---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Abstract : Within molecular clouds, young stars form in clusters, assembling stellar structures of various sizes and multiplicities. Whether these young systems emerge from mutual gravitational interactions, or inherit the cloud structure at the early phases of their formation is still an open question. In this presentation, I will test a scenario of secular formation in which the cloud's hierarchical fragmentation structures the properties of the stellar systems, such as stellar clustering and stellar masses. Modelling such hierarchical process requires large dynamic range (∼10 au to ~10 pc) to account for different physical processes shaping the interstellar medium. In this presentation I will introduce a novel model of fragmentation describing the multi-scale structure of a cloud considering both the thermodynamical conditions of gravitational collapse and the turbulent cascade connecting the different scales. I show that fragmentation is not a scale-free process suggesting that molecular clouds structure is not necessarily fractal. I highlight that fragmentation is a self-regulated process as the characteristics of pre-stellar objects seem to be universal regardless of the cloud initial conditions. Although observational constraints indicate that fragmentation is one of the main mechanisms explaining the presence of extended stellar structures in molecular clouds, accretion seems to be necessary to form stars during the early phases of pre-stellar objects.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Abstract : The Condor Array Telescope is an “array telescope” comprised of six off-the-shelf refracting telescopes and six off-the-shelf large-format CMOS cameras all mounted to a common mount. The telescope is optimized for very low surface-brightness sensitivity, very rapid time resolution, and a very wide field of view. The telescope was deployed to a dark site in New Mexico in 2021 and has been routine operation ever since, autonomously collecting science observations every clear night. Condor has obtained sensitive broad- and narrow-band images of a variety of objects, including extended regions surrounding dwarf novae and very extended regions surrounding nearby galaxies and galaxy groups; has obtained very deep, very-narrow-band images of redshifted Lyman-alpha emission designed to detect the high-redshift circum- and inter-galactic media; and has obtained hundreds of thousands of source hours of rapid-cadence broad-band photometry of white dwarfs. I will describe the first science results derived from the new observations obtained by Condor.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Abstract : Observations of cold dark clouds, star-forming regions, evolved stars, galaxies, and other objects in space, through millimeter and submillimeter wavelength observations have broadened our vision of the Universe over the last few decades. These observations are usually performed from high and dry sites, where conditions allowing some sky transparency for them are found. Even so, the atmospheric millimeter and submillimeter spectrum is rather complicated and fast changing, both in space and time. Site testing for ground-based submillimeter observatories started in Tenerife during the 70s and have continued over the years in Mauna Kea (Hawai'i), the Atacama desert (Chile), Hanle (India), the Tibet Plateau, Greenland, the South Pole and a few other sites.
The contributors to the millimeter and submillimeter atmospheric spectrum are O2 through magnetic dipolar (M1) rotational transitions, H2O through electric dipolar (E1) rotational transitions, weaker E1 features from other ``minor'' atmospheric gases, such as O3, N2O, CO, HCN, HCl..., isotopologues and vibrationally excited states of some of these molecules, and, finally, non-resonant collision-induced absorption (CIA) due to several mechanisms: N2-N2, O2-O2 and O2-N2 collisions (dry CIA), and H2O-N2 + H2-O2 collisions (''foreign'' wet CIA), as well as H2O-H2O collisions (''self'' wet CIA, almost negligible for dry submillimeter sites).
The importance of a reference atmospheric radiative transfer model for both planning and helping in the calibration of ground-based observations at millimeter and submillimeter wavelengths has motivativated a study that follows the implementation in 2011 of the ATM model in the official ALMA software. ATM includes the spectroscopy and reference vertical profiles for all relevant molecular species contributing to the millimeter and submillimeter atmospheric spectrum as seen from ground-based observatories, along with empirical and theoretical descriptions of the CIA mechanisms.
In this seminar I will present the first mm/submm atmospheric study to be based on broadband coverage (several hundreds of GHz) and very high spectral resolution (better than 1 MHz). The atmospheric spectra have been acquired from October 2020 to September 2022 under different weather conditions, in different diurnal moments and seasons, and has resulted in a data set of more than 50 spectra within the 157.3-742.1 frequency range, at kHz resolution. The data span one order of magnitude (~0.35-3.5 mm) in precipitable water vapor columns and are unique for their quality and completeness. Due to the proximity of APEX to the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA), these data provide an excellent opportunity to validate and improve the currently atmospheric model used in ALMA and, also, at other mm/submm observatories around the world.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Abstract : One of the most common methods to study the dust in Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) is modeling the infrared SED through radiative transfer models. The scientific community is currently dealing with a rich set of AGN dust emission models, each of them created with a different radiative transfer code and assuming different ingredients, e.g., the SED of the accretion disk, chemical composition, dust grain sizes, and the assumed dust density distribution. Yet, these models are only characterized by this latter aspect, biasedly considered as the one mainly defining their characteristics. We have analyzed the mid-infrared (MIR) Spitzer spectra of a sample of 49 AGN to investigate the chemical composition and grain sizes of the dust through the SED fitting method using a mineralogy model that includes a variety of dust species. We have found that the dust is composed of porous alumina, periclase, olivine, and graphite. This dust chemical composition has been introduced in a subsequent analysis of the dusty tours SED through radiative transfer simulations using the SKIRT code. We have created a grid of thousands of models exploring a parameter space in the dust density distribution, optical depth, opening angle, inclination, and size of the torus. In addition, we have repeated this grid of models adding a polar wind component. In this talk, I will present some results obtained so far about the grid of radiative transfer models of the dusty torus.