Facilities for studying gas-solid interactions on beamline I11 at the Diamond Light Source are described. Sample evolution in low and high gas pressure capillary cells (1 × 10-7 to 100 bar) with non-contact cooling and heating (80 to 1273 K) can be monitored structurally (X-rays) and spectroscopically (Raman). First results on the dehydration of MgSO4.7H2O, the formation of CO2 clathrate hydrate and the reaction of amorphous CaSiO3 grains with CO2 gas to form CaCO3 are presented to demonstrate the application of these cells to laboratory investigations involving the processing of cosmic dust simulants and planetary materials analogues.

Desorption of condensed species is a key process in controlling the balance of material between the solid and gaseous phases in the interstellar medium. Therefore, a quantitative understanding of desorption in astrophysical environments, by both thermal and non-thermal mechanisms, is essential for development of the field of astrochemistry. This paper briefly reviews recent progress in the study of desorption by experimental and computational methods, and identifies some areas with potential for development in the near future.

The small mission A-STAR (All-Sky Transient Astrophysics Reporter) aims to locate theX-ray counterparts to ALIGO and other gravitational wave detector sources, to study thepoorly-understood low luminosity gamma-ray bursts, and to find a wide variety of transienthigh-energy source types, A-STAR will survey the entire available sky twice per 24 hours.The payload consists of a coded mask instrument, Owl, operating in the novel low energyband 4−150 keV, and a sensitive wide-field focussing soft X-ray instrument, Lobster,working over 0.15−5 keV. A-STAR will trigger on ~100 GRBs/yr, rapidlydistributing their locations.

This paper discusses facets of visual communication by way of images, graphs, diagrams and tabular material. Design types and elements of graphical images are presented, along with advice on how to create graphs, and on how to read graphical illustrations. This is done in astronomical context, using case studies and historical examples of good and bad graphics.

Design types of graphs (scatter and vector plots, histograms, pie charts, ternary diagrams and three-dimensional surface graphs) are explicated, as well as the major components of graphical images (axes, legends, textual parts, etc.).

The basic features of computer graphics (image resolution, vector images, bitmaps, graphical file formats and file conversions) are explained, as well as concepts of color models and of color spaces (with emphasis on aspects of readability of color graphics by viewers suffering from color-vision deficiencies).

Special attention is given to the verity of graphical content, and to misrepresentations and errors in graphics and associated basic statistics. Dangers of dot joining and curve fitting are discussed, with emphasis on the perception of linearity, the issue of nonsense correlations, and the handling of outliers. Finally, the distinction between data, fits and models is illustrated.

We first review the nonrelativistic Lagrangian theory as a framework for the MOND equation. Obstructions to a relativistic version of it are discussed leading up to TeVeS, a relativistic tensor-vector-scalar field theory which displays both MOND and Newtonian limits. The whys for its particular structure are discussed and its achievements so far are summarized.

The radio galaxy RC J0311+0507 was investigated in the “Big Trio” project, which aims tosearch for distant radio galaxies. Optical spectroscopy performed at the 6-m telescopemeasured its redshift as 4.514. The source is one of the most luminous objects in the highredshift Universe having L  ≈  3 × 1029W Hz-1 at 500 MHz, thatsuggests the presence of a super massive black hole with a mass of about1010 M⊙ inside the parent galaxy. Mechanisms ofthe formation of galaxies with black holes of such masses in the early stage of theUniverse is not yet clear. Based on a collection of deep images taken in 10 optical andinfrared bands we started a photometric study of the environment of this radio galaxy todetect possible neighborhood.

Hot super-Earths are exoplanets with masses ≤10 M⊕ and orbital periods ≤20 days. Around 8 hot super-Earths have been discovered in the neighborhood of the Solar System. In this lecture, we review the mechanisms for the formation of hot super-Earths, and dynamical effects that play important roles in sculpting the architecture of multiple planetary systems. Two example systems (HD 40307 and GJ 436) are presented to show the formation and evolution of hot super-Earths or Neptunes.

Magnetic field are ubiquitous to young and mature low-mass stars, and can potentially impact their formation, their evolution and their internal structure; yet the physical processes that succeed at amplifying and sustaining these fields (called dynamo processes), like those capable of changing the fate of the host stars (and in particular their rotation rates), are still somewhat enigmatic. Although theoretical modelling and numerical simulations (e.g., of stellar dynamo action and magnetospheric accretion processes) showed breathtaking progress in the last decade, they are not yet in the state of accurately predicting the various magnetic topologies that different low-mass stars can generate nor the impact such fields can have on stellar formation.

Thanks to the advent of new-generation instruments, spectropolarimetric observations coupled to tomographic techniques can now reveal the large-scale magnetic topologies of both young and mature low-mass stars, and in particular their poloidal and toroidal components. More specifically, one can now investigate magnetic topologies of cool dwarfs, all the way from the brown dwarf threshold (spectral type M8) where stars are fully convective up to the limit beyond which outer convective zones get vanishingly small (spectral type F5); one can also explore the magnetic topologies of young low-mass stars that are still accreting mass from their circumstellar disc (i.e., the classical T Tauri stars) and study how such fields can impact mass accretion processes from the surrounding discs.

We review herein the latest observational advances in this field, showing in particular that large-scale magnetic topologies of low-mass stars and protostars can drastically vary with mass and rotation rate, and discuss their implications for our understanding of dynamo processes, stellar formation and stellar evolution.

