Convective overshoot is a physical mechanism for which no recipe based on first principles is available; hence the necessity of assuming some parametrisations, which undermine the predictive power of the current generation of stellar models. We evidentiate the non local aspects of the convective phenomenon particularly in the proximities of the convective borders, and identify some cases when the use of a diffusive rather than the classic instantaneous approach to describe overshooting is highly recommended.

We briefly review the feedback effects of massive stars, via their stellar winds and supernova explosions, on the star-forming regions in which they were born. We give a few examples, spanning a wide range of spatial scales, from ∼100 pc out to ∼10 kpc: the so-called “Local Bubble” (in reality an open bipolar structure extending on both sides of the galactic disk); the Extended Orion Nebula and its open cavity filled with a hot, MK outflowing plasma; the Great Carina Nebula and its extended diffuse X-ray emission; the 30 Dor region in the LMC and its various bubbles; and the extended, bipolar outflow of the prototype starburst galaxy M 82, influenced by a nearby group of galaxies. We conclude by stressing the similarity of these phenomena across all spatial scales, galactic and extragalactic.

A description of the early days of infrared site testing at the SouthPole is given, with special attention paid to the data whichquantified the conditions during summer and the long twilight period.Such times are also provide relatively benign conditions for humans inAntarctica as well. We show that they are favourable for manyobserving programs that require the thermal infrared, and then discussa number of specific projects that could be undertaken. Such projectsmight mark the first to be conducted with any new telescope inAntarctica, as they would enable science to be carried out during thecommissioning period.

Severe interstellar extinction toward the Galactic plane has prevented the investigation of stellar populations in that region. Pulsating variable stars, particularly Cepheids and Miras, are useful tracers because their distances and ages can be determined accurately. Infrared observations of these variable stars in the obscured regions can provide useful information about the hidden parts of the Galaxy. These objects can also provide complimentary information to observations made by the Gaia spacecraft because highly-obscured objects cannot be detected by Gaia. We have carried out a near-infrared survey of variable stars near the Galactic bulge, between − 10 and + 10 degrees in galactic longitude, using the IRSF 1.4 m telescope and SIRIUS near-infrared camera in South Africa. Here as an initial result we report the discovery of 19 classical Cepheids behind the bulge.

The Gaia spectro-photometric data consist of white-light G magnitudes from unfilteredfluxes measured in the astrometric field CCDs, and low resolution prism spectra measuredin the blue (BP) and red (RP) CCDs. The integrated flux of these BP and RP spectra willyield GBP and GRP magnitudes astwo broad passbands. The internal flux calibration will correct for all possibleinstrumental effects and produce mean spectral energy distributions in an internallydefined flux scale. The purpose of the absolute flux calibration is to tie this flux scaleto physical units by means of spectro-photometric standard stars that rely ultimately onVega’s absolute flux scale. The characteristics of the Gaia spectrophotometric system willbe described, and the absolute calibration process will be outlined and compared withexamples of classical systems.

The resolution criterion for self-gravity in AMR codes derived by Truelove et al.  (1997) based on the Jeans length is a very robust one and thus quite popular. We believe that for some configurations, such as self-gravitating discs, there are reasons to supplement it in order to properly resolve gravitational instabilities and clump formation processes at reasonable computational costs.

The paper focuses on collisional excitation rates of molecules by He, H2 andelectrons relevant to the interstellar medium, it discusses currently available data,presents very recent work and outlines new work being carried out in order to provide easyaccess to these molecular data. In particular outlines of the latest developments in theBASECOL database and of the “Virtual Molecular Data Centre” capabilities are provided.

The International Robotic Antarctic Infrared Telescope(IRAIT)will be the first European infrared telescope to operate onthe Antarctic Plateau: IRAIT is scheduled to arrive at Dome Cduring the 2007–2008 Antarctic campaign. The main IRAIT FocalPlane Instrument is AMICA (Antarctic Multiband Infrared CAmera)an instrument designed to observe in the Near- and Mid-infrared(2–28 μm). Here we give a brief description of thetelescope and discuss which kind of science could be performedfrom Dome C.