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Abstract : All known astrophysical magnetic fields are produced via the amplification of seed magnetic fields. These seeds have not yet been directly detected, although there exist observational lower (10^-7 nG) and upper (1 nG) bounds on their possible strength. These values are many orders of magnitude weaker than the magnetic fields derived from observations in galaxy clusters (~1000 nG) or galaxies themselves (10⁴ nG). Placing observational constraints on the physical properties of these seed fields is of significant astrophysical interest: in particular, if observed, it may be possible to place an upper limit on their coherence scales, and therefore on their possible origins. It may be possible to acquire these observational constraints by detecting radio-synchrotron emission from the Warm-Hot Intergalactic Medium (WHIM) within the filaments of the cosmic web. The SKA hopes to achieve this detection, but recent technical developments unlocked by the joint use of NenuFAR and LOFAR may allow them to detect this signal before the SKA comes fully online.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Abstract : Galactic winds play a critical role in galaxy evolution. Gas that is driven above the plane of a disk naturally regulates star formation by removing itself from the available fuel to make new stars. The total mass outflow rate from galaxies remains, however, very poorly constrained due to a lack of multi-phase observations that can track mass in both the warm ionised and cold molecular gas. I will present early results from two surveys aiming to study spatially resolved multi-phase gas in outflows, in face-on galaxies (DUVET sample with Keck and ALMA) and in edge-on galaxies (GECKOS with MUSE and ALMA). Our overall aim is to create significantly sized samples of resolved, multi-phase galactic winds. Resolved studies allow us to connect the mass ratio of the outflow to local drivers, such as the SFR durface density, at kiloparsec scale resolution. We can also measure the ionisation source of the warm phase with respect to the cold phase distribution. These observations provide important scaling relations that can be used on large samples of single-phase outflow measurements. This talk will present pilot observations from both programs. By studying both edge-on and face-on galaxies we are able to generate a full 3D view of the warm and cold phases of outflows. Our results are intended to help better constrain feedback processes and their impact and provide comparisons with outputs from simulations.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Abstract : The magnetic field is one of the critical segments of the interstellar medium. It has been proposed that supporting interstellar clouds against gravitational collapse by magnetic fields could explain the low observed star formation efficiency in the Milky Way and other galaxies. Planck satellite provided a 5-15' all-sky map of the magnetic field geometry in the diffuse interstellar medium. However, higher spatial resolution observations are required to understand the transition from diffuse gas to gravitationally unstable gas. The Flame Nebula, also known as NGC 2024, is located in the Orion B molecular cloud and provides an excellent opportunity to study the role of the magnetic field in the formation, evolution, and collapse of filaments, as well as the dynamics and effects of young HII regions on the surrounding molecular gas. NGC 2024 contains a young, expanding HII region and a dense filament that harbors embedded protostellar objects. In this talk, I will present the results of our recent work on analyzing the magnetic fields in the Flame Nebula. We use new SOFIA HAWC+ 154 and 216 micron dust polarization measurements and the CN and HCO+ emission as part of the IRAM 30-m ORION B large program. In this work, we determine the geometry of the magnetic field and estimate the strength of its plane of the sky component across the NGC 2024. The magnetic field in NGC 2024 follows the morphology of the expanding HII region and the direction of the main filament. The derived plane of the sky magnetic field strength is moderate, ranging from 30 to 80 micro G, with the strongest measured at the east edge of the HII region, whereas the weakest field is found toward the filament in NGC 2024. We have found that the magnetic field has a non-negligible influence on the gas stability at the edges of the expanding HII shell and the filament, a site of the current star formation.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Abstract : The Herschel surveys have enabled the detection of numerous luminous dusty star-forming galaxies (DSFGs) in the early universe. Follow-up observations of these sources are essential to determine their nature and the physical properties of their interstellar medium; reliable measurements of their redshifts are therefore crucial to explore the molecular and atomic gas of these objects. We will here present the results of a Large Program, using NOEMA, aimed at a comprehensive 3 and 2-mm spectroscopic redshift survey of a large (~135 sources) sample of the brightest (S_500μm > 80 mJy) DSFGs selected from the Herschel H-ATLAS and HerMES surveys, which probe the peak of cosmic evolution (2 < z < 4). The results highlight the nature of the sources, revealing lenses and rare hyper-luminous galaxies, as well as, in some cases, their multiplicity. We will describe the main results of the survey as well as complementary data, in particular, with NOEMA, ALMA and the HST, addressing aspects of feedback activity in selected sources, and outline future prospects.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Abstract : In high-energy and multi-messenger astrophysics, much of the phenomenology relates to the dissipation of an energy reservoir into accelerated particles that then radiate in various channels (cosmic rays, electromagnetic signals, from radio to gamma rays, and neutrinos), and most of the effort focuses on pinpointing the reservoir and the dissipation process at play Bursts of these high-energy particles often result from efficient kinetic or Poynting flux conversion in nonthermal distributions through collective plasma processes associated with astrophysical shock waves.

