Recent Talks

Many stars are observed to belong to multiple systems. Interactions between binary stars may change the evolutionary track of a star, creating atypical stars like Blue Stragglers and explaining the existence of extreme horizontal branch (EHB) stars. Using evolutionary population synthesis models including binary star evolutionary tracks from Hurley et al. and including the two He white dwarfs merger channel, suggested by Han et al., for the formation of EHB stars we compute a series of isochrones which include these atypical stars. We derive the integrated spectral energy distributions and the colors corresponding to these populations. The predictions of this model are in good agreement with traditional population synthesis models, except when the spectrum of the stellar population is dominated by binary stars or their products, e.g., EHB stars in the ultraviolet (UV) of early-type galaxies (ETGs) (Hernández-Pérez and Bruzual 2013). Using this binary population synthesis model we reproduce successfully the observed colour-colour diagram of a sample of 3417 ETGs observed both in the optical (SDSS -DR8) and the UV (GALEX-GR6) (Hernández-Pérez and Bruzual 2014). I will show how important is to consider binary interactions in evolutionary synthesis models.

I will talk about how resolved stellar populations in the nearby Local Group dwarf galaxies have been used to study the detailed chemical, kinematic and star formation history of these systems and the link to the properties of the Milky Way. I will mainly discuss the results from the DART spectroscopic surveys of nearby dwarf spheroidal galaxies, determining detailed abundances, looking for CEMP stars and also combining spectroscopy with colour-magnitude diagram analysis to measure the time scale for star formation and chemical evolution.

Any successful model of galaxy formation needs to explain the low rate of star formation in the small progenitors of today’s galaxies. This inefficiency is necessary for reproducing the low stellar-to-virial mass fractions. A possible driver of this low efficiency is the radiation pressure exerted by ionizing photons from massive stars. The effect of radiation pressure in cosmological, zoom-in galaxy formation simulations is modelled as a non-thermal pressure that acts only in dense and optically thick star-forming regions. The main effect of radiation pressure is to regulate and limit the high values of gas density and the amount of gas available for star formation. By using these simulations, I will address the early formation of compact spheroids by violent disc instabilities (VDI). Due to the inefficiency of star formation, this process is gas rich, so the dissipation naturally leads to compact spheroids. These VDI-driven spheroids, much like merger-driven spheroids, have steep surface density profiles, consistent with a classical, de-Vaucouleurs profile at all times.

The Chromosphere and Prominence Magnetometer (ChroMag) is a synoptic  instrument with the goal of quantifying the intertwined dynamics and  magnetism of the solar chromosphere and in prominences through imaging  spectro-polarimetry of the full solar disk in a synoptic fashion. The  picture of chromospheric magnetism and dynamics is rapidly developing,  and a pressing need exists for breakthrough observations of  chromospheric vector magnetic field measurements at the true lower  boundary of the heliospheric system. ChroMag will provide measurements  that will enable scientists to study and better understand the  energetics of the solar atmosphere, how prominences are formed, how  energy is stored in the magnetic field structure of the atmosphere and  how it is released during space weather events like flares and coronal  mass ejections. An essential part of the ChroMag program is a commitment  to develop and provide community access to the `inversion' tools  necessary to interpret the measurements and derive the  magneto-hydrodynamic parameters of the plasma. Measurements of an  instrument like ChroMag provide critical physical context for the Solar  Dynamics Observatory (SDO) and Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph  (IRIS) as well as ground-based observatories such as the future Daniel  K. Inouye Solar Telescope (DKIST). A prototype is currently deployed in  Boulder, CO, USA. We will present an overview of instrument design and  capabilities, show some recent observations, and discuss the future of  the project.

High Mas X-ray Binary Systems are important sources of information for many astrophysical fields of research. They are composed by a compact object (black hole or neutron star) and an early type star (usually known as the optical companion). Mass transfer from the later onto the compact companion ends up as very bright emission of high energy photons. The multi-wavelength approach becomes mandatory in order to understand these systems: a) Optical and IR bands are used to characterize the optical companion, b) Mass transfer and the local ambient matter in these systems can be traced in UV and IR bands, c) The behavior and properties of the compact companion can be inferred from X-rays/gamma-rays observations, etc. We will review how this approach helps to understand the behavior of several peculiar systems, including the discovery of optical counterparts, the estimation of compact object masses, the characterization of the ambient matter (local extinction), etc.

The discovery and characterization of exoplanets have the potential to offer the world one of the most impactful findings ever in the history of astronomy?the identification of life beyond Earth. Life can be inferred by the presence of atmospheric biosignature gases? Gases produced by life that can accumulate to detectable levels in an exoplanet atmosphere. Detection will be made by remote sensing by sophisticated space telescopes. The conviction that biosignature gases will actually be detected in the future is moderated by lessons learned from the dozens of exoplanet atmospheres studied in last decade, namely the difficulty in robustly identifying molecules, the possible interference of clouds, and the permanent limitations from a spectrum of spatially unresolved and globally mixed gases without direct surface observations. The vision for the path to assess the presence of life beyond Earth is being established.

In order to understand galaxy formation it is crucial to obtain sensitive observations of the emission of dust and molecular gas both of which constrain the on-going star formation or AGN activity and the future potential of the galaxy to grow. Constraining the growth of ensemble of galaxies in the distant universe and not simply the most active ones, is one of the primary goals of current and planned (sub)mm facilities such as ALMA or SPICA. I will discuss two major questions in galaxy formation and assembly: 1) are dusty galaxies vigorously forming stars embedded within large scale structures at z>1.5; and 2) do dusty starbursts exist at the highest redshift. To shed light on these obscure topics, I will present our on-going observations of dust and molecular gas with a number of different (sub)mm facilities such as Herschel, APEX, IRAM or ALMA of one important star forming galaxy population in the distant universe: submillimeter selected galaxies (SMGs). My presentation will be complemented by our recently initiated census of the molecular gas reservoirs of nearby galaxies with optical IFU coverage. The local analogs serve as a reference sample for current and future studies of high-z galaxy populations.

The Astrophysics Research Institute (ARI) was established at LJMU in 1992. Today the Institute comprises around 70 staff and research students working on topics ranging from stellar evolution to cosmology. In this talk I will give an overview and some highlights of the work undertaken in recent years on Classical and Recurrent novae by the nova group of the ARI. This involves multi-frequency observations of both Galactic novae and those in Local Group galaxies and includes topics such as the exploration of their potential links to the progenitors of Type Ia supernovae. Along the way, I will briefly describe the work of the Liverpool Telescope on La Palma, one of whose primary science drivers is the efficient and effective observation of transient objects such as these, and look forward to our plans for the development of an even larger and faster-reacting robotic telescope at ORM - currently codenamed 'LT2".

What can the shape and size of a galaxy tell us about how it has evolved across cosmic time? Which evolutionary mechanisms are important, or relevant, and which not? How do galaxies form in the early Universe? As we enter a new era of big-data astronomy, our capacity to further pursue answers to these questions is increasingly limited not by Human ingenuity but by our use of 20th century data analysis techniques. In this talk, I will summarise my work with the Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA) Survey in measuring the multi-wavelength light profile and stellar mass properties of ~200,000 galaxies in the local Universe. I will show how the stellar mass function may be broken down by morphology and structural component, and the implications this has for our understanding on which evolutionary mechanisms are important in shaping the galaxies around us over the course of the last 1 billion years.