For 236 of 650 Galactic open clusters identified in the ASCC-2.5 catalogue, we determine tidal radii from a three-parameter fit of King's profiles to the observed integrated density distribution of cluster members. The results are used to calibrate the observed sizes of the remaining clusters to a uniform scale of tidal radii of open clusters in the Solar neighbourhood. The tidal masses are computed from tidal radii. Within a distance of 850 pc where our sample is complete, the observed distributions of cluster masses can be explained by a general mass loss in open clusters with increasing age.

In this review the recent development concerning the large-scale evolution of stellar magnetospheres in interaction with the accretion disk is discussed. I put emphasis on the generation of outflows and jets from the disk and/or the star. In fact, tremendous progress has occurred over the last decade in the numerical simulation of the star-disk interaction. The role of numerical simulations is essential in this area because the processes involved are complex, strongly interrelated, and often highly time-dependent. Recent MHD simulations suggest that outflows launched from a very concentrated region tend to be un-collimated. I present preliminary results of simulations of large-scale star-disk magnetospheres loaded with matter from the stellar, resp. the disk surface demonstrating how a disk jet collimates the wind from the star and also how the stellar wind lowers the collimation degree of the disk outflow.

The Japanese VLBI network (JVN) has begun observations of 6.7-GHz methanol masers associated with massive star-forming regions. The JVN is a newly-established VLBI array with baselines ranging from 50 to 2560 km spread across the Japanese islands. Three observing bands of 6.7, 8.4, and 22 GHz are now available. The array consists of ten antennas: VERA Mizusawa 20 m, VERA Ishigaki 20 m, VERA Iriki 20 m, Usuda 64 m, Yamaguchi 32 m, Tomakomai 11 m, Tsukuba 32 m, Kashima 34 m, VERA Ogasawara 20 m, and Gifu 11 m, the first five of which have 6.7-GHz receiving systems. In summer 2005, we obtained the first fringes at 6.7 GHz, and VLBI images of 12 methanol maser sites including seven that had not previously been imaged with VLBI at this band. In 2006 summer, we obtained phase-reference observations toward several methanol maser sites.

Sometimes saturated and stretched star images with bad data in their central parts may result in astronomical CCD observations. Considering the special characteristics of the saturated and stretched star images, a method known as MGC(Mean-Geometric-Centering) is put forward for determining the centers of these images. The basic principles and processing pipelines of MGC are introduced, and several noteworthy items in the realization of MGC are discussed. Results of applying MGC to simulated and real data are also presented.

We present results of two studies aiming at better understanding the properties of massive stars in the Galactic Center. We focus on the youngest and oldest of the three massive clusters harboring this region, namely the Arches and central cluster. We show that the development of powerful observational techniques in the near infrared spectral range (mainly 3D spectroscopy) allows to uncover the entire massive star population in these clusters. Using CMFGEN models, we derive the classical stellar and wind properties of 46 stars, as well as their surface abundances. The latter allow us to investigate in detail their evolutionary status and to identify evolutionary sequences between different types of stars. We thus constrain stellar evolution in the upper part of the HR diagram.

Solving the coronal heating problem involves dealing with a number of theoretical and observational steps. These include designing instruments, deriving required observables from observations, developing theories and finding the unique footprints of theoretical models. Each of these steps poses its unique challenges to theoreticians and observers. It is important to treat the heating problem in an integrated manner, whereby each component of the problem is treated in its relationship to the other parts rather than in isolation. The paper presents a brief review of recent developments in the field with an emphasis on forward modeling and inversion which play a central role in solving the heating problem by providing the necessary interaction between theories and observations.

