In this paper we report on a 15-year project to construct a comprehensive catalogue of Hawaiian starnames documented in historical sources, published during the IAU General Assembly. Hawaiian star knowledge represents incomparable intangible heritage relating to Polynesian navigation in the Pacific. It both informs and motivates living cultural traditions aiming to reconstruct and build upon such knowledge.

In this talk I present the latest results of the ESTER project that has taken up the challenge of building two dimensional (axisymmetric) models of stars rotating at any rotation rate. In particular, I focus on main sequence massive and intermediate mass stars. I show what should be expected in such stars as far as the differential rotation and the associated meridional circulation are concerned, notably the emergence of a Stewartson layer along the tangent cylinder of the core. I also indicate what may be inferred about the evolution of an intermediate-mass star at constant angular momentum and how Be stars may form. I finally give some comparisons between models and observations of the gravity darkening on some nearby fast rotators as it has been derived from interferometric observations. In passing, I also discuss how 2D models can help to recover the fundamental parameters of a star.

In our cosmological, chemodynamical simulations, (i) the black hole mass–velocity dispersion relation does not evolve, and black holes actually grow along the relation. (ii) the stellar mass–metallicity relation does not change its shape, while the gas-phase relation has a steeper slope at higher redshifts. (iii) While stellar metallicity gradients are made shallower by galaxy mergers, gas-phase gradients are affected more strongly by AGN feedback.

High-velocity compact clouds (HVCCs) is one of the populations of peculiar clouds detected in the Central Molecular Zone (CMZ) of our Galaxy. They have compact appearances (< 5 pc) and large velocity widths (> 50 km s−1). Several explanations for the origin of HVCC were proposed; e.g., a series of supernovae (SN) explosions (Oka et al. 1999) or a gravitational kick by a point-like gravitational source (Oka et al. 2016). To investigate the statistical property of HVCCs, a complete list of them is acutely necessary. However, the previous list is not complete since the identification procedure included automated processes and manual selection (Nagai 2008). Here we developed an automated procedure to identify HVCCs in a spectral line data.

We examine the role that stochastic fluctuations in the IMF and in the number of interacting binaries have on the spectro-photometric properties of sparse stellar populations as a function of age and metallicity.

We present the analysis of a sample of strong-lensing galaxy group candidates. Our main findings are: confirmation of group-scale systems, complex light distributions, presence of large-scale structures in their surroundings, and evidence of a strong-lensing bias in the mass-concentration relation. We also report the detection of the first 'Bullet group'.

Accretion of gas from the cosmic web to galaxy halos and ultimately their disks is a prediction of modern cosmological models but is rarely observed directly or at the full rate expected from star formation. Here we illustrate possible large-scale cosmic HI accretion onto the nearby dwarf starburst galaxy IC10, observed with the VLA and GBT. We also suggest that cosmic accretion is the origin of sharp metallicity drops in the starburst regions of other dwarf galaxies, as observed with the 10-m GTC. Finally, we question the importance of cosmic accretion in normal dwarf irregulars, for which a recent study of their far-outer regions sees no need for, or evidence of, continuing gas buildup.

Different from previous triennial reports, this report covers the activities of IAU Commission 36 ‘Theory of Stellar Atmospheres’ over the past six years†, and will be the last report from the ‘old’ Commission 36. After the General Assembly in Honolulu (August 2015), a new Commission ‘Stellar and Planetary Atmospheres’ (C.G5, under Division G, ‘Stars and Stellar Physics’) has come into life, and will continue our work devoted to the outer envelopes of stars, as well as extend it to the atmospheres of planets (see Sect. 4).

In understanding galaxy evolution, one central question is how star formation is regulated in galaxies. Changes in star formation rates are likely tied to changes in the interstellar medium, particularly the molecular gas which is the fuel for star formation. I will discuss our recent results which use data from the Herschel Space Observatory, the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array, and other telescopes to determine the typical density, temperature, and surface density of the molecular gas in various nearby galaxies. Comparing the properties of molecular gas in starburst and other active galaxies with more quiescent spiral disks provides some clues as to how changes in the physical state of the gas, such as mean density, can lead to enhanced star formation rates.