We explore the possibility of detecting Super Earths via transit timing variations with the satellite CoRoT.

MIRI, the mid-IR instrument of JWST (James Webb Space Telescope),will include a coronagraphic device for which the ultimate goal isthe detection and caracterization of extrasolar planets aroundnearby stars. In this paper, we describe the optical concept ofMIRI and the instrumental choices that were made in phase A and Bregarding the coronagraphic system. Finally, we will presentnumerical simulations that we carried out to evaluate thecapability for detecting extrasolar giant gazeous planets.

N-body simulations find a universal structure for the halos whichresult from the nonlinear growth of Gaussian-random-noise densityfluctuations in the CDM universe. This talk summarized our attempts toderive and explain this universal structure by analyticalapproximation and simplified models. As an example, we show here thata 1D spherical infall model involving a fluid approximation derivedfrom the Boltzmann equation can explain not only the halo density profilebut its phase-space density profile, as well.

This contribution describes our solar project at theAntarctic sites of Baia Terranova, South Pole and Dome-C. The project is based on a multi-level helioseismology analysis, aimed to study, for the first time, the local properties of the solar atmosphere. In addition, we plan to detect the presence of Alfvèn waves in and around the active regions, as an energy transfer vehicle from sunspots towards the corona. The technology used is the well known compact, stable, relatively unexpensive and still improving MOF (Magneto-Optical Filter).

The Franco-Algerian Monitor of Solar Images (MISOLFA) was developped in order to study the effect of optical turbulence on diameter measurements from ground-based solar observations. Some first results obtained with MISOLFA are presented.

Cosmic shear offers a remarkably clean way to measure the equation of state of the Universe and its evolution. Resolution over a wide field is paramount, and Antarctica offers unique possibilities in this respect. There is an order of magnitude gain in speed over temperate sites, or a factor three in surface density. This means that PILOT outperforms much larger telescopes elsewhere, and can compete with the proposed DUNE space mission.

Dome A, the summit of the Antarctic plateau, is expected to have even better atmospheric conditions for ground-based astronomy than Dome C.Instruments to evaluate and exploit Dome A's astronomical potentialmust operate within logistical constraints, which are currentlyvery stringent. Instrumentation now at Dome A exemplifies the techniques and solutions required by this environment. Future instrumentation and infrastructure will allow the qualities of the siteto be exploited much more fully.

We present a new, fully-funded ground-based instrument designed to measurethe B-mode polarization of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB). The conceptis based on three independent sub-systems operating at 90, 150 and 220 GHz,each comprising a telescope and a focal plane of horn-coupled background-limited bolometers. This highly-sensitive experiment, planned to be based at Dome C station in Antarctica, is optimised to produce very low systematiceffects. It will allow the detection of the CMB polarization over angular multipoles 20<l<1000accurately enough to measure the B-mode signature from gravitationalwaves to a lensing-confusion-limited tensor-to-scalar ratio r ~ 0.005.

In recent years the census of known satellites in our own Local Group and in nearby galaxy groups has increased substantially due to sensitive wide-area surveys. In the Local Group these surveys have more than doubled its galaxy content and extended the galaxy luminosity function to very faint total magnitudes. Deep ground-based imaging and spectroscopic observations as well as high-resolution imaging with the Hubble Space Telescope have revolutionized our understanding of the chemical evolution and star formation histories of the satellites. We often find long-lasting star formation episodes with low star formation efficiencies. There is evidence for localized, stochastic enrichment, and recent searches are now beginning to uncover even extremely metal-deficient stars. In many satellites evidence for two or more distinct stellar subpopulations is found. Differing fractions of old populations have been detected in all satellites studied in sufficient detail so far. Kinematic measurements support a picture in which satellites are dark-matter dominated, although recent results indicate that the proposed common mass scale may not hold for very low-mass satellites. When considering satellite ensembles, we find global morphology–distance and gas-content–distance relations in all groups studied thus far, but individual star formation histories seem to also strongly depend on a given satellite’s intrinsic properties.

The characteristics of irradiated solar system planetary atmospheres have been studied for decades. Modern planetary science benefits from an exhaustive body of ground- and space-based data. The study of extrasolar planetary atmospheres, by contrast, is in its infancy and currently rests on a few score of datapoints, mostly of the transiting planets. As the study of exoplanetary atmospheres blossoms, it is well worth remembering lessons learned from the solar system. In this contribution, based on my Les Houches lecture on exoplanet atmospheres, I briefly review a few of the key concepts relevant to understanding planetary atmospheres and point to examples both in our own solar system and among the exoplanets. This short survey aims not to review the field but rather stresses the importance of understanding the structure, dynamics, cloud processes and photochemistry of planetary atmospheres and points the reader towards useful reference works. Here I particularly explain the importance of cloud and photochemical processes in controlling the spectra and albedos of extrasolar planets and urge that care be taken in the interpretation of exoplanet colors.

In order to prepare the theoretical interpretation of the oscillation frequencies detected by CoRoT, comparisons of results from standard stellar models by the ESTA group have proven to be very useful. The next issue which is briefly addressed here is “what are the additional physical processes that must be included in stellar models computed with different evolutionary codes for the next comparison exercises?” We therefore discuss the impact on oscillation frequencies of several physical processes which are still poorly understood and/or poorly modelled but cannot be fully discarded.