The origins of extrasolar gas giant planets have been discussed, based on our understanding of the gas giant planets in the solar system, Jupiter and Saturn. However, how Jupiter and Saturn formed is still uncertain because of the uncertainty in their interiors, especially the core mass (Mc). The uncertainty in Mc is partly due to those in observational data such as gravitational moments (J2n), equatorial radius (Req) and 1-bar temperatures (T1bar). New frontiers mission to Jupiter by NASA (JUNO) launched in 2011 is expected to reduce the observational errors. However, it is not necessarily clear yet which observational uncertainty dominates and how accurate observation is needed to constrain Mc enough to know the origin of Jupiter. Thus, modeling the interior of Jupiter, we evaluate each effect on Mc and required precision. We have found that the observational error of 5% in T1bar yields an error of several M⊕ in Mc. We have also found that the values of J6 of our successful models are confined in a narrow range compared to its observational error. This implies that comparison between the values of J6 of our successful models and the J6 value obtained from JUNO mission helps us to know whether the present theoretical model is valid.

Unfortunately the Business Meeting clashed with interesting sessions on stellar convection theory that were very relevant to most members of this Working Group. Hence the attendance was very small, and some preliminary discussions were later followed up by email among the Organising Committee members.

Observational and theoretical evidence that internal, slow (“secular”) evolution reshapes galaxy disks is reviewed in Kormendy & Kennicutt (2004). This update has three aims. First, I emphasize that this evolution is very general – it is as fundamental to the evolution of galaxy disks as (e. g.) core collapse is to globular clusters, as the production of hot Jupiters is to the evolution of protoplanetary disks, and as evolution to red giants containing proto-white-dwarfs is to stellar evolution. One consequence for disk galaxies is the buildup of dense central components that get mistaken for classical (i. e., merger-built) bulges but that were grown out of disk stars and gas. We call these pseudobulges. Second, I review new results on pseudobulge star formation and structure and on the distinction between boxy and disky pseudobulges. Finally, I highlight how these results make a galaxy formation problem more acute. How can hierarchical clustering produce so many pure disk galaxies with no evidence for merger-built bulges?

We can define Delayed Galaxies as a class of rare galaxies that maintained the bulk of their gas for most of the age of the universe following the initial formation of their disks, with little or no star formation. Invisible galaxies and Malin 1 type low-surface-brightness galaxies qualify as class members. Rare examples among interacting galaxies show that collisions can restart the stalled evolution of such galaxies, and suggest that other members of the Delayed class can be found among interacting systems with vigorous current star formation.

Searching for lopsided/interacting objects among 1500 isolated galaxies yields only eight strongly disturbed galaxies which may be explained as a result of their interaction with massive dark objects. We present results of spectral and photometric observations of these galaxies performed with the 6-m telescope that lead to significant restriction on cosmic abundance of dark galaxies.

Astronomers have constructed models of globular clusters for over 100 years. These models mainly fall into two categories: (i) static models, such as King's model and its variants, and (ii) evolutionary models. Most attention has been given to static models, which are used to estimate mass-to-light ratios and mass segregation, and to combine data from proper motions and radial velocities. Evolutionary models have been developed for a few objects using the gaseous model, the Fokker-Planck model, Monte Carlo models and N-body models. These models have had a significant role in the search for massive black holes in globular clusters, for example.

In this presentation the problems associated with these various techniques will be summarised, and then we shall describe new work with Giersz's Monte Carlo code, which has been enhanced recently to include the stellar evolution of single and binary stars. We describe in particular recent attempts to model the nearby globular cluster M4, including predictions on the spatial distribution of binary stars and their semi-major axis distribution, to illustrate the effects of about 12 Gyr of dynamical evolution. We also discuss work on an approximate way of predicting the “initial” conditions for such modelling.