In this talk, I will outline recent numerical and theoretical efforts to model the transport of particles and acceleration in multiple classes of shock waves relevant to various environments, such as gamma-ray bursts and supernova remnants. In the first part of the talk, we will focus on collisionless shock waves propagating in weakly magnetized environments. Their dynamics are led by forming kinetic-scale magnetic structures coherent over hundreds of kilometers. We will discuss the nonlinear modeling of ambient plasma heating, acceleration, and radiation through the self-consistent interaction with these structures. I will then review the plasma effects in a second class of astrophysical shocks called Radiation-Mediated Shocks (RMS). More specifically, We will discuss the physics of RMS in the relativistic regime, shaping the prompt gamma-ray burst emission. In this regime, the shock wave is mediated by Compton scattering and copious electron-positron pair creation, in which plasma effects can be significant.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Abstract : What controls star formation ? is a key question in astrophysics, and one very important aspect of this is the interaction of newly-formed stars with their surroundings. The radiative and mechanical feedback from young, massive stars can be dramatic. The altered composition and increased temperature that result make atomic and ionic fine structure lines ideal probes of stellar feedback. The value of such observations is dramatically increased if the spectral lines are velocity-resolved so that the momentum and energy impact on the stars’ surroundings can be determined. But such observations must be carried out from suborbital or space observatories due to absorption in the Earth’s atmosphere. The fine structure lines of ionized carbon, and atomic oxygen are the most important and have been widely observed with high spectral resolution starting with the Herschel HIFI instrument and continuing with upGREAT on SOFIA. In this talk I will discuss some recent fine structure line observations focusing on the effects of star formation on the surrounding interstellar medium and possible problems with measuring the rate of star formation. I will conclude by presenting two fine structure line spectroscopic balloon missions. GUSTO was launched on 31 December 2023, and will survey lines of [NII], [CII], and [OI] in the central portion of the Galactic Plane and the Large Magellanic Cloud. ASTHROS, to follow a year later, has a much larger 2.5m diameter telescope, and will observe both [NII] fine structure lines to derive the electron density in selected regions.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Abstract : It has long been suggested that cosmic rays can play an essential role in setting the chemistry and even dynamics of the interstellar medium. This is partially because these particles are the only agent capable of ionizing the interior of dense molecular clouds where new stars are forming. In other words, cosmic rays control the ionization rate which is a key parameter in regulating the abundances of different chemical species in star-forming regions. The ionization rate also determines the coupling between gas and magnetic fields which is of critical importance for the process of planet and star formation. Modeling the cosmic-ray induced ionization rate is, however, challenging as it requires knowledge on cosmic-ray transport on various scales, from within star-forming regions to large galactic scales. In this talk, I will provide a brief summary of our current understanding on galactic cosmic-ray transport and its implications for the physics of the interstellar medium.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Abstract : With the advancement of data quality and escalating tensions, thecosmological model faces mounting challenges. If these tensions persist and are not attributed to observational systematics, they could precipitate a paradigm shift. In this light, it is important to scrutinize all the hypotheses underlying the model in order to falsify it. In this talk, I will review some of these tests, and focus on joint constraints combining several cosmological probes such as type Ia supernovae, baryon acoustic oscillations, and redshift-space distortion.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

