search for this kind of signals is extremely challenging, and can be very computationally expensive when the source parameters are not known or not well constrained. CW detection from a spinning neutron star will allow us to characterize its structure and properties, making this source an unparalleled laboratory for studying several key issues in fundamental physics and relativistic astrophysics, in conditions that cannot be reproduced on Earth. The most recent methodologies used in CW searches will be discussed, and the latest results from the third advanced LIGO-Virgo observational run will be presented. A summary of future prospects to feasibly detect such feeble signals as the detector performance improves, and ever-more-sensitive and robust data-analysis algorithms are implemented, will be also outlined.

The spectacular detection of the first electromagnetic counterpart of a gravitational wave event detected by the LIGO/Virgo interferometers and originated by the coalescence of a double neutron star (NS) system (GW 170817) marked the dawn of a new era for astronomy. The short GRB 170817A associated to the gravitational wave event provided the long-sought evidence that at least a fraction of short GRBs are originated by NS-NS merging and suggested the intriguing possibility that relativistic jets can be launched in the process of a NS-NS merger. The wealth of data collected provided the first compelling observational evidence for the existence of kilonovae, i.e. the emission due to radioactive decay of heavy nuclei produced through rapid neutron capture. Besides the remarkable event associated to GW 170817, kilonova signatures have been identified in a few short GRBs light curves, supporting a scenario where kilonovae are ubiquitous and can probe neutron star mergers well beyond the horizon of the gravitational wave detectors. In this paper I will review the situation and perspectives of our understanding of short GRBs progenitors and kilonovae in the multi-messenger era.

We use hydrodynamical simulations to study the evolution of baryonic gas in a cosmologically evolving dark matter halo. We model both the inner and outer regions of the halo using a density profile that transitions from an inner NFW profile to a flat profile far from the halo. Metallicity-dependent radiative cooling and AGN jet feedback are implemented, which lead to heating and cooling cycles in the core. We analyze the evolution of gas and the central supermassive black hole (SMBH) across cosmological time. We find that the properties of the gas and the SMBH are correlated across halo masses and feedback efficiencies.

Most stars form in clumpy and sub-structured clusters. These properties also emerge in hydro-dynamical simulations of star-forming clouds, which provide a way to generate realistic initial conditions for N-body runs of young stellar clusters. However, producing large sets of initial conditions by hydro-dynamical simulations is prohibitively expensive in terms of computational time. We introduce a novel technique for generating new initial conditions from a given sample of hydro-dynamical simulations, at a tiny computational cost. In particular, we apply a hierarchical clustering algorithm to learn a tree representation of the spatial and kinematic relations between stars, where the leaves represent the single stars and the nodes describe the structure of the cluster at larger and larger scales. This procedure can be used as a basis for the random generation of new sets of stars, by simply modifying the global structure of the stellar cluster, while leaving the small-scale properties unaltered.

The dynamics of massless planetesimals in the gravitational field of a star with a planet in a circular orbit is considered. The invariant of this problem is the Jacobi integral. Preserving the value of the Jacobi integral can be a test for numerical algorithms solving the equation of motion. The invariant changes for particles in the planetary chaotic zone due to numerical errors that occur during close encounters with the planet. The limiting distances from the planet, upon reaching which the value of the Jacobi integral changes, are determined for Bulirsch-Stoer algorithm. It is shown that violation of the Jacobi integral can be used to define the boundaries of the planetary chaotic zone.

The combination of strong magnetic fields and fast rotation is often invoked as a characteristic of the central engine for outstanding sources such as GRBs, hypernovae, and superluminous supernovae. However, the actual properties of the magnetic field during the collapse of the stellar progenitor are very uncertain, since they depend on the evolution of the star and can be affected by complex dynamo processes occurring in the central proto-neutron star. Using 3D relativistic MHD models we show that higher-order multipolar fields can lead to the onset of a supernova, although they tend to produce less energetic explosions and less collimated outflows. Quadrupolar fields efficiently extract angular momentum from the central core, but the rotational energy is partly stored in the equatorial regions, rather than powering up the polar outflows. Finally, our results show a strong magnetic quenching of the hydrodynamic non-axisymmetric instabilities that are associated to the emission of GWs.

The binary neutron star merger gravitational-wave event GW170817 and observations of the subsequent electromagnetic signals at different wavelengths have helped better understand the outflows that follow these mergers. In particular, the off-axis afterglow of the jetted ejecta has allowed to probe the lateral structure of such jets, especially thanks to VLBI imagery of the source. In this work, we model this afterglow including a decelerating jet with lateral structure, while synchrotron emission and synchrotron self-Compton scatterings power the jet radiation. In particular, we extend our analysis to very high energies and predict the light curve in the energy range of H.E.S.S. and the CTA. We finally discuss how future detections of afterglows by these observatories can help break the degeneracies in some key physical parameter measurements, and allow to probe efficiently a sub-population of fast-merging binaries.