For SDSS quasar data (2005) we have truncated data structure whereas for the survey of 2007 the data is no longer truncated. This calls for development or use of completely different statistical methodology to study the data for the evolution of the same objects like quasars. These different methodologies suggest different interpretation for a particular phenomenon in nature. This leads to the issue of validation of the data. More intriguing and challenging issue crops up as, given all of the data, what can be said about the laws of physics that have been operating over the universe? Over here we have used the concept of Neural Network to model the relationship between redshift and apparent magnitude.

The Joint Discussion on Space-time reference systems for future research (JD7) was held at the XXVIIIth General Assembly of the IAU in Beijing, on 27–29 August 2012. It was organized by IAU Division I (Fundamental Astronomy), with the support of Division III (Planetary Systems Sciences), Division IX (Optical & Infrared Techniques), Division XI (Space & High Energy Astrophysics), and Division XII (Union-Wide Activities). The scientific organizing committee was composed of Nicole Capitaine (France; co-Chair), George H. Kaplan (USA), Sergei Klioner (Germany; co-Chair), Zoran Knezevic (Republic of Serbia), Dafydd Wyn Evans (UK), Dennis McCarthy (USA; co-Chair), Harald Schuh (Austria), Richard N. Manchester (Australia) and Gérard Petit (France).

Long GRBs are related to the death of massive stars and reveal themselves through synchrotron emission from highly relativistic jets. The ‘Christmas Burst’ GRB 101225A was an exceptionally long GRB with a thermal afterglow, very different from the standard GRB. Initially, no spectroscopic redshift could be obtained and SED modeling yielded z=0.33. A plausible model was a He-NS star merger where the He-star had ejected part of its envelope in the common envelope phase during inspiral. The interaction between the jet and the previously ejected shell can explains the thermal emission. We obtained deep spectroscopy of the host galaxy which leads to a correction of the redshift to z=0.847. Despite the higher redshift, our model is still valid and theoretically better justified than the alternative suggestion of a blue supergiant progenitor proposed by Levan et al. (2014) for several “ultra-long” GRBs.

We comment on the observed connection between the shape of the photometric profiles and the stellar population content in early-type galaxies.

An overview is given over the broad field of Relativity in Fundamental Astronomy. The present status is recalled and deficiencies are pointed out that might lead to future work within IAU Commission 52.

Short gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are an extremely elusive family of cosmic explosions. They are thought to be related to the violent merger of compact objects (such as a neutron stars or black holes). Their optical counterparts were not discovered until 2005, and since then, there had been no successful spectroscopic observations. Here we present the first spectra of a short GRB, which we use to study the environment and derive implications on the progenitors of these cosmic explosions. This poster is based on the work by de Ugarte Postigo et al. (2014).

From the galaxy power spectrum in redshift space, we derive semi-analytical results on the generic degeneracy of galaxy clustering measurements. Defining the observables A = Gbσ8 and R = Gfσ8, (being G the growth function, b the bias, f the growth rate, and σ8 the amplitude of the power spectrum), we perform a Fisher matrix formalism to forecast the expected precision of these quantities for a Euclid-like survey. Among the results we found that galaxy surveys have generically a slightly negative correlation between A and R, and they can always measure R about 3.7 to 4.7 times better than A.

We present a dust radiative transfer analysis of the edge-on spiral galaxy NGC 5908. In our previous analysis, it was found that the standard assumption of a double-exponential dust distribution resulted in a poor fit. We investigate the possibility of the dust being distributed in one or more rings. The parameters are constrained using FitSKIRT, a code used to automatically determine the best fitting radiative transfer model given a set of observations. We discuss the possible implications of this dust distribution on the predicted spectral energy distribution.

We present a new technique developed to model the radiative transfer (RT) effects in nearby face-on galaxies. The face-on perspective provides insight into the star-forming regions and clumpy structure, imposing the need for high-resolution 3D models to recover the asymmetric stellar and dust geometries observed in galaxies. RT modeling of the continuum emission of stars and its interaction with the embedding dust in a galaxy's interstellar medium enables a self-consistent study of the main dust heating mechanisms in galaxies. The main advantage of RT calculations is the non-local character of dust heating that can be addressed by tracing the propagation of stellar radiation through the dusty galaxy medium.

Extreme value statistics (EVS) is applied to the pixelized distribution of galaxy luminosities in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). We analyze the DR8 Main Galaxy Sample (MGS) as well as the Luminous Red Galaxy Sample (LRGS). A non-parametric comparison of the EVS of the luminosities with the Fisher-Tippett-Gumbel distribution (limit distribution for independent variables distributed by the Press-Schechter law) indicates a good agreement provided uncertainties arising both from the finite size of the samples and from the sample size distribution are accounted for. This effectively rules out the possibility of having a finite maximum cutoff luminosity.