résumé : I will present the design, fabrication and preliminary characterization of the first fully solid-state room- temperature heterodyne receiver working around 2 THz. The receiver is based on a state-of-the-art subharmonically-pumped GaAs Schottky mixer and a state-of-the-art Schottky frequency multiplier chain at 1.0 THz that produces ~2mW of power. The receiver demonstrates a double-side-band (DSB) noise temperature of less than 7000 K at room temperature. This result enables the construction of a space-borne heterodyne instrument to measure the wind velocities in the Earth's thermosphere by observing the emission of the atomic oxygen at 2.06THz The receiver was used in a spectroscopy experiment at 2.06THz to measure the frequency of the O-I line with improved accuracy compared to previously reported measurements.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

résumé : Galaxies in compact groups live in an environment where constant interactions take place, both through tidal and through collisional processes. They are therefore ideal objects to study the influence of the environment on galaxy properties and evolution, in particular the quenching of star formation. The atomic hydrogen is extremely affected by this environment, with high deficiencies in many cases, whereas the molecular gas content is on average relatively normal in most galaxies. However, the properties of the molecular gas are drastically different if one selects those galaxies, based on their mid-infrared colours from the Spitzer and WISE satallites, that are in transitioning phase from active to quiescence which have have a considerably lower molecular-to-stellar mass and star formation efficiency.
In my talk I will present results form observations of the molecular gas and star formation in galaxies in compact groups, both from single dish and interferometric observations, that show indications that in many cases the molecular gas is highly perturbed (and therefore unable to form stars) in compact groups.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

résumé : The polarization signature from dust thermal emission in the far-infrared is a powerful tool to study the physical properties of star-forming environments, and specifically to reveal the role of magnetic fields in slowing the gravitational collapse of interstellar filaments. With its multi-wavelength polarimetric capabilities, the High-resolution Airborne Wideband Camera Plus (HAWC+) aboard the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) therefore opened a unique window into the dynamics of stellar nurseries during its lifetime. In particular, the Filaments Extremely Long and Dark: A Magnetic Polarization Survey (FIELDMAPS) with HAWC+ provided detailed maps of dust polarization at 214 µm in ten of the largest known filaments in the Milky Way galaxy. These observations provide the highest resolution measurements to date of the magnetic field in these dense filamentary structures, also described as the “bones” of our Galaxy. Using the Davis-Chandrasekhar-Fermi (DCF) technique and the Angular Dispersion Function (ADF), combined with ancillary spectroscopic data of dense gas tracers in each bone, to quantify the magnetic field amplitude across these filaments. Furthermore, polarization measurements at multiple wavelengths can also improve our understanding of dust physics by probing their alignment efficiency to interstellar magnetic fields, which emphasizes the importance of the synergy of HAWC+ observations with longer-wavelength data from other observatories.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

