By fitting the revised Hipparcos intermediate astrometric data (HIAD), we obtain thephotocentric orbital solutions of some single-lined spectroscopic binaries (SB1s) in the9th Catalogue of Orbits of Spectroscopic Binaries (SB9). For SB1s with relatively smallmagnitude difference between the two components, we find that the primary orbit is not agood approximation of the photocentric orbit in their orbit determination and suggest thatfuture spectroscopic observations and advanced spectral separation techniques should beapplied to these systems. In order to facilitate these future observations, we alsoestimate the full orbital solutions and provide the observational ephemerides. As anexample, we give the result for HIP 113860.

Rapidly rotating solar type stars display varying amounts ofchromospheric emission in their Balmer lines. The profiles of theselines often display rapid variability. Since the mid-1980s,high-cadence echelle spectroscopy of numerous such stars has revealedthat some of the variability is caused by concentrations of neutralhydrogen, trapped in the stellar coronal magnetic field at distancesup to a few stellar radii from the rotation axis. In this paper wereview the observations and the tomographic techniques that can beapplied to mapping these "slingshot prominence" systems. We discussthe possible mechanisms for formation and mechanical support of thesecondensations, in the light of recent efforts to map 3-dimensionalstellar coronal magnetic fields and X-ray emission measuredistributions, with the help of Zeeman-Doppler imaging.

This paper reports the development of an experiment (TEPEE/GReAT) to test the Equivalence Principle (EP) at a level of accuracy equal to 5 × 10-15, by means of a differential accelerometer free falling in a cryogenic vacuum capsule released from a stratospheric balloon. Such an accuracy requires resolving a very small signal out of the instrument's intrinsic noise and the noise associated with the instrument's motion. Imperfections in the construction of the detector introduce gravity gradient noise that it is possible to separate from the violation signal spinning the detector around an horizontal axis in order to have the EP violation signal and the gravity gradients one modulated at two different frequencies. Experimental results on prototype instruments showing high sensitivity and common mode rejection factor are shown.

CoRoT is the first instrument aiming at detecting exoplanets from space, using the transit method. It has been built in order to explore the domain of planets with orbital period less than three months, and size down to about two Earth radii. Successfully launched on the 27th of December 2006, the instrument started its science observations by the beginning of February 2007. The first detections show the capability of the instrument to enlarge the parameter space and to explore the transition regime between gaseous giant and terrestrial planets. Five new transiting giant planets discovered by CoRoT are fully characterized at the time of writing.

Stellar clusters are crucial in the study of a variety of topics including the star formation process, stellar nucleosynthesis and evolution, dynamical interaction among stars, or the assembly and evolution of galaxies. In particular, Open Clusters (OCs) have been widely used to constrain the formation and evolution of the Milky Way disc. They provide information about the chemical patterns and the existence of radial and vertical gradients or an age-metallicity relation. However, all these investigations are hampered by the fact that only a small fraction of clusters have been studied homogeneously. Galactic surveys performed from the ground such as the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE), the Gaia-ESO Survey (GES), or the GALactic Archaeology with HERMES (GALAH) include OCs among their targets. OCs are also sampled from the space by the Gaia and Kepler missions.

The OCCASO goal is to derive abundances for more than 20 chemical species in at least 6 Red Clump stars in ∼30 Northern hemisphere OCs. In order to ensure the reliability of the derived chemical abundances, these are derived using different analysis techniques similar to what is being performed by GES.

One of the OCCASO requirements is the homogeneity between instruments, methods and model atmospheres used, and in the same scale than the GES-UVES abundances. For this reason we are performing different tests checking internal and external consistency. Derived stellar atmosphere parameters and Fe abundances will be published in the first data release scheduled for the first semester of 2015.

The online pdf of the poster with first results is available at https://gaia.ub.edu/Twiki/pub/GREATITNFC/ProgramFinalconference/poster_OCCASO.pdf.

This review presents a general overview of the magnetic fields foundin main sequence A and B stars, and of some of the phenomenaassociated with this magnetism. An attempt is made to place theobserved magnetic fields into an evolutionary context.

