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This paper develops a few science cases, using the PRIMA far-IR probe, aimed at achieving several breakthroughs in our understanding of the dust properties and their evolution. We argue that the specific observational capabilities of PRIMA,…

Spectropolarimetry is a photon-hungry technique that will reach fruition in the 8-m telescope age. Here I summarize some of the stellar spectropolarimetric research that my collaborators and I have undertaken, with particular emphasis on…

In a recent paper, published at arXiv:0910.2381, we started a discussion on the new possibilities arising from the use of fractional differential calculus in image processing. We have seen that the fractional calculation is able to enhance…

In 1986 Alex Dalgarno published a paper entitled "Is Interstellar Chemistry Useful?" By the middle 1970s, and perhaps even earlier, Alex had hoped that astronomical molecules would prove to: possess significant diagnostic utility; control…

A brief summary of recent developments in mathematical diffraction theory is given. Particular emphasis is placed on systems with aperiodic order and continuous spectral components. We restrict ourselves to some key results and refer to the…

With the advent of large-collecting-area instruments, the number of objects that can be reached by optical long-baseline interferometry is steadily increasing. We present here a few results on massive binary stars, showing the interest of…

The determination of photospheric abundances in late-type stars from spectroscopic observations is a well-established field, built on solid theoretical foundations. Improving those foundations to refine the accuracy of the inferred…

Deflectometry as a technical approach to assessing reflective surfaces has now existed for almost 40 years. Different aspects and variations of the method have been studied in multiple theses and research articles, and reviews are also…

Transmission spectroscopy is currently the technique best suited to study a wide range of planetary atmospheres, leveraging the filtering of a star's light by a planet's atmosphere rather than its own emission. However, as both a planet and…

The early 21st century witnesses a dramatic rise in the study of thermal radiation of neutron stars. Modern space telescopes have provided a wealth of valuable information which, when properly interpreted, can elucidate the physics of…

We introduce a convenient formalism to evaluate the frequency-shift affecting a light signal propagating on a general curved background. Our formulation, which is based on the laws of geometric optics in a general relativistic setting,…

The exquisite precision delivered by interferometric techniques is rapidly being applied to more and more branches of optical astronomy. One particularly successful strategy to obtain structures at the scale of the diffraction limit is…

We start by presenting a brief summary of fractional quantum mechanics, as means to convey a motivation towards fractional quantum cosmology. Subsequently, such application is made concrete with the assistance of a case study. Specifically,…

The rotation rate of a star has important implications for the detectability, characterisation and stability of any planets that may be orbiting it. This chapter gives a brief overview of stellar rotation before describing the methods used…

This prospective chapter gives our view on the evolution of the study of circumstellar discs within the next 20 years from both observational and theoretical sides. We first present the expected improvements in our knowledge of…

Circumstellar disks around young stars are the birthsites of planets. It is thus fundamental to study the disks in which they form, their structure and the physical conditions therein. The first astronomical unit is of great interest…

I review multiwavelength observations of material seen around different types of evolved massive stars (i.e. red supergiants, yellow hypergiants, luminous blue variables, B[e] supergiants, and Wolf-Rayet stars), concentrating on diagnostics…

Turbulence is ubiquitous in the insterstellar medium and plays a major role in several processes such as the formation of dense structures and stars, the stability of molecular clouds, the amplification of magnetic fields, and the…

The cosmic microwave background (CMB) traveled the cosmos long before it reached our telescopes today. Consequently, it is one of the best probes of fundamental processes in the early Universe that we could hope to observe. The cosmological…

Interference with atomic and molecular matter waves is a rich branch of atomic physics and quantum optics. It started with atom diffraction from crystal surfaces and the separated oscillatory fields technique used in atomic clocks. Atom…