Flares we observe on stars in white light, UV or soft X-rays are probably harbingers of coronal mass ejections (CMEs). If we use the Sun as a guide, large stellar flares will dissipate two orders of magnitude less X-ray radiative energy than the kinetic energy in the associated CME. Since coronal emission on active stars appears to be dominated by flare activity, CMEs pose a quandary for understanding the fraction of their energy budget stars can spend on magnetic activity. One answer is magnetic suppression of CMEs, in which the strong large-scale fields of active stars entrap and prevent CMEs unless their free energy exceeds a critical value. The CME-less flaring active region NOAA 2192 presents a possible solar analogue of this. Monster CMEs will still exist, and have the potential to ravage planetary atmospheres.

Due to their low masses dwarf galaxies experience low star-formation rates resulting in stellar cluster masses insufficient to fill the initial mass function (IMF) to the uppermost mass. Numerical simulations usually do not account for the completeness of the IMF, but treat a filed IMF by numbers, masses, and stellar feedback by fractions. To ensure that only entire stars are formed, we consider an IMF filled from the lower-mass regime and truncated where at least one entire massive star is formed.

By 3D simulations we investigate the effects of two possible IMFs on the evolution of dwarf galaxies: filled vs. truncated IMF. For the truncated IMF the star-formation self-regulation is suppressed, while the energy release by typeII supernovae is larger, both compared to the filled IMF. Moreover, the abundance ratios of particular elements yielded from massive and intermediate-mass stars differ significantly between the two IMF distributions.

We investigate clustering properties of quasars using a new version of our semi-analytic model of galaxy and quasar formation with state-of-the-art cosmological N-body simulations (Ishiyama et al. 2015; Oogi et al. 2015). We assume that a major merger of galaxies triggers quasar activity. We find that the quasar bias does not depend significantly on the quasar luminosity, similar to observed trends. This result reflects the fact that quasars with a fixed luminosity have various Eddington ratios and thus have various host halo masses that primarily determine the quasar bias. The quasar bias increases with redshift, which is in qualitative agreement with observations. Our bias value is lower than the observed values at high redshifts, implying that we need some mechanisms that make quasars inactive in low-mass haloes and/or that make them more active in high-mass haloes.

Morphological types were determined for 247 rich galaxy clusters from the PF Catalogue of Galaxy Clusters and Groups. The adopted types are based on classical morphological schemes and consider concentration to the cluster center, the signs of preferential direction or plane in the cluster, and the positions of the brightest galaxies. It is shown that both concentration and preferential plane are significant and independent morphological criteria.

Galaxy nuclei are a unique laboratory to study gas flows. Their high-resolution imaging in galactic nuclei are instrumental in the study of the fueling and feedback of star formation and nuclear activity in nearby galaxies. Several fueling mechanisms can now be confronted in detail with observations done with state-of-the-art interferometers. Furthermore, the study of gas flows in galactic nuclei can probe the feedback of activity on the interstellar medium of galaxies. Feedback action from star formation and AGN activity is invoked to prevent galaxies from becoming overly massive, but also to explain scaling laws like black hole (BH)-bulge mass correlations and the bimodal color distribution of galaxies. This close relationship between galaxies and their central supermassive BH can be described as co-evolution. There is mounting observational evidence for the existence of gas outflows in different populations of starbursts and active galaxies, a manifestation of the feedback of activity. We summarize the main results recently obtained from the observation of galactic inflows and outflows in a variety of active galaxies with current millimeter interferometers such as ALMA or the IRAM array.

