The focal ratio degradation (FRD) of optical fibers is a major source causing light loss to astronomical multi-fibre instruments like LAMOST (Oliveira, A. C, et al. 2005). The effects of stress and twist during mounting and rotation of the fibers could change the FRD for individual fibers (Clayton 1989), which means that the transmission efficiency of each individual fiber will vary. We investigate such throughput variation among LAMOST fibers and its relevance to the intensity of sky emission lines (Garstang 1989) over the full wavelength coverage. On the basis of the work, we present an approach to correct the varied fiber throughput by measuring the strength of the sky emission lines as the secondary throughput correction.

We present a study of KIC 10670103, a pulsating hot subdwarf in the Kepler field. By means of Fourier analysis, we investigate periodic signals associated with pulsations. Using asymptotic relationships and rotational multiplets we identify degrees of modes. The Fourier spectrum appears to be rich in l=1 and l=2 multiplets allowing derivation of a ~90-day rotation period of the star from rotational splittings. Comparing the identified gravity-mode period spacing pattern with theoretical models we show that KIC 10670103 has to be a thick-envelope sdBV.

As has been shown previously, the triple-ring nebula around SN 1987A can be understood as a direct consequence of the merger of two stars, some 20,000 yr before the explosion. Here we present new SPH simulations that also include the pre-merger mass loss and show that this may be able to explain other structures observed around SN 1987A, such as Napoleon's hat and various light echoes.

We attempt to create an X-ray/radio AGN catalog and make its multiwavelength studies. ROSAT Bright Source Catalogue (BSC) contains 18,806 and ROSAT Faint Source Catalogue (FSC), 105,922 X-ray sources giving the total number of ROSAT X-ray sources 124,727 (one source is listed twice). On the other hand, NVSS radio catalogue contains 1,773,484 sources. Taking into account that X-ray sources contain AGN, bright stars and galaxies, clusters, white dwarfs (WD), cataclysmic variables (CV), etc., the cross-identification with radio catalogue may distinguish the extragalactic sources. We have cross-correlated ROSAT catalogs with NVSS one with a search radius 30 arcsec. 9,193 associations have been found. To distinguish AGN from the normal bright galaxies and clusters, Veron-Cetty & Veron AGN catalog (v.13, 2010; VCV-13) containing 168,940 objects have been used. A cross-correlation of the 9,193 ROSAT/NVSS sources with the VCV-13 with a search radius 30 arcsec resulted in 3,094 associations. Thus we are left with more 6,099 X-ray/radio sources without an optical identification. Brighter objects are normal bright galaxies, while we believe that all faint ones are candidate AGN with some contamination of distant clusters. SDSS spectroscopic survey allows us classify objects by activity types, and a number of our candidate AGN is found to be present in SDSS. We attempt to find connections between the fluxes in different wavelength ranges, which will allow us to confirm AGN and blazars candidates and in some cases find new ones.

We summarize here our recent findings from near-infrared spectroscopy and 1 mm line and continuum observations of a recently identified extended green object (EGO) in Sgr C, whose observational characteristics suggest early-stage massive star formation is taking place. Located on the outskirts of the massive evolved Hii region associated with Sgr C in the Western central molecular zone (CMZ), the EGO measures ∼10″ (0.4 pc at 8.5 kpc). We confirm that early-stage star formation is taking place on the periphery of the Sgr C Hii region. The data show clear detections of two protostellar cores and several knots of H2 and Brackett γ emission alongside a previously detected compact radio source. We calculate the cores' joint mass to be ∼103 M⊙, with column densities of 1-2 × 1024 cm−2. The host molecular clouds mass is approximately 105 M⊙. Despite these favorable conditions, the cloud is curiously devoid of any further star formation, making it comparable to other remarkably quiescent clouds, such as G0.253 in the Eastern CMZ.

The dynamo process is believed to drive the magnetic activity of stars like the Sun that have an outer convection zone. Large spectroscopic surveys showed that there is a relation between the rotation periods and the cycle periods: the longer the rotation period is, the longer the magnetic activity cycle period will be. We present the analysis of F stars observed by Kepler for which individual p modes have been measure and with surface rotation periods shorter than 12 days. We defined magnetic indicators and proxies based on photometric observations to help characterise the activity levels of the stars. With the Kepler data, we investigate the existence of stars with cycles (regular or not), stars with a modulation that could be related to magnetic activity, and stars that seem to show a flat behaviour.