The mathematical concept of the Newtonian limit of Einstein's equations in an expanding universe is formulated. The equations of motion of planets and light are compared.

The Hard X-ray Modulation Telescope (HXMT) is a Chinese space telescope mission. It is scheduled for launch in 2015. The telescope will perform an all-sky survey in hard X-ray band (1 - 250 keV), a series of deep imaging observations of small sky regions as well as pointed observations. In this work we present a conceptual method to reconstruct light curves from HXMT imaging observation directly, in order to monitor time-varying objects such as GRB, AXP and SGR in hard X-ray band with HXMT imaging observations.

We describe how observations of pulsars from the Parkes Pulsar Timing Array (PPTA) project have been used to develop a pulsar-based timescale. This is the first such timescale that has a precision comparable to uncertainties in international atomic timescales.

We demonstrate a method to measure both rotation curves and 3D ISM structure in edge-on galaxies. Two-dimensional spectral coverage of edge-on galaxies reveals substantial deviations in emission line shapes from a purely gaussian profile that vary with radius and height. Non-gaussianity is quantified using statistical moments to third order. We infer the 3D density distribution by comparing the measured line profiles to synthetic line-of-sight velocity distributions from a suite of three-dimensional galaxy models with different 3D distributions of dust and gas and different rotation curve shapes and amplitudes. We apply this method using multi-position longslit data of nearby edge-on galaxy ESO 435-G25 and find our derived rotation curve matches measured HI rotation from envelope fitting but requires a flared dust disk to accurately describe the radial and vertical trends in the measured statistical moments. Our results are consistent with dynamical expectations for constant pressure support in a disk with exponentially declining surface-density.

The success of many cosmological surveys in the near future is highly grounded on the quality of their photometry. The Javalambre-PAU Astrophysical Survey (J-PAS) will image more than 8500 deg2 of the Northern Sky Hemisphere in 54 narrow + 2 medium/broad optical bands plus Sloan u, g and r bands. The main goal of J-PAS is to provide the best constrains on the cosmological parameters before the arrival of projects like Euclid or LSST. To achieve this goal the uncertainty in photo-z cannot be larger than 0.3% for several millions of galaxies and this is highly dependent on the photometric accuracy.

The photometric calibration of J-PAS will imply the intensive use of huge amounts of data and the use of statistical tools is unavoidable. Here, we present some of the key steps in the photometric calibration of J-PAS that will demand a suitable statistical approach.

We review the stability and accuracy achieved by the reference atomic time scales TAI and TT(BIPM). We show that they presently are in the low 10−16 in relative value, based on the performance of primary standards, of the ensemble time scale and of the time transfer techniques. We consider how the 1 × 10−16 value could be reached or superseded and which are the present limitations to attain this goal.

Galactic winds and outflows are an ubiquitous phenomenon in galaxies with active star formation and/or active nuclei. They constitute the main mechanism for redistributing dust and metals on large scales and are therefore a key ingredient to understand the life cycle of galaxies. Among galaxies, ULIRGs are of particular interest in this context, as they host intense starbursts and are likely to be the dominant star formers at z > 1. These objects have been shown to host important winds, but it is not yet known what is the frequency of galactic winds and their properties in galaxies with lower star formation rates (SFR). We are studying galactic winds in a sample of 21 galaxies with different SFRs (including ULIRGs) from observations with the INTEGRAL fiber spectrograph on the 4.2m WHT. In order to be able to address the complex multi–phase nature of the wind phenomenon, we have used the Na I D doublet absorption lines to trace cold gas, and a few emission lines (Hα, [N ii] and [S ii]) to trace the warmer ionized gas of the wind. The distribution and kinematics of both components in these objects is then analysed. Preliminary results show strong spatial correlation between regions with high non–circular velocities, areas with high star formation activity and regions with two different components in the emission lines. This set of data will help us to characterise the distribution and kinematics of the winds and their relation with the host galaxy type.

We have written a theoretical description of one-way and two-way satellite time and frequency transfer and developed a model of the micro-wave link in the frame of the ACES/PHARAO mission. This is used to write a data analysis software and a simulation to test it. A very short description of the mission and of the micro-wave link is given here. A detailed description can be found in Delva et al., 2012, Proceedings of the EFTF, Gothenburg, Sweden, arXiv:1206.6239.