At energies approaching the Planck energy scale 1019GeV, several quantum-gravity theories predict that familiar concepts such as Lorentz (LIV) symmetry can be broken. Such extreme energies are currently unreachable by experiments on Earth, but for photons traveling over cosmological distances the accumulated deviations from the Lorentz symmetry may be measurable using the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA). To study the spectral hardening feature observed in some VHE gamma-ray blazars, we calculate the reduction of the EBL gamma-gamma opacity due to the existence of underdense regions along the line of sight to VHE -gamma ray sources and we compared with the possibility of a LIV signature. Considering the LIV effect, we found that the cosmic opacity for VHE-gamma rays with energy more than 10 TeV can be strongly reduced. I will further discuss the impact of LIV on the Compton scattering process, and how future CTA observations may open an exciting window on studies of the fundamental physics.

Using the recent ROGUE I catalogue of galaxies with radio cores (Kozie_l-Wierzbowska et al. 2020) and after selecting the objects which are truly radio active galactic nuclei, AGNs, (which more than doubles the samples available so far), we perform a thorough comparison of the properties of radio galaxies with and without optical emission lines (galaxies where the equivalent width of Hα is smaller than 3Å are placed in the last category). We do not find any strong dichotomy between the two classes as regards the radio luminosities or black hole masses. The same is true when using the common classification into high- and low-excitation radio galaxies (HERGs and LERGs respectively).

We have succeeded in synthesizing organics, ‘Quenched Nitrogen-included Carbonaceous Composite (QNCC)’, via plasma chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method, whose infrared spectral properties reproduce the characteristics of the unidentified infrared (UIR) bands observed around classical novae. Past studies have shown that the UIR bands observed around novae appear somewhat differently from those observed in other astrophysical environment and are predominantly characterized by the presence of a broad 8μm feature. The remarkable similarity between the infrared properties of QNCC and the UIR bands in novae indicates that QNCC should be considered as a strong candidate of the carriers of the UIR bands in novae. Finally, we have started a space exposure experiment of QNCC aiming to explore the evolutional link between the QNCC and the insoluble organic molecule (IOM) in carbonaceous condrite and, thus, to infer the origins of organics in our solar system.

Star formation provides insight into the physical processes that govern the transformation of gas into stars. A key missing piece in a predictive theory of star formation is the link between scales of individual stars and star clusters up to entire galaxies. LEGUS is now providing the information to test the overall organization and spatial evolution of star formation. We present our latest findings of using star clusters from LEGUS combined with ALMA CO observations to investigate the transition from molecular gas to star formation in local galaxies. This work paves the way for future JWST observations of the embedded phase of star formation, the last missing ingredient to connect young star clusters and their relation with gas reservoirs. Multi-wavelength studies of local galaxies and their stellar and gas components will help shed light on early phases of galaxy evolution and properties of the ISM at high-z.

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon (PAHs) molecules are attracting much attention in the astrophysical and astrochemical communities because of their ubiquitous presence in space due to their ability to survive in the harsh environmental conditions of the interstellar medium (ISM). The objective of this work is to provide gas phase, high-resolution spectroscopic data on the electronic and vibronic transitions of PAHs and their nitrogenated derivatives measured in astrophysically relevant conditions.

This resource was developed to help bring this exciting area of research into the classroom. It consists of two practical activities appropriate for the K12 curriculum.

Each of the activities is standalone, takes around 60 minutes to complete and can be used either during lessons or as part of a science club. Each offers plenty of opportunity for extension work and includes a taking it further section to allow students to build on what they have learnt through independent research. The activities can be used individually, or in combination. We have already implemented them during the astrophysics summer courses we offer to school students at the National Observatory of Athens, with great success.

