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We present a new maximum likelihood method for the calculation of galaxy luminosity functions from multi-band photometric surveys without spectroscopic data. The method evaluates the likelihood of a trial luminosity function by directly…
We present images and slitless spectra which were obtained in HST surveys of Planetary Nebulae (PNe) in both the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, using the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph. These new data on 59 PNe (54 in the LMC and…
One of the most exciting advances of the current generation of telescopes has been the detection of galaxies during the epoch of reionization, using deep fields that have pushed these instruments to their limits. It is essential to optimize…
We describe MIFS, a second generation integral-field spectrograph for the VLT, operating in the visible wavelength range. It combines a 1'x1' field of view with the improved spatial resolution provided by multi-conjugate adaptive optics and…
The extragalactic distance scale is fundamental to our understanding of astrophysics and cosmology. In recent years, the surface brightness fluctuation (SBF) method, applied in the near-IR, has proven especially powerful for measuring…
We demonstrate a newly developed mid-infrared planetary nebula (PN) selection technique. It is designed to enable efficient searches for obscured, previously unknown, PN candidates present in the photometric source catalogues of Galactic…
As the second step in our investigation of the mass-to-light ratio of spiral disks, we present the results of a spectroscopic survey of planetary nebulae (PNe) in five nearby, low-inclination galaxies: IC 342, M74 (NGC 628), M83 (NGC 5236),…
We use the Expanding Photosphere Method to determine distances to 10 type II supernovae. The effects of asymmetries, extinction, and flux dilution are explored. Using empirical evidence and time-independent, spherical models which treat H…
Bulge-disc decomposition is a valuable tool for understanding galaxies. However, achieving robust measurements of component properties is difficult, even with high quality imaging, and it becomes even more so with the imaging typical of…
A novel method capable of delivering relative optical path length metrology with nanometer precision is demonstrated. Unlike conventional dual-wavelength metrology which employs heterodyne detection, the method developed in this work…
The mass of the lenses giving rise to Galactic microlensing events can be constrained by measuring the relative lens-source proper motion and lens flux. The flux of the lens can be separated from that of the source, companions to the…
The DENIS survey is currently imaging 21334 deg^2 of the mainly southern sky in the IJK and the observations are expected to go on until mid 2000. The expectations for extragalactic and cosmological research are outlined, including a…
Strong gravitational lensing and microlensing of supernovae (SNe) are emerging as a new probe of cosmology and astrophysics in recent years. We provide an overview of this nascent research field, starting with a summary of the first…
Aims. We present simulations of the perfomances of the future SPHERE IFS instrument designed for imaging extrasolar planets in the near infrared (Y, J, and H bands). Methods. We used the IDL package code for adaptive optics simulation…
Photometric redshifts (photo-z's) provide an alternative way to estimate the distances of large samples of galaxies and are therefore crucial to a large variety of cosmological problems. Among the various methods proposed over the years,…
We use the statistics of strong gravitational lensing from the CLASS survey to impose constraints on the velocity dispersion and density profile of elliptical galaxies. This approach differs from much recent work, where the luminosity…
We present an analysis of HI Lyman-alpha emission in deep VLT/MUSE observations of two highly magnified and extended galaxies at z=3.5 and 4.03, including a newly discovered, almost complete Einstein ring. While these Lyman-alpha haloes are…
We present a spectroscopic survey of galaxies in the COSMOS field using the Fiber Multi-Object Spectrograph (FMOS), a near-infrared instrument on the Subaru Telescope. Our survey is specifically designed to detect the Halpha emission line…
With the dramatic rise in high-quality galaxy data expected from Euclid and Vera C. Rubin Observatory, there will be increasing demand for fast high-precision methods for measuring galaxy fluxes. These will be essential for inferring the…
In this investigation, we leverage the combination of Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument Legacy imaging Surveys Data Release 9 (DESI LS DR9), Survey Validation 3 (SV3), and Year 1 (Y1) data sets to estimate the conditional luminosity and…