The interpretation of molecular line surveys at millimetre and submillimetre wavelengths towards astrophysical objects requires a good knowledge of the spectroscopy of the molecules present in the gas phase, and of the basic collisional processes between them and molecular and atomic Hydrogen, Helium, and electrons. From the chemical point of view, the modeling of these data requires a large amount of laboratory information concerning the reactivity of these species in the gas phase and in the ice mantles of dust grains. In this contribution I will focus on the problems to interpret line surveys and I will discuss how we will have to proceed in the new era opened by ALMA where sensitivity and angular resolution will surpass by nearly a factor 10 those of existing facilities, and where the spectral confusion limit could be reached towards many sources.

This paper reviews the rich corpus of observational evidence for tidaleffects, mostly based on photometric and radial-velocity measurements.This is done in a period when the study of binaries is beingrevolutionized by large-scaled photometric surveys that are detectingmany thousands of new binaries and tens of extrasolar planets. We begin by examining the short-term effects, such as ellipsoidalvariability and apsidal motion. We next turn to the long-termeffects, of which circularization was studied the most: a transitionperiod between circular and eccentric orbits has been derived foreight coeval samples of binaries. The study of synchronization andspin-orbit alignment is less advanced. As binaries are supposed toreach synchronization before circularization, one can expect findingeccentric binaries in pseudo-synchronization state, the evidence forwhich is reviewed. We also discuss synchronization in PMS and youngstars, and compare the emerging timescale with the circularizationtimescale. We next examine the tidal interaction in close binaries that areorbited by a third distant companion, and review the effect ofpumping the binary eccentricity by the third star. We elaborate on theimpact of the pumped eccentricity on the tidal evolution of closebinaries residing in triple systems, which may shrink the binary separation. Finally we consider the extrasolar planets and the observationalevidence for tidal interaction with their parent stars. This includesa mechanism that can induce radial drift of short-period planets,either inward or outward, depending on the planetary radial positionrelative to the corotation radius. Another effect is thecircularization of planetary orbits, the evidence for which can befound in eccentricity-versus-period plot of the planets already known. Whenever possible, the paper attempts to address the possibleconfrontation between theory and observations, and to point outnoteworthy cases and observations that can be performed in the futureand may shed some light on the key questions that remain open.

To first approximation, a binary system conserves its angular momentum while it evolves to its state of minimum kinetic energy: circular orbit, all spins aligned, and components rotating in synchronism with the orbital motion. The pace at which this final state is achieved depends on the physical processes that are responsible for the dissipation of the tidal kinetic energy. For stars (or planets) with an outer convection zone, the dominant mechanism identified so far is the viscous dissipation acting on the equilibrium tide. For stars with an outer radiation zone, it is the radiative damping operating on the dynamical tide. After a brief presentation of the tides, I shall review these physical processes; I shall discuss the uncertainties of their present treatment, describe the latest developments, and compare the theoretical predictions with the observed properties concerning the orbital circularization of close binaries.

Within the next few years, several instruments aiming at imaging extrasolar planets will see first light. In parallel, low mass planets are being searched around red dwarfs which offer more favorable conditions – both for radial velocity detection and transit studies – than solar-type stars. We review recent advancements in modeling the stellar to substellar transition. The revised solar oxygen abundances and cloud models allow to reproduce the photometric and spectroscopic properties of this transition to a degree never achieved before, but problems remain at the stellar-brown dwarf transition typical of the Teff range of characterizable exoplanets.

NARVAL is a new generation spectro-polarimeter for the Télescope Bernard Lyot (TBL) at Observatoire du Pic du Midi. It is an adapted copy of ESPADONS and should be 10 to 20 times more efficient than MUSICOS currently in use at TBL.

The formation of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in the circumstellar outflows ofevolved stars is reviewed, with an emphasis on carbon stars on the Asymptotic GiantBranch. Evidence for PAHs present in their winds is provided by meteoritic studies andrecent observations of the Unidentified Infrared bands. We detail the chemical processesleading to the closure of the first aromatic ring as well as the growth mechanisms leadingto amorphous carbon grains. Existing studies on PAH formation in evolved stellar envelopesare reviewed and new results for the modelling of the inner wind of the archetype carbonstar IRC+10216 are presented. Benzene, C6H6, forms close to thestar, as well as water, H2O, as a result of non-equilibrium chemistry inducedby the periodic passage of shocks. The growth process of aromatic rings may thus resemblethat active in sooting flames due to the presence of radicals like hydroxyl, OH. Finally,we discuss possible formation processes for PAHs and aromatic compounds in thehydrogen-rich R CrB star, V854 Cen, and their implication for the carriers of the RedEmission and the Diffuse Interstellar Bands.