Slow magnetoacoustic waves were first detected in hot (>6 MK) flare loops by the SOHO/SUMER spectrometer as Doppler shift oscillations in Fe xix and Fe xxi lines. Recently, such longitudinal waves have been found by SDO/AIA in the 94 and 131 Å channels. Wang et al. (2015) reported the first AIA event revealing signatures in agreement with a fundamental standing slow-mode wave, and found quantitative evidence for thermal conduction suppression from the temperature and density perturbations in the hot loop plasma of ≳ 9 MK. The present study extends the work of Wang et al. (2015) by using an alternative approach. We determine the polytropic index directly based on the polytropic assumption instead of invoking the linear approximation. The same results are obtained as in the linear approximation, indicating that the nonlinearity effect is negligible. We find that the flare loop cools slower (by a factor of 2–4) than expected from the classical Spitzer conductive cooling, approximately consistent with the result of conduction suppression obtained from the wave analysis. The modified Spitzer cooling timescales based on the nonlocal conduction approximation are consistent with the observed, suggesting that nonlocal conduction may account for the observed conduction suppression in this event. In addition, the conduction suppression mechanism predicts that larger flares may tend to be hotter than expected by the EM-T relation derived by Shibata & Yokoyama (2002).

Stellar halos around galaxies retain fundamental evidence of the processes which lead to their build up. Sophisticated models of galaxy formation in a cosmological context yield quantitative predictions about various observable characteristics, including the amount of substructure, the slope of radial mass profiles and three dimensional shapes, and the properties of the stellar populations in the halos. The comparison of such models with the observations provides constraints on the general picture of galaxy formation in the hierarchical Universe, as well as on the physical processes taking place in the halos formation. With the current observing facilities, stellar halos can be effectively probed only for a limited number of nearby galaxies. In this paper we illustrate the progress that we expect in this field with the future ground based large aperture telescopes (E-ELT) and with space based facilities as JWST.

We present early results from a detailed analysis of the BSS population in Galactic GCs based on HST data. Using proper motion cleaning of the color-magnitude diagrams we construct a large catalog of BSSs and study some population properties. Stellar evolutionary models are used to find stellar mass and age estimates for the BSS populations in order to establish constraints related to the dynamical interactions in which they may have formed.

In this presentation we address issues relating to the astronomical heritage of contemporary aboriginal groups and other minorities. We deal specially with intangible astronomical heritage and its particularities. Also, we study (from ethnographic experience with Aboriginal groups, Creoles and Europeans in the Argentine Chaco) the conflicts referring to the different ways in which the natives' knowledge and practice are categorized by the natives themselves, by scientists, state politicians, professional artists and NGOs. Furthermore, we address several cases that illustrate these kinds of conflicts. We aim to analyze the complexities of patrimonial policies when they are applied to practices and representations of contemporary communities involved in power relations with national states and the global system. The essentialization of identities, the folklorization of representations and practices, and the fossilization of aboriginal peoples are some of the risks of applying the label “cultural heritage” without a careful consideration of each specific case.

In particular we suggest possible ways in which the international scientific community could collaborate to improve the agenda of national states instead of reproducing colonial prejudices. In this way, we aim to contribute to the promotion of respect for ethnic and religious minorities.

The Galactic Center (GC) is one of the more extreme environments in the Galaxy. The so call Bubble of the GC presents structures that do not match with the general behavior of the inner Central Molecular Zone (CMZ). In this work we study the molecular emission related to the observable ionized gas emitted by this Bubble. We find dense pockets of gas and bubble like structures in the velocity domain.

Commission 42 began life as Photometric Double Stars in 1948 at the 7th General Assembly in Zurich, under the presidency of Zdenek Kopal. As early as 1961, then General Secretary Lukas Plaut recommended a merger between C42 and C26, Double Stars, one of the original 32 commissions going back to 1919-22 (first president Aitken, assistant director at Lick). C42 became Close Binary Stars in 1970, at the 14th GA in Brighton (the first one I attended). Table 1 shows the presidents of C42, and vice presidents, from when the office started, through the history of the Commission.