résumé : Ultra diffuse galaxies (UDG), low-surface brightness objects with large effective radii, inside galaxy clusters have very low internal gravity which renders them ideal candidates for testing the Modified Newtonian Dynamics (MOND) paradigm as a possible alternative to dark matter. Freundlich et. al. (2022) studied the velocity dispersions of several UDGs in the Coma cluster and compared them with the predictions of MOND. While the agreement would have been excellent if these galaxies were isolated, there seems to be an apparent disagreement because of the so-called `` external field effect '' (EFE) related to the gravitational influence of the cluster. The authors have proposed several scenarios that could possibly explain this discrepancy. Building on this work, I will be presenting results of numerical simulations of UDGs orbiting around the Coma cluster, in MOND. We look at some of their dynamical properties and compare them with observations and subsequently try to explain whether the UDGs are within the realm of reconciliation or beyond.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

résumé : Most of the models build to compute the nebular emission of Star Forming Galaxies are obtained using very simple descriptions of the gas and its photoionizing source. In this talk I will present a new method that takes into account a more realistic description of the galaxies, in terms of sums of hundreds or thousands of individual HII regions. The emission of each region is very quickly obtained by the use of machine learning algorithms (Artificial Neural Networks). I will discuss some details of the modeling, and present preliminary results, involving methods to determine abundances of the galaxies. Comparisons to observed surveys are also discussed.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

résumé : Early-type galaxies (i.e. elliptical and lenticular) are divided into slow and fast rotators according to the appearance of their maps of line-of-sight velocity. Fast rotators show clear ordered rotation, while slow are supported mostly by velocity dispersion. I will speak about our work on investigation of the origin of this diversity. Inspired by cosmological simulations, we assumed that galaxies first form as fast rotators and then mergers transform some of them to slow rotators. We investigated the correlations of a measure of rotational support with various properties of galaxies that are sensitive to mergers. These include stellar ages, the presence of tidal features, or kinematically distinct cores. Each of these parameters is sensitive to a different type of merger and has a different lifetime. The found correlations, or their lack, together with observations of high-redshift universe, are explained the easiest, if the rotation support of early-type galaxies was decreased by multiple minor mergers more than 10 Gyr ago.
Based on https://arxiv.org/abs/2210.02478 (accepted for publication in A&A)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

résumé : Star formation is one of the dominant processes driving galaxy evolution. Galaxies with cold gas are generally found to host star formation in their inner disks, but the intensity of star formation increases dramatically when galaxies come close. UV observations are one of the best ways to study the distribution and intensity of star formation in galaxies. In this talk I will present an overview of our UV imaging telescope (UVIT) and MUSE studies of star formation in nearby galaxies. This includes several studies on interacting and merging galaxies as well as dual AGN host galaxies. I will also describe the unusual star formation in extended UV disk galaxies and briefly summarise our recent work on star formation in dwarf galaxies.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

résumé : Giant low surface brightness galaxies (gLSBGs) have the largest discs in the Universe with the radii up to 130 kpc. The formation of such enormous discs is a stress-test for the hierarchical galaxy formation paradigm and without clarifying it we cannot paint a coherent picture of galaxy evolution. In the talk I will give the answers to the following questions. How rare are gLSBGs? What are the formation scenarios of gLSBGs? And how does it all correspond to the results of modern cosmological simulations? These answers are based on both in-depth study of 8 gLSBGs, including the results of our deep spectroscopic and photometric observations, HI data collected in the framework of our observing programs and complemented by archival datasets. Finally, we used deep optical images from HSC Subaru Strategic Program and publicly available redshift catalogs, estimated the volume density of gLSBGs in the local Universe and compared it to state-of-the-art numerical simulations.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