We review the theoretical studies of the Alfvén wave model of spicules and coronal heating, mainly based on the papers by Kudoh & Shibata (1999), Saito et al. (2001) and Moriyasu et al. (2004) which performed MHD numerical simulations of nonlinear Alfvén waves propagating along a magnetic flux tube in the solar atmosphere. Kudoh & Shibata (1999) and Saito et al. (2001) found that, if the root mean square of the perturbation is greater than ~ 1 km s−1 in the photosphere, (1) the transition region is lifted up to more than ~ 5000 km (i.e., the spicule is produced), (2) the energy flux sufficient for heating the quiet corona (~ 3.0 × 105 ergs s−1 cm−2) is transported into the corona by Alfvén waves. Moriyasu et al. (2004) demonstrated that a hot corona is created in an initially cool loop as a result of the nonlinear Alfvén waves produced near the photosphere. We conclude that the nonlinear Alfvén wave model is the promising model of spicules and coronal heating.

Close examination of “pseudobulges” in several early-type disk galaxies indicates that they are actually composite structures consisting of both a flattened, kinematically cool disklike structure (“disky pseudobulge”) and a rounder, kinematically hot spheroidal structure (“classical bulge”). This indicates that pseudobulges, thought to form from internal secular evolution, and classical bulges, thought to form from rapid mergers, are not exclusive phenomena: some galaxies can have both.

We review direct and indirect methods to derive metallicity through infrared spectroscopy of massive stars. The choice of different spectral types to obtain abundances allows to trace metallicity for a wide range of ages of the cluster hosting the massive stars. These methods have a great potential to understand the evolution of large amount of heavily obscured galactic clusters, which are currently being discovered through infrared surveys.

We discuss a number of topics relevant to disk-magnetosphere interaction and how numerical simulations illuminate them. The topics include: (1) disk-magnetosphere interaction and the problem of disk-locking; (2) the wind problem; (3) structure of the magnetospheric flow, hot spots at the star's surface, and the inner disk region; (4) modeling of spectra from 3D funnel streams; (5) accretion to a star with a complex magnetic field; (6) accretion through 3D instabilities; (7) magnetospheric gap and survival of protoplanets. Results of both 2D and 3D simulations are discussed.

Giant gas-planets - and brown dwarfs - form dust clouds in their atmospheres which are made of a variety of gemstone-like and possible liquid materials. Our theoretical approach, where we calculate homogeneous nucleation, heterogeneous growth/evaporation, gravitational settling, and element consumption for composite dust grains, allows to access the evolution of the dust complex in the cloud, and hence also the elements remaining in the gas phase. The cloud formation process is imprinted into these remaining elements. Following a (T, p) trajectory into the atmosphere we observe that 1. metals disappear, 2. dust forms, 3. metals re-appear, 4. dust disappears. For the first time, our kinetic cloud formation approach is coupled with an 1D atmosphere simulation and, hence, synthetic spectra can be produced based on detailed cloud micro-physics. Results are demonstrated for metal-poor gas giants and the strong influence of the dust modelling on alkali-line profile is shown.

The bright interstellar methanol masers at 12.2 GHz and 6.7 GHz were discovered in 1987 and 1991 respectively. It was soon established that many were quite variable. Goedhart Gaylard & van der Walt (2003) reported that one source, G9.62+0.20E, exhibited flares at 12.2 and 6.7 GHz that appeared to be periodic, repeating every 246 days. Since then, monitoring of this and other possibly periodic sources has continued with the 26-m Hartebeesthoek telescope. We discuss here the full 12.2 GHz time series data of G9.62+0.20 through 2006. The data quality has been much improved by telescope upgrades. Flares in the main maser peak continue, the repetition rate remains close to that originally determined.

The meeting of the Working Group on Active B-type Stars consisted of a business meeting followed by a scientific meeting containing invited and contributed talks. The titles of the talks and their presenters are listed below. We plan to publish a series of articles containing summaries of these talks in Issue No. 39 of the Be Star Newsletter.

Astronomical Institute of Romanian Academy initiated this project in 2005. The results of researches related to the construction of mechanic systems and the proposed astrometric tasks will be finished in 2008. The module PROTEL is a result of several research groups and it will perform astrometric control observations remotely.