The scaling relations between supermassive black holes and their host galaxy properties are of fundamental importance in the context black hole-host galaxy co-evolution throughout cosmic time. Beyond the local universe, such relations are based on black hole mass estimates in type I AGN. Unfortunately, for this type of objects the host galaxy properties are more difficult to obtain since the AGN dominates the observed flux in most wavelength ranges. In this poster I will present a new correlation we discovered between the narrow L([OIII])/L(Hβ) line ratio and the FWHM(broad Hα). This scaling relation ties the kinematics of the gas clouds in the broad line region to the ionization state of gas in the narrow line region, connecting the properties of gas clouds kiloparsecs away from the black hole to material gravitationally bound to it on sub-parsec scales. This relation can be used to estimate black hole masses from narrow emission lines only, and thus brings the missing piece required to estimate black hole masses in obscured type II AGN. Using this technique, we estimate the black hole mass of about 10,000 type II AGN, and present, for the first time, M(BH)-sigma and M(BH)-M(stars) scaling relations for this population. These relations are remarkably consistent with those observed for type I AGN, suggesting that this new method may perform as reliably as the classical estimate used in non-obscured type I AGN. These findings open a new window for studies of black hole-host galaxy co-evolution throughout cosmic time.

The DIVING3D Survey (Deep Integral Field Spectrograph View of Nuclei of Galaxies) aims to observe, with high signal/noise and high spatial resolution, a statistically complete sample of southern galaxies brighter than B = 12.0 The main objectives of this survey are to study: 1) the nuclear emission line properties; 2) the circumnuclear emission line properties; 3) the central stellar kinematics and 4) the central stellar archaeology. Preliminary results of individual or small groups of galaxies have been published in 18 papers.

Powerful AGN have been detected up to very high redshifts (z ∼ 6–8), well within the Epoch of Reionization (EoR), but the lack of powerful radio-galaxies among such sources strongly disagrees with the expectations based on the known radio population up to z ∼ 5. Our group has been pursuing a detailed analysis of the faintest population of radio sources detected in the deepest fields searching for clues of these first radio galaxies. This paper describes our strategy and presents a highly confident candidate. The results, once follow-up of all candidates is completed, will have significant implications for the upcoming generation of all-sky deep radio surveys such as ASKAP-EMU, Westerbork-WODAN, and SKA itself.

Based on very deep photometry, Surface Brightness Fluctuations (SBF) have been traditionally used to determine galaxy distances. We have recently computed SBF spectra of stellar populations at moderately high resolution, which are fully based on empirical stars. We show that the SBF spectra provide an unprecedented potential for stellar population studies that, so far, have been tackled on the basis of the mean fluxes. We find that the SBFs are able to unveil metal-poor stellar components at the one percent level, which are not possible to disentangle with the standard analysis. As these metal-poor components correspond to the first stages of the chemical enrichment, the SBF analysis provides stringent constrains on the quenching epoch.

We present an overview of Guitarra, a simulator for the Near Infrared Camera that creates scenes from catalogues of mock or real sources using the current best estimates of the instrument characteristics and the pattern on the sky of the observations.

We describe recent simulations of interstellar and laboratory ices using the 3-D, off-lattice microscopic Monte Carlo kinetics model MIMICK. The simulations indicate that interstellar ices are capable of achieving porous structures, dependent on physical conditions. In some cases, such structures may be filled as they are formed, by mobile/volatile species such as H2 that become trapped in those structures. Simulations of laboratory water-ice deposition using MIMICK suggest that an additional non-thermal diffusion mechanism is required to reproduce the high degree of porosity achieved for experimental ices at temperatures less than ~80 K. This mechanism is related to the deposition process itself. Simulations of temperature-programmed desorption of mixed molecular ices are ongoing. The interstellar models have also recently been developed to incorporate a full gas-phase chemistry, coupled with the grain-surface chemistry.

An interdisciplinary course about Mars for teachers and science students is presented. The focus of the course is on planning for a journey with humans to the planet Mars. Issues in ethics, morality, rights and obligations, conflict management and human psychology as well as rocket orbits, fuel economy, radiation hazards and knowledge of the solar system are included. Examination of the teacher students include interpretation of the course material for future pedagogical usage.

Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN), accreting supermassive black holes at the centers of galaxies, are believed to produce powerful outflows – often observed as radio jets – which significantly influence the evolution of the surrounding galaxy and inter-galactic medium. However, how these jets – which are produced in the central parsecs of the AGN – impact gas on scales thousands to millions times larger is poorly understood. Doing so requires measuring the properties on all the relevant size scales. In this talk I will present initial results from the deepest-ever radio VLBI survey of an extragalactic field, whose milli-arcsecond angular resolution allows us to probe the central parsecs around these AGN. By comparing the radio properties of the detected radio jets with the multi-wavelength properties of their host galaxies, we are better to understand what galaxies generate powerful radio jets, and how do these outflows affect their host galaxies.

Scaling relations are the most powerful astrophysical tools to set constraints to the physical mechanisms of astronomical sources and to infer properties for objects where they cannot be accessed directly. We have re-investigated one of these scaling relations using powerful type 1 Seyferts; the so-called X-ray variability plane (or mass-luminosity-timescale relation, McHardy et al.2006). This relation links the power-spectral density (PSD) break frequency with the SMBH mass and the bolometric luminosity. We used all available XMM-Newton observations to study the PSD and spectra in short segments within each observation. This allows us to report for the first time that the PSD break frequency varies for each object, showing variations in 19 out of the 22 AGN analyzed. Our analysis of the variability plane confirms the relation between the break frequency and the SMBH mass and finds that the obscuration along the line of sight (or the variations on the obscuration using its standard deviation) is also a required parameter. We constrain a new variability plane of the form: log(vBreak) = – A log (MBH) + B log (NH) – C (or log(vBreak) = – A log (MBH) + B Δ (NH) + C). The X-ray variability plane found by McHardy et al. (2006) is roughly recovered when we use unobscured segments. We speculate the PSD shape is related with the outflowing wind close to the accretion disk at least for these powerful type 1 AGN (Gonzalez-Martin et al. 2018).

We assess the accuracy of various computational methods for obtaining infrared (IR) spectra of nanosized silicate dust grains directly from their atomistic structure and atomic motions. First, IR spectra for a selection of small nanosilicate clusters with a range of sizes and chemical compositions are obtained within the harmonic oscillator approximation employing density functional theory (DFT) based quantum chemical calculations. To check if anharmonic effects play a significant role in the IR spectra of these nanoclusters, we further obtain their IR spectra from finite temperature DFT-based ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD). Finally, we also study the effect of temperature on the broadening of the obtained IR spectra peaks in larger nanosilicate grains with a range of crystallinities. In this case, less computationally costly classical molecular dynamics simulations are necessary due to the large number of atoms involved. Generally, we find that although DFT-based methods are more accurate, surprisingly good IR spectra can also be obtained from classical molecular dynamics calculations.

This work is focused on the characterization of the Seyfert-2 galaxies hosting very large, ultra-luminous narrow-line regions (NLRs) at redshifts z = 0.2−0.34. With a space density of 4.4 Gcp−3 at z ∼ 0.3, these “Low Redshift Lyman-α Blob” (LAB) host galaxies are amongst the rarest objects in the universe, and represent an exceptional and short-lived phenomenon in the life cycle of active galactic nuclei (AGNs). We present the study of GMOS spectra for 13 LAB galaxies covering the rest frame spectral range 3700–6700 Å. Predominantly, the [OIII]λ5007 emission line radial distribution is as widespread as that of the continuum one. The emission line profiles exhibit FWHM between 300–700 Km s−1. In 7 of 13 cases a broad kinematical component is detected with FWHM within the range 600–1100 Km s−1. The exceptionally high [OIII]λ5007 luminosity is responsible for very high equivalent width reaching 1500 Å at the nucleus.

This investigation was derived from the observation and teaching process carried out in elementary classes at the Brigadeiro Eduardo Gomes Municipal Middle School (Natal, Brazil) at the end of 2019. The sciences classes taught were the following: the development of astronomy and astronautics from antiquity to the modern era and, introduction to stellar evolution. The goal was to focus on preparing for the Brazilian Astronomical Olympics (OBA) for students in these classes. The results, both quantitative and qualitative, were quite satisfactory. Taking into account the region’s socio-economic vulnerability profile. In this context, the study of Astronomy in the classroom in search of creating new mechanisms to improve pedagogical activities encourages the critical and creative development of students, showing that they have the potential and want to make use of it.