The atmosphere above the Concordia station at Dome C Antarctica offers unique advantages to infrared interferometry. No other astronomical technique experiences comparable performance gains relative to other good sites. The dramatic improvement in infrared interferometry performance at the Dome C site enables a relatively modest instrument, based on three ${\sim}2$ m class telescopes, to be capable of extensive unique discovery space science; such an instrument would be especially well-suited to the study of extrasolar planets. The conditions at Concordia are the closest Earth analog to those of space and potentially provide a stepping stone to proposed space interferometers, such as Darwin and TPFI, that will search for biomarkers on other habitable worlds – worlds that may well have been detected initially by an infrared interferometer operating at Dome C.


The origin of ultra-high energy cosmic rays (UHECR) has been widely regarded as one ofthe major questions in the frontiers of particle astrophysics. Gamma ray bursts (GRB), themost violent explosions in the universe second only to the Big Bang, have been a popularcandidate site for UHECR productions. The recent IceCube report on the non-observation ofGRB induced neutrinos therefore attracts wide attention. This dilemma requires aresolution: either the assumption of GRB as UHECR accelerator is to be abandoned or theexpected GRB induced neutrino yield was wrong. It has been pointed out that IceCube hasoverestimated the neutrino flux at GRB site by a factor of ~5. In this paper we pointout that, in addition to the issue of neutrino production at source, the neutrinooscillation and the possible neutrino decay during their flight from GRB to Earth shouldfurther reduce the detectability of IceCube, which is most sensitive to the muon-neutrinoflavor as far as point-source identification is concerned. Specifically, neutrinooscillation will reduce the muon-neutrino flavor ratio from 2/3 per neutrino at GRB sourceto 1/3 on Earth, while neutrino decay, if exists and under the assumption of normalhierarchy of mass eigenstates, would result in a further reduction of muon-neutrino ratioto 1/8. With these in mind, we note that there have been efforts in recent years inpursuing other type of neutrino telescopes based on Askaryan effect, which can inprinciple observe and distinguish all three flavors with comparable sensitivities. Suchnew approach may therefore be complementary to IceCube in shedding more lights on thiscosmic accelerator question.

We describe an alternative design for the 4-quadrant phase maskcoronagraph described recently by Rouan et al. (2000). Based onthe same principle, i.e. producing a very efficient nulling bymutually destructive interferences of the coherent light from themain source, our mask realises the π phase shift using someproperties of ZOGs (Zeroth Order Gratings) and according to anoriginal scheme respecting the 4-quadrant symmetry. When theperiod of the one-dimension grating structure is smaller than thewavelength of the incident light, the structure becomesbirefringent. The effective refractive indices depend on thewavelength. Using this feature, we can design a mask whose nullingefficiency is maintained within a wide wavelength range. Numericalsimulations were made according to the RCWA (Rigorous Coupled WaveAnalyses).

The dynamical state of a multiple planet system reflects the underlying processes of planet formation and orbital evolution. Radial velocity planet searches have yielded several systems that appear to be in or near a low-order mean-motion resonance, including several near a 2:1 mean-motion ratio. Still more systems apparently contain one eccentric planet. We demonstrate that many of these systems are indistinguishable from a system with two planets in a 2:1 mean-motion ratio, and outline a framework for determining how often the observed, apparently-single planets are likely to have such a second planet present.

We construct an approximate asymptotically flat stationary and axisymmetric vacuum metric by imposing matching conditions on an interior metric associated to a perfect fluid with equation of state µ+(1–n)p = µ0. A comparison between this vacuum metric and the Kerr one is made. Finally, a brief reflexion about the Wahlquist metric is commented in relation with our results.

Two exercises are proposed to illustrate the simple linear regression. The first one is based on the famous Galton's data set on heredity. We use the lm R command and get coefficients estimates, standard error of the error, R2, residuals …In the second example, devoted to data related to the vapor tension of mercury, we fit a simple linear regression, predict values, and anticipate on multiple linear regression.

This pratical session is an excerpt from practical exercises proposed by A. Dalalyan at EPNC (see Exercises 1 and 2 of http://certis.enpc. fr/∼dalalyan/Download/TP_ENPC_4.pdf).