résumé : In the seminar I will discuss the current challenges for an unbiased detection of the CMB polarization signal with the accuracy required to probe physics beyond the current standard model of cosmology. Specifically, I will present a study project developed at the LPENS and LERMA laboratories in Paris to face this challenge.
Over the past two decades, observations of temperature fluctuations in the cosmic microwave background (CMB) have played a fundamental role in defining the current standard cosmological model, providing insights into the origin of structure, the density of baryons, dark matter, dark energy and the global properties of spacetime. Today, one of the biggest unanswered questions concerns the mechanism that created the small primordial fluctuations that fuelled the observed anisotropies of the CMB and that eventually grew into stars and galaxies. The most widely accepted idea is that of 'cosmic inflation', which predicts an almost exponential expansion of the universe at its origins.
The curl-like pattern of the CMB polarisation, the so-called B-modes, is the observable signature of the existence of the primordial gravitational waves predicted by the inflation theory. The detection of this very faint signal could therefore probe the existence of an epoch of inflation. This aim has motivated an enormous technological effort to achieve unprecedented levels of instrument sensitivity. Today, however, the limiting factors are related more to uncertainty (astrophysical and instrumental) than to statistical uncertainty. Two of the main problems concern: i) the absolute calibration of the polarisation angle and ii) the removal of the CMB foreground emission. These systematics are partially mitigated by data analysis and model-dependent assumptions, but the lack of an efficient and independent method to accurately calibrate CMB experiments could deny the possibility of potential new discoveries in the field.
In this context, recent results (Ritacco+2023) have shown that important information is still missing to correctly model the Spectral Energy Distribution of the dust foreground in the E- and B-mode polarization signals, which could significantly distort the CMB signal. I will present these new findings enclosed in a recent release of Planck HFI data together with the state-of-the-art concerning the absolute calibration of CMB polarization experiments through the well known supernova remnant, the Crab nebula.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

résumé : The strongest HI absorbers, the damped Lyman-alpha absorbers (DLAs), in QSO spectra indicate the presence of a gas-rich galaxy close to, or along, the QSO sightline. Identifying the HI-selected galaxies associated with DLAs provides a unique opportunity to connect the properties of high-z galaxies to those of their circumgalactic mediums, as well as to identify and characterize galaxies without a luminosity bias. We have hence been using NOEMA, the JVLA, and ALMA to carry out searches for redshifted CO emission from galaxies associated with DLAs at z>~2. Combining our results with ALMA studies from the literature, we find that the highest-metallicity DLAs tend to be associated with galaxies with very high molecular gas masses, > 5~10^10 solar masses, while the galaxies associated with lower-metallicity DLAs are not detected in their CO emission. We have also used the JVLA to detect, for the first time, CO(1-0) emission from high-z HI-selected galaxies, allowing us to measure the excitation of the mid-J CO rotational levels. We find that all four HI-selected galaxies at z>2 with CO(1-0) studies show high excitation of the mid-J CO rotational levels, with near-thermal excitation found in the two galaxies with CO(1-0) detections. The mid-J excitation in the HI-selected galaxies is consistent with that in main-sequence and sub-mm galaxies at z>2, but significantly higher than that in main-sequence galaxies at z<2. The CO-detected galaxies are faint in our HST NUV images, indicating that they are highly obscured objects.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