Imagine we could do asteroseismology of large samples of OB-type stars by using just one spectrum per target. That would be great! But this is probably a crazy and stupid idea. Or maybe not. Maybe we have the possibility to open a new window to investigate stellar oscillations in massive stars that has been in front of us for many years, but has not attracted very much our attention: the characterization and understanding of the so-called macroturbulent broadening in OB-type stars.

The problem of the origin of asteroids residing in the Jovian first-order mean motion resonances is still open. Is the observed population survivors of a much larger population formed in the resonance in primordial times? Here, we study the evolution of 182 long-lived asteroids in the 2:1 Mean Motion Resonance, identified in Brož & Vokrouhlické (2008). We numerically integrate their trajectories in two different dynamical models of the solar system: (a) accounting for the gravitational effects of the four giant planets (i.e. 4-pl) and (b) adding the terrestrial planets from Venus to Mars (i.e. 7-pl). We also include an approximate treatment of the Yarkovksy effect (as in Tsiganis et al.2003), assuming appropriate values for the asteroid diameters.

The tricarbon C3 molecule has been detected in a number of translucent interstellar clouds via its $A^1\Pi_{u}-X^1\Sigma_{g}^{+}$ (000-000) electronic ‘comet’ band around 4051 Å. So far, it is the largest molecule unambiguously identified in the diffuse interstellar medium. In this work, rotationally resolved laboratory spectra are presented for the corresponding transition of the 13C3 isotopologue. The spectra are recorded in direct absorption using cavity ring-down spectroscopy in combination with a supersonic plasma jet. A rotational analysis yields accurate spectroscopic parameters. In contrast to 12C3, no significant perturbations are found for (e− or f-parity) levels up to J' = 18 in the A1Π upper electronic state.

Using data of fast-rotating active dwarf stars in the Kepler database, we perform time-frequency analysis of the light curves in order to search for signs of activity cycles. We use the phenomenon that the active region latitudes vary with the cycle (like the solar butterfly diagram), which causes the observed rotation period to change as a consequence of differential rotation. We find cycles in 8 cases of the 39 promising targets with periods between of 300–900 days.

Mass discrepancy is one of the problems that is pending a solution in (massive) binary star research field. The problem is often solved by introducing an additional near core mixing into evolutionary models, which brings theoretical masses of individual stellar components into an agreement with the dynamical ones. In the present study, we perform a detailed analysis of two massive binary systems, V380 Cyg and σ Sco, to provide an independent, asteroseismic measurement of the overshoot parameter, and to test state-of-the-art stellar evolution models.

The Joint Catalogue of Hamburg ROSAT Sources (HRC/BHRC) is the result of merging of HRC and BHRC catalogs built on the basis of optical identifications of ROSAT BSC and ROSAT FSC. Altogether, 8132 sources are present. Based on this catalogue, we have compiled a sample of ROSAT AGN, including candidate ones. In this paper we classify candidate AGN (those that previously had not been spectroscopically classified) by their activity type. The sample contains 955 objects with count rate of photons CR>0.04 ct/s in the area with galactic latitudes |b|>30 and declinations δ>0, however only 217 objects have SDSS DR10 spectra. The classification led to the following results: 95 AGN, 71 absorption-line galaxies, 42 stars, and 9 unclassified objects.

SNR 1987A is the expanding remnant from the brightest supernova since the invention of the telescope. The remnant has been monitored extensively in the radio at variety of wavelengths and provides a wealth of data on which to base a simulation. Questions to be answered include estimating the efficiency of particle acceleration at shock fronts, determining the cause of the one-sided radio morphology for SNR 1987A and investigating the gas properties of the pre-supernova environment. We attempt to address these questions using a fully three-dimensional model of SNR 1987A.

Within the central 10 pc of our Galaxy lies a dense cluster of stars, the nuclear star cluster, forming a distinct component of our Galaxy. Nuclear star clusters are common objects and are detected in ∼75% of nearby galaxies. It is, however, not fully understood how nuclear clusters form. Because the Milky Way nuclear star cluster is at a distance of only 8 kpc, we can spatially resolve its stellar populations and kinematics much better than in external galaxies. This makes the Milky Way nuclear star cluster a reference object for understanding the structure and assembly history of all nuclear star clusters.

We have obtained an unparalleled data set using the near-infrared long-slit spectrograph ISAAC (VLT) in a novel drift-scan technique to construct an integral-field spectroscopic map of the central ∼10 × 8 pc of our Galaxy. To complement our data set we also observed fields out to a distance of ∼19 pc along the Galactic plane to disentangle the influence of the nuclear stellar disk.