This lecture provides some introduction to perfect fluid dynamics within theframework of general relativity. The presentation is based on theCarter-Lichnerowicz approach. It has the advantage over the more traditionalapproach of leading very straightforwardly to important conservation laws, such as the relativistic generalizations ofBernoulli's theorem or Kelvin's circulation theorem. It also permits to get easily first integrals of motion which are particularly usefulfor computing equilibrium configurations of relativistic stars in rotation or in binary systems.The presentation is relatively self-contained and does not require any a prioriknowledge of general relativity. In particular, the three types of derivatives involved in relativistic hydrodynamics are introducedin detail: this concerns the Lie, exterior and covariant derivatives.

Strong IR emission features at 3.3,6.2,7.7,8.6,and 11.2 μm are acommon characteristic of the interstellar medium of the Milky Way and nearby galaxies andout to redshifts of3. Here,we review the history of the PAH hypothesis which attributesthese emission features to vibrational fluorescence of large (~50 carbon-atomPolycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon molecules pumped by ultraviolet photons from nearby starsor the average interstellar radiation field. Over the last 25 years,our insight in thecharacteristics of these molecules and their role in the Universe has greatly improved andthe PAH hypothesis is alive and well; not in the least due a remarkable adaptability. Notsurprisingly,the precise characteristics of these species remains to be defined.

This course reviews the rotational properties of non- degenerate stars as observed from the protostellar stage to the end of the main sequence. It includes an introduction to the various observational techniques used to measure stellar rotation. Angular momentum evolution models developed over the mass range from the substellar domain to high-mass stars are briefly discussed.

Over the past decade, a consensus picture has emerged in which roughly a quarter of the universe consists of dark matter. The observational evidence for the existence of dark matter is reviewed: rotation curves of galaxies, weak lensing measurements, hot gas in clusters, primordial nucleosynthesis and microwave background experiments. In addition, a new line of research on Dark Stars is presented, which suggests that the first stars to exist in the universe were powered by dark matter heating rather than by fusion: the observational possibilities of discovering dark matter in this way are discussed.

Charge Transfer Inefficiency (CTI) is a well known effect of charge-coupled devices (CCD). The charge transfer from one pixel to the next is not perfect and is quantified by the fraction of charge successfully moved (clocked) between adjacent pixels. The amplitude of this effect depends on the signal level inside the pixel. In the context of high-precision radial velocity measurements using cross-dispersed echelle spectrograph, this CTI effect on a CCD recording spectral orders may introduce associated spectral lines shifts. Indeed if the signal level recorded on the spectra is changing, the CTI amplitude will change affecting the associated centroid of all spectral lines. Such effect may introduced radial velocity shifts of several  m s-1. We describe here CTI effect which is affecting the SOPHIE spectrograph installed on the 1.93-m telescope of Observatoire de Haute Provence (OHP). We calibrated the effect thanks to the Thorium-Argon lines and we applied a software correction on the spectra in order to assess the charge lost during the readout process on all pixels.

Triggered star formation in bright rims and shells is reviewed. Shells are commonly observed in the Milky Way and other galaxies, but most diffuse shells seen in HI or the infrared do not have obvious triggered star formation. Dense molecular shells and pillars around HII regions often do have such triggering, although sometimes it is difficult to see what is triggered and what stars formed in the gas before the pressure disturbances. Pillar regions without clear age gradients could have their stars scattered by the gravity of the heads. Criteria and timescales for triggering are reviewed. The insensitivity of the average star formation rate in a galaxy to anything but the molecular mass suggests that triggering is one of many processes that lead to gravitational collapse and star formation.

There is considerable experimental effort dedicated to the directional detection of particle dark matter. Gaseous μTPC detectors present the privileged features of being able to reconstruct the track and the energy of the recoil nucleus following the interaction. A precise measurement of the recoil energy is a key point for the directional search strategy. Quenching has to be taken into account, i.e. only a certain fraction of the recoil energy is deposited in the ionization channel. Measurements of the ionization quenching factor for different gas mixture at room temperature have been made with a dedicated ion beam facility at the LPSC of Grenoble.