The maximum luminosity of protostars forming in molecular clouds isinvestigated as a function of the parent cloud mass on the basis of arich cloud sample searched for in the literature. In total, we gathered499 molecular clouds among the published data, out of which 243clouds are found to be associated with candidates for protostars selectedfrom the IRAS point source catalog. A diagram of the maximum stellarluminosity in each cloud and the parent cloud mass shows that theyoung stars in the clouds associated withregions are apparentlymore luminous than those in clouds away from HIIregions over theentire cloud mass range investigated (1 < MCL/M⊙ < 106).In addition, wefound that there are well-defined upper and lower limits in themaximum stellar luminosity distribution with the lower limit having asteeper dependence on the cloud mass(LMAX ∝ MCL1.5) than the upperone (LMAX ∝ MCL0.8). All these featurescould be naturally accounted forif we assume that the luminosity function of protostars is controlled by thecloud mass and the external pressure imposed on the cloud surface. Weintroduce a simple model for the stellar luminosity function as afunction of these quantities.

As red supergiants are the largest and brightest stars, they are ideal targets for the new generation of sensitive, high resolution instrumentation that provides spectrophotometric, interferometric, astrometric, and imaging observables. The interpretation of the complex stellar surface images requires numerical simulations of stellar convection that take into account multi-dimensional time-dependent radiation hydrodynamics with realistic input physics. We show the results obtained with the synergy between the radiative hydrodynamics code CO5BOLD and the post-processing radiative transfer code Optim3D. Such simulations support a proper and quantitative analysis of these observations, and the observations provide the theoretical work with strong constraints.

I review recent studies of the emission-line regions in Orion and M 17. Both have similar geometries, a bubble of hot shocked gas surrounding the central star cluster, with H+, H0, and H2 regions, often referred to as H II regions, PDRs, and molecular clouds, forming successive shells on the surface of a molecular cloud. The magnetic fields in the H0 regions have been measured with 21 cm Zeeman polarization and are found to be 1 – 2 dex stronger than the field in the diffuse ISM. The regions appear to be in rough hydrostatic equilibrium. The H+ region is pushed away from the star cluster by starlight radiation pressure. Since most starlight is in ionizing radiation, most of its outward push will act on the H+ region and then on to the H0 region. The magnetic pressure in the H0 region balances the momentum in starlight and together they set the location of the H0 region. The picture is that, when the star cluster formed, it created a bubble of ionized gas which expanded and compressed surrounding H0 and H2 regions. The magnetic field was amplified until its pressure was able to support the momentum in starlight. This offers a great simplification in understanding the underlying physics that establishes parameters for PDR models.

In this paper we review the progress towards the deployment of alarge "PILOT-like" telescope at Concordia Station, Dome C. PILOT isa proposed 2.4 m optical/IR telescope that will cost in excess of EUR10 m, and is thus representative of the scale of facility that willtransform Concordia into a significant international observatory. Adesign study of PILOT, funded by the Australian government, iscurrently underway. We describe the current status of this designstudy, and discuss the implications that major internationalprojects such as PILOT hold for the future of Antarctic astronomy atConcordia.

PAIX, acronym for Photometer AntarctIc eXtinction, is a new photometer which has just been installed at Dome C in December 2006. PAIX consists of a 40 cm telescope equipped with a KAF-0401E CCD detector. The goal is to qualify the site of Dome C and to get continuous observations for making the best from stellar pulsation studies across the HR diagram.

The aim of this talk is to present the most recent advances in establishing plausible planetary system architectures determined by the gravitational tidal interactions between the planets and the disc in which they are embedded during the early epoch of planetary system formation. We concentrate on a very well defined and intensively studied process of the disc-planet interaction leading to the planet migration. We focus on the dynamics of the systems in which low-mass planets are present. Particular attention is devoted to investigation of the role of resonant configurations. Our studies, apart from being complementary to the fast progress occurring just now in observing the whole variety of planetary systems and uncovering their structure and origin, can also constitute a valuable contribution in support of the missions planned to enhance the number of detected multiple systems.