From this data set we extract a stellar kinematic map using the CO bandheads and an emission line kinematic map using H2 emission lines. Using the stellar kinematics, we set up a kinematic model for the Milky Way nuclear star cluster to derive its mass and constrain the central Galactic potential. Because the black hole mass in the Milky Way is precisely known, this kinematic data set will also serve as a benchmark for testing black hole mass modeling techniques used in external galaxies.

Massive stars are the cosmic engines that shape and drive our Universe. Many issues such as their formation, their stability and the mass loss effects, are far from being completely understood. Recent ground-based and space observations have shown pulsations in massive MS and post-MS stars, such as acoustic and gravity modes excited by the κ-mechanism and even solar-like oscillations. Theoretical studies emphasized the presence of strange modes in massive models, and recent theoretical analyses have shown that hot supergiants can pulsate in oscillatory convective modes. We review the instability domains of massive stars as well as their excitation mechanisms and present the latest results.

In recent years, a rare class of asteroids has been discovered by Cellino et al. (2006), with its distinguishing characteristic being the anomalous polarimetric properties of its members. Named Barbarians, after (234) Barbara, the prototype of the class, these asteroids show negative polarization at unusually high phase-angles compared to normal asteroids. Motivated by the fact that some of the few discovered Barbarians seemed to be related to the Watsonia asteroid family, Cellino et al. (2014) performed a search for more Barbarians among its members. A positive result of this search led to the conclusion that Watsonia is indeed an important repository of Barbarian asteroids. Based on these findings, we decided to analyze this family in detail.

The Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fiber Spectroscopic Telescope (LAMOST, i.e. Guoshoujing Telescope) has finished its pilot survey (from October 2011 to June 2012). With about 3000 galaxy spectra collected during the pilot survey, we are planning to analyze the stellar populations of these galaxies in two different ways respectively. One is Lick indices (such as Hβ, Mgb, 〈Fe〉 etc., Worthey et al. 1994), which are not sensitive to the flux calibration, and another one is the full optical spectra fitting (Chen et al. 2009, 2010). Then we can evaluate the affects of flux calibration errors on stellar population analysis by comparing the results of the two methods′. Here we briefly show the early experiments aiming to test the consistency and/or difference between the two methods.

The great majority of exoplanets discovered so far are orbiting cool, low-mass stars whose properties are relatively similar to the Sun. However, the stellar magnetism of these stars can be significantly different from the solar one, both in topology and intensity. In addition, due to the present-day technology used in exoplanetary searches, most of the currently known exoplanets are found orbiting at extremely close distances to their host stars (< 0.1 au). The dramatic differences in stellar magnetism and orbital radius can make the interplanetary medium of exoplanetary systems remarkably distinct from that of the Solar System. To constrain interactions between exoplanets and their host-star's magnetised winds and to characterise the interplanetary medium that surrounds exoplanets, more realistic stellar wind models, which account for factors such as stellar rotation and the complex stellar magnetic field configurations of cool stars, must be employed. Here, I briefly review the latest progress made in data-driven modelling of magnetised stellar winds. I also show that the interaction of the stellar winds with exoplanets can lead to several observable signatures, some of which that are absent in our own Solar System.

To study the interstellar chemical composition and interpret molecular observations, astrochemists have built chemical models over the years. Those models compute the composition of the gas and the icy mantles of interstellar grains taking in account a large number of processes, such as chemical reactions in the gas-phase, interactions with grain surfaces (sticking and evaporation) and chemical reactions at the surface of the grains. Those models rely on a number of parameters (physical parameters of the medium and intrinsic chemical parameters such as rate coefficients), which are estimated with an associated uncertainty. From a chemical point of view, those uncertainties are mainly due to an incomplete knowledge of the efficiency of the processes in the interstellar conditions. Many studies in the recent and past years have been undertaken to improve this knowledge, either using experimental or theoretical results in physico-chemistry.

Approximately 80 stars from the thin disk, the thick disk and the halo of the Galaxy, in the range of −3.0 < [Fe/H] < +0.5, surface gravity of 3.0 < logg < 4.7 and temperature of 4500 K < Teff < 6500 K, have been observed with the Shane/Hamilton and CFHT/Espadons spectrographs in order to carry out a systematic NLTE study of nearby stars in a consistent way. We will determine reliably stellar parameters and determine precise elemental abundances via a comprehensive NLTE analysis of the spectral lines of Li, Na, Mg, Al, Si, K, Ca, Sc, Mn, Fe, Sr, Zr, Ba, Nd, and Eu elements. Finally, we aim to investigate the chemical evolution of the Galaxy through different stellar populations based on the NLTE abundances for total 15 elements.