The standard errors of the end-of-mission Gaia astrometry have been re-assessed after conclusion of the in-orbit commissioning phase of the mission. An analytical relation is provided for the parallax standard error σϖ as function of Gaia G magnitude (and V − I colour) which supersedes the pre-launch relation provided in de Bruijne (2012).

Directional detection of non-baryonic Dark Matter is a promising search strategy for discriminating WIMP events from background ones. This strategy requires both a measurement of the recoil energy down to a few keV and 3D reconstruction of tracks down to a few mm. The MIMAC project, based on a micro-TPC matrix, filled with CF4 and CHF3 is being developed. The first results of a chamber prototype of this matrix, on low energy nuclear recoils (1H and 19F) obtained with mono-energetic neutron fields are presented. The discovery potential of this search strategy is illustrated by a realistic case accessible to MIMAC.

Gas-filled Time Projection Chambers (TPCs) with Gas Electron Multipliers (GEMs) and pixels appear suitable for direction-sensitive WIMP dark matter searches. We present the background and motivation for our work on this technology, past and ongoing prototype work, and a development path towards an affordable, 1-m3-scale directional dark matter detector, D3. Such a detector may be particularly suitable for low-mass WIMP searches, and perhaps sufficiently sensitive to clearly determine whether the signals seen by DAMA, CoGeNT, and CRESST-II are due to low-mass WIMPs or background.

This pedagogical review covers an unsolved problem in the theory of protoplanetary disks: the growth of dust grains into planetesimals, solids at least a kilometer in size. I summarize timescale constraints imposed on planetesimal formation by circumstellar disk observations, analysis of meteorites, and aerodynamic radial migration. The infall of ≲ meter-sized solids in a hundred years is the most stringent constraint. I review proposed mechanisms for planetesimal formation. Collisional coagulation models are informed by laboratory studies of microgravity collisions. The gravitational collapse (or Safronov-Goldreich-Ward) hypothesis involves detailed study of the interaction between solid particles and turbulent gas. I cover the basics of aerodynamic drag in protoplanetary disks, including radial drift and vertical sedimentation. I describe various mechanisms for particle concentration in gas disks – including turbulent pressure maxima, drag instabilities and long-lived anticylonic vortices. I derive a general result for the minimum size for a vortex to trap particles in a sub-Keplerian disk. Recent numerical simulations demonstrate that particle clumping in turbulent protoplanetary disks can trigger gravitational collapse. I discuss several outstanding issues in the field.


Among the various methods used to age-date stars, methods based on stellar model predictions are widely used, for nearly all kind of stars in large ranges of masses, chemical compositions and evolutionary stages. The precision and accuracy on the age determination depend on both the precision and number of observational constraints, and on our ability to correctly describe the stellar interior and evolution. The imperfect input physics of stellar models as well as the uncertainties on the initial chemical composition of stars are responsible for uncertainties in the age determination. We present an overview of the calculation of stellar models and discuss the impact on age of their numerous inputs.

This chapter deals with the multiple linear regression. That is we investigate the situation where the mean of a variable depends linearly on a set of covariables. The noise is supposed to be gaussian.

We develop the least squared method to get the parameter estimators and estimates of their precisions. This leads to design confidence intervals, prediction intervals, global tests, individual tests and more generally tests of submodels defined by linear constraints.

Methods for model's choice and variables selection, measures of the quality of the fit, residuals study, diagnostic methods are presented. Finally identification of departures from the model's assumptions and the way to deal with these problems are addressed.

A real data set is used to illustrate the methodology with software R.

Note that this chapter is intended to serve as a guide for other regression methods, like logistic regression or AFT models and Cox regression.

Angular momentum plays a crucial role in the formation of stars and planets. It has long been noticed that parcels of gas in molecular clouds need to reduce their specific angular momentum by 6 to 7 orders of magnitude to participate in the building of a typical star like the Sun. Several physical processes on different scales and at different stages of evolution can contribute to this loss of angular momentum. In order to set constraints on these processes and better understand this transfer of angular momentum, a detailed observational census and characterization of rotation at all stages of evolution and over all scales of star forming regions is necessary. This review presents the main results obtained in low-mass star forming regions over the past four decades in this field of research. It addresses the search and characterization of rotation in molecular clouds, prestellar and protostellar cores, circumstellar disks, and jets. Perspectives offered by ALMA are briefly discussed.