résumé : Recently there has been substantial debate around the reliability of cosmological distance measures. Potential sources of systematic error could be influencing the interpretation of results. For this reason, there is a great need for a new and independent distance measure. In this presentation, I will present the 'standard speed-gun' method of measuring distances to blazars which can be seen from 0 < z < 6. The core assumption of the method is that the variability seen in blazars is constrained by the speed of light. This then allows us to calibrate a standard ruler which is then compared with the apparent size; measured with VLBI. We applied this method to the famous nearby source 3C 84 and derived a measurement of the Hubble Constant. This technique has several advantages over other distance measures such as Type Ia supernovae but is currently limited by the sensitivity and cadence of existing VLBI arrays. The Cosmological QUOKKAS program will use the KVN with the Mopra telescope in Australia to measure distances to AGN over a large redshift range. The initial program is somewhat limited, but new arrays such as SKA-VLBI and the ngVLA could potentially allow distance measurements to tens of thousands of sources or more.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

résumé : Milky Way observations have provided insight into the scaling relations of molecular clouds and their ability to form stars. However, these relations cannot be established in nearby galaxies due to the limited spatial resolution of available observations. Starting from the multiphase, multiscale analytical model of Vollmer et al. 2017, whose goal is to describe galaxies as clumpy turbulent accretion disks, we improved the model and applied it to a sample of 17 local spiral galaxies. We generated radial profiles of large-scale quantities (SFR, stars, total gas) as well as molecular line emissions of different species (CO, HCN, HCO+) and compared them to multi-wavelength observations. The model is then able to predict key properties of the ISM such as the Toomre parameter Q, the gas velocity dispersion, the characteristic timescales of molecular clouds (free fall, molecular gas formation and turbulent times) as well as the CO-to-H2 and HCN-to-H2(dense) conversion factors. We conclude our study by reproducing the radial profiles of a Virgo cluster galaxy, NGC 4654, affected by both ram pressure stripping and gravitational interactions to better understand how the ISM properties reacts to such perturbations.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

résumé : Carbon is one of the most abundant elements in the Universe and present in both local and distant galaxies. It can be found in three forms, known as the "carbon cycle": ionized (C+), atomic (C), and molecular in the form of carbon monoxide (CO). Its chemical state is determined by the environmental parameters of the interstellar medium. Consequently, we can use the emission lines of the carbon cycle to estimate these environmental parameters, which ultimately shape the density distribution of the interstellar gas in galaxies. Through numerical modelling and comparison with observational data, I will discuss how each of the aforementioned line emissions can be used as a diagnostic of the chemical and dynamical state of the interstellar medium.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

résumé : Amino acids are building-blocks of proteins, basic constituents of all organisms and essential to life on Earth. They are present in carbonaceous chondrite meteorites and comets, but their origin is still unknown. Formation of amino acids in the interstellar medium is posible via specific gas-phase reactions in dark clouds, however sensitive radiosearches at millimeter wavelengths have not revealed their existence yet. The mid-IR vibrational spectra of amino acids provides an alternative path for their identification. We present Spitzer spectroscopic observations in the star-forming region IC 348 of the Perseus Molecular Cloud showing evidence for mid-IR bands of H2, OH, H2O, CO2, C2H2, C4H2, HC5N, C2H6, C6H2, C6H6, PAHs, fullerenes C60 and C70 and emission lines consistent with the most intense laboratory bands of the three aromatic amino acids, tyrosine, phenylalanine and tryptophan and the aliphatic amino acids isoleucine and glycine. Estimates of column densities give values 10-100 times higher for isoleucine and glycine than for the aromatic amino acids as in some meteorites. The strongest bands of each amino acid are also found in the combined spectrum of >30 interstellar locations in diverse star-forming regions supporting the suggestion that amino acids are widely spread in interstellar space. Future mid-IR searches for proteinogenic amino acids in protostars, protoplanetary disks and in the interstellar medium will be key to establish an exogenous origin of meteoritic amino acids and to understand how the prebiotic conditions for life were set in the early Earth.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

résumé : The Condor Array Telescope or “Condor” is an “array telescope” consisting of six off-the-shelf 180 mm-diameter apochromatic refracting telescopes coupled with six off-the-shelf large-format CMOS camera all mounted onto a common mount. The telescope is specifically designed to (1) detect and identify galaxies and galaxy features of extremely low surface brightness, (2) monitor stars and other point sources at a very rapid cadence, and (3) study the gaseous signatures of star birth and star death. The telescope