Related papers: The "Second Solar Spectrum" of the post-AGB binary…

A general theoretical framework is developed for interpreting spectropolarimetric observations of optically thin emission line scattering from small dust particles. Spatially integrated and spatially resolved line profiles of both scattered…

The optical afterglow of gamma-ray burst 020813 was observed for 3 hours with the LRIS spectropolarimeter at the Keck-I telescope, beginning 4.7 hours after the burst was detected by HETE-2. The spectrum reveals numerous metal absorption…

We assume that the helium-I lines emitted by the massive binary system Eta Carinae are formed in the acceleration zone of the less-massive secondary star. We calculate the Doppler shift of the lines as a function of orbital phase and of…

Emission spectroscopy is an invaluable tool for probing the atmospheres of brown dwarfs and exoplanets, but interpretations based on flux spectra alone often suffer from degeneracies among temperature structure, chemical composition, and…

Highly polarized QSOs discovered in the Two-Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS) have been observed to determine the source(s) of optical polarization in this near-infrared color-selected sample. Broad emission lines are observed in the polarized…

Close binary systems often show linear polarization varying over the binary period, usually attributed to light scattered from electrons in circumstellar clouds. One of the brightest close binary systems is Spica (Alpha Virginis) consisting…

Linear polarization measurements in the optical band show polarization degrees of a few percent at late times. Recently, polarization at sub-percent level was also detected in radio by ALMA, opening the window for multi-wavelength…

The relative population of the fine structure sublevels of an atom's ground state is affected by radiative transitions induced by an anisotropic radiation flux. This causes the alignment of atomic angular momentum. In terms of observational…

Stellar spectropolarimetry is a relatively new remote sensing tool for exploring stellar atmospheres and circumstellar environments. We present the results of our HiVIS survey and a multi-wavelength ESPaDOnS follow-up campaign showing…

We have observed CH absorption lines ($J=3/2, N=1 \leftarrow J=1/2, N=1$) against the continuum source Sgr~B2(M) using the \textit{Herschel}/HIFI instrument. With the high spectral resolution and wide velocity coverage provided by HIFI, 31…

This paper considers the problem of modeling the light polarization that emerges from an astrophysical plasma composed of atoms whose excitation state is significantly influenced by the anisotropy of the incident radiation field. In…

The nucleus of M87 displays a LINER spectrum at optical wavelengths, with a nuclear disk of nebulosity that is resolved by the Hubble Space Telescope. We present new results from optical and ultraviolet spectra of the central ~40pc as…

We present a detailed photometric study of the central star system of the planetary nebula Hen 2-11, selected for study because of its low-ionisation filaments and bipolar morphology - traits which have been strongly linked with central…

We are carrying out a search for planets around a sample of solar twin stars using the HARPS spectrograph. The goal of this project is to exploit the advantage offered by solar twins to obtain chemical abundances of unmatched precision.…

Does life exist outside our Solar System? A first step towards searching for life outside our Solar System is detecting life on Earth by using remote sensing applications. One powerful and unambiguous biosignature is the circular…

Using the Planetary Camera on board the Hubble Space Telescope we have measured the projected separation of the binary components in the nucleus of the planetary nebula Abell 35 to be larger than 0.08 arcsecs but less than 0.14 arcsecs. The…

Stellar light from an AGB star is scattered by the circumstellar dust and polarized in the direction perpendicular to the source. Therefore, images of circumstellar envelopes around AGB stars in polarized light traces the dust distribution…

Gamma-ray lines from cosmic sources provide unique isotopic information, since they originate from energy level transitions in the atomic nucleus. Gamma-ray telescopes explored this astronomical window in the past three decades, detecting…

Strong mass loss off stars at the tip of the asymptotic giant branch (AGB) profoundly affects properties of these stars and their surroundings, including the subsequent planetary nebula (PN) stage. With this study we wanted to determine…

After the first detection of its binary nature, the spectroscopic monitoring of the non-thermal radio emitter Cyg OB2 #9 (P=2.4yrs) has continued, doubling the number of available spectra of the star. Since the discovery paper of 2008, a…