Recent Talks

Molecules play a crucial role in all branches of astrophysics, particularly in the analysis of planetary and stellar spectra, as well as contributing to the all important envelope opacities needed for modelling the evolution of cool stars.  Until 2010, line positions and strengths for all astrophysically important molecules were sparse, and the ExoMol project was setup by Jonathan Tennyson and Sergey Yurchencko in 2011 to use state-of-the-art quantum mechanics to calculate the billions of line strengths and positions needed for all molecules of interest.  As well as describing the ExoMol project, I plan to discuss my own contribution, which involves the C3 molecule and its isotopologues.

En esta charla se va a presentar los telescopios ATLAS y su integración en la red ATLAS dirigida por la Universidad de Hawaii. Vamos a hablar del estado actual del proyecto, tecnología que se utiliza en los telescopios y el stack software que lleva asociado.

Activity of cool dwarf stars can reveal itself in the form of high-energy radiation (eg, enhanced X-ray coronal emission, flares) and particles (eg, winds, coronal mass ejections). Together, these phenomena shape the space weather around (exo)planets. Because most of the known exoplanets have significantly closer orbital distances than solar system planets, they are often embedded in much harsher particle and radiation environments, leading to stronger interactions between the exoplanet and its surrounding environment. In this talk I will present an overview of how stellar activity and outflows can induce and shape atmospheric escape in exoplanets. I will focus mostly on close-in gas giant planets, whose escaping atmospheres are somewhat easier to observe. I will then discuss how the observability of atmospheric escape, through spectroscopic transits, evolve on billions of years timescales.

The coupling between the baryonic cycle of galaxies and dark matter halo assembly is central to our understanding of galaxies, and yet, it remains a challenge for theoretical models and elusive to observations. In this talk, I report observational evidence demonstrating that different baryonic properties of nearby galaxies are controlled by their host halos. We map galaxy ages, metallicities and star formation histories across the stellar-to-halo mass relation for SDSS central galaxies using absorption optical spectra. In addition to stellar populations, we also investigate the stellar angular momentum, star formation rates and galaxy morphology across the stellar-to-total dynamical mass relation for CALIFA galaxies. We find that the scatter of both relations correlates with these galaxy properties, which are determined by the combined role of stellar and halo/total mass. Galaxies become older, more metal-rich and less rotationally supported, form the bulk of their stars earlier on and faster, have lower star formation rates and earlier-type morphologies as their stellar mass increases (at fixed halo/total mass). Furthermore, we also observe that the scatter of the star-forming main sequence is driven by galaxies that have experienced different evolutionary histories. We interpret our results as being driven by halo evolution, with galaxies/halos at different evolutionary stages modulating the variety of galaxy properties observed at fixed stellar mass. Our findings call for a revision of the sub-grid physics implementation in cosmological numerical simulations, in particular during the early stages of galaxy formation, and warn observational studies to account for the profound effect that halo formation time may have on measured galaxy properties.

Zoom Link: https://rediris.zoom.us/j/96210828127?pwd=Z25JdFg1bnpRTVBSQUdpTVlwUDgyQT09

El objetivo de esta charla es presentar los recientes avances del sistema de Óptica Adaptativa de GTC (GTCAO). Se resumirán los resultados de las pruebas de aceptación en la sala AIV en abril de 2023; las dificultades y el éxito del transporte al ORM y la instalación en GTC en junio de 2023; la integración del sistema con el control del telescopio y los primeros resultados de las campañas de commissioning en cielo. Se repasará también brevemente el estado del resto de proyectos del programa, en concreto el sistema de Estrella Guía Láser y el instrumento GRANCAIN.

Feedback from accreting supermassive black holes (aka active galactic nuclei, AGN) is thought to be key in shaping the life-cycle of galaxies. AGN inject a significant amount of energy into the surrounding interstellar medium and launch gaseous winds. They are therefore able to potentially inhibit future star formation in their hosts. An ideal cosmic laboratory to study how AGN regulate galaxy growth is the so-called cosmic noon (z~2), i.e. the peak of AGN accretion activity, when their energy output is overall maximized. In this talk I will describe our recent efforts to systematically characterize the impact of AGN on star formation in galaxies at cosmic noon. To this aim, we are exploiting integral field spectroscopy data obtained with SINFONI and ALMA observations of the ionized and molecular gas as well as dust continuum. In addition, I will discuss a complementary avenue to build a statistical understanding of AGN feedback across the galaxy population by using spectroscopic surveys, less time consuming than integral field spectroscopy and able to collect large samples of thousands of targets.

Zoom link: https://rediris.zoom.us/j/99761131815?pwd=QUN0ckRSZWJZQkh1aUxvSU9UNmtJUT09
Meeting ID: 997 6113 1815

Passcode: 164994

El presente trabajo analiza cómo es el proceso de gestión del conocimiento científico en el Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) como caso paradigmático de un entorno de coopetición donde se coopera y se compite en aras de lograr la excelencia científica. Para ello se ha llevado a cabo un estudio cualitativo y cuantitativo del Área de Investigación del IAC, que ha permitido tener una visión de los diferentes aspectos que determinan dicho proceso (capital humano, social y organizativo; capacidades directivas y prácticas de RRHH). Además de evidenciar los principales hallazgos sobre el bienestar laboral de los investigadores, también se analizarán los resultados alcanzados desde la perspectiva de género. Finalmente, se presentarán las conclusiones y recomendaciones del estudio.