In the study of extended sources such as star forming regions, galactic planetary nebulae or comets wide field integral-field spectroscopy at high spectral resolution in the infrared, would be the ideal tool. It is shown that an imaging FTS (IFTS) is the only instrument which can combine a wide field, up to ~10', with a spectral resolution ≥105. At Dome C, in the 2 to 25 μm region, as instrument of a 3-m class telescope, a wide-field IFTS would have no equivalent in space and on ground. It can take full advantage of all the astronomical properties of this site, in particular the lowest thermal background emission conditions on Earth. A program to simulate the expected performances has been developed. At the highest resolution the best sensitivity implies the use of narrow-band filters on the emission lines of interest.

We review the experimental evidence for Einstein's special and general relativity. A variety of high precision null experimentsverify the weak equivalence principle and local Lorentz invariance,while gravitational redshift and other clock experiments support localposition invariance. Together these results confirm theEinstein Equivalence Principle which underlies the concept thatgravitation must bedescribed by a metric theory.Solar system experiments that test the weak-field, post-Newtonianlimit of metric theories strongly favorgeneral relativity. The BinaryPulsar provides tests of gravitational-wave dampingand of strong-field general relativity. Recently discovered binarypulsar systems may provide additional tests. Ongoing and futureexperiments, such as the Gravity Probe B GyroscopeExperiment, satellite tests of the Equivalence principle, and tests ofgravity at short distance to look for extra spatial dimensions could constrain extensions of general relativity.Laser interferometricgravitational-wave observatories on Earth and in space may provide new testsof gravitational theory via detailed measurements of the properties of gravitational waves.

We present model calculations of the atmospheric transmission for DOME C in Antarctica for frequencies up to 10 THz (30 μm) using the forward model MOLIERE-5. Measurements of precipitable water vapor (pwv), obtained by the SUMMIT radiometer installed at the Concordia station during 2008 and working at a wavelength of 200 μm, are translated into atmospheric transmission using MOLIERE. Quartiles of transmission, calculated from 200 μm data are extrapolated to 350 μm and compared to the CCAT (Cornell-Caltech Atacama Telescope) site in Chile. It turns out that for 25% of the time at DOME C (CCAT), the transmission is around 20% (5%) at 200 μm. This corresponds to a pwv of 0.18 mm for DOME C. At 350 μm, for 50% of time at DOME C (CCAT) the transmission is around 55% (25%). This corresponds to a pwv of 0.22 mm for DOME C. These results show that DOME C is one of the best observing sites on Earth for submm-astronomy with respect to high atmospheric transmission over long time periods.

Dwarf galaxies are generally faint. To derive their age and metallicity distributions, it is critical to optimize the use of any collected photon. Koleva et al., using full spectrum fitting, have found strong population gradients in some dwarf elliptical galaxies. Here, we show that the population profiles derived with this method are consistent and more precise with those obtained with spectrophotometric indices. This allows studying fainter objects in less telescope time.

A review of the observational constraints and theoretical models of extra-planar rotation (lagging halos) is presented. It is becoming clear that lagging halos, with vertical gradients in rotation speeds ranging from dvΘ/dz = −8to − 60km s−1kpc−1, are a ubiquitous phenomenon. The observational data so far does not allow one to say definitively whether this number changes with radius or with vertical height in a galaxy, but it is pointed out that such measurements, along with constraints on the presence of radial flows, will provide a crucial test that may allow one to distinguish between the different physical models that produce lagging halos. Some challenges in kinematically distinguishing between Galactic circulation and extragalactic accretion are also discussed.

I present an simple, introductory review text, focusing on recent deep field studies using radio telescopes, including high-resolution, wide-field VLBI observations. The nature of the faint radio source population is discussed, taking into account complimentary data and results that are now available via the sub-mm, IR, optical and X-ray wave-bands. New developments regarding the increased sensitivity of VLBI and an expansion in the instruments field-of-view are also presented. VLBI may be an important tool in recognising distant, obscured AGN from the “contaminant” star forming galaxies that now dominate lower-resolution, sub-arcsecond and arcsecond radio observations.