We report an ultra-high-resolution simulation that follows evolution from the earliest stages of galaxy formation through the period of dynamical relaxation. The bubble structures of gas revealed in our simulation (<3×108 years) resemble closely the high-redshift Lyman α emitters (LAEs). After 109 years these bodies are dominated by stellar continuum radiation and look like the Lyman break galaxies (LBGs) known as the high-redshift star-forming galaxies at which point the abundance of elements appears to be solar. After 1.3×1010 years, these galaxies resemble present-day ellipticals. The comparisons of simulation results with the observations of elliptical galaxies allow us to conclude that LAEs and LBGs are infants of elliptical galaxies or bulge systems in the nearby universe.

The analysis of mid-IR emission suggests that a population of PAH-related very smallgrains containing a few hundreds of atoms are present in the deep regions of molecularclouds,although no specific species has been identified yet. In this review,we discussseveral candidates for these grains: neutral and ionised PAH clusters and complexes ofPAHs with Si atoms. The theoretical modelling of the properties of such molecularcomplexes or nanograins is a challenging task. We first present an overview of quantumchemistry derived models which can be efficiently used on-the-fly in extensive sampling ofthe potential energy surfaces,as required by structural optimization,classical moleculardynamics or Monte Carlo algorithms. From the simulations,various observables can bedetermined,such as the binding energies,finite temperature IR spectra,nucleation andevaporation rates. We discuss the relevance of those candidates in the molecular cloudsphotodissociation regions and propose constrains and perspectives for the nature and sizeof those very small grains.

Modeling of molecular emission from interstellar clouds requires the calculation of rate coefficients for excitation by collision with the most abundant species. Based on new highly correlated potential energy surfaces, rotational excitation of C2H and C2H− radicals in collision with He are investigated. C2H fine and hyperfine structure is taken into account. As already found for other systems, rate coefficients for the C2H− ion are larger by a factor up to 3 compared to the neutral species.

The optical spectra of L- and T-type dwarfs exhibit a continuum dominated by the far wings of the absorption profiles of the Na 3s-3p and K 4s-4p doublets perturbed by molecular hydrogen and helium. We examine the K resonance line wing and core with a unified line profile theory and compare to laboratory experiments and observations of the cool brown dwarf ϵ Indi Ba,b.

The mid-infrared emission of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons is found in many phases ofthe interstellar medium. Towards cold dense clouds,however,the emission is heavilyquenched. In these regions molecules are found to efficiently freeze-out on interstellargrains forming thin layers of ices. PAHs are highly non-volatile molecules and are alsoexpected to freeze-out. PAHs trapped in interstellar ices are likely to participate in theoverall chemistry,leading to the formation of cations and complex molecules in thesolid-state. The work presented here aims to experimentally study the chemical reactionsthat PAHs undergo upon vacuum ultraviolet irradiation when trapped in interstellarH2O ice.

The dust in protoplanetary disks is influenced by many different processes. Among others, heating processes are the most important ones: they change not only the physical and chemical properties of dust particles, but also their emission spectra. In order to compare observed infrared spectra of young stellar systems with laboratory data of hot (up to 655°C) circumstellar dust analogues, we investigate materials, which are important constituents of dust in protoplanetary disks. We calculated the optical constants by means of a simple Lorentzian oscillator fit and applied them to simulations of small-particle emission spectra in order to compare our results with real astronomical spectra of AGB-stars and protoplanetary disks.

Irradiation by cosmic ions plays a relevant role in the “space weathering” of solid materials in the airless bodies (rocky and/or icy objects) in the Solar System. Here, I discuss about some of the effects that have been studied in “simulation” experiments with a view to their astrophysical relevance. In particular I review some experimental results obtained so far after irradiation of relevant materials, namely: sputtering, ion implantation, and chemical synthesis of molecular species different from the original ones. All of those effects are accomplished by changes in the optical properties of irradiated layers and then of the color of the surfaces of the airless bodies. Some specific examples of the application of the experimental results to the physics and chemistry of planetary surfaces are discussed as well.

We review the main results of our previous works, in which we have investigated the development of the Kelvin-Helmholtz (KH) instability in the transitional regime from sub-magnetosonic to super-magnetosonic by varying the solar wind velocity, in conditions typical of those observed at the Earth’s magnetopause flanks. In super-magnetosonic regimes, we show that the vortices produced by the development of the KH instability act as an obstacle in the plasma flow and may generate quasi-perpendicular magnetosonic shock structures extending well outside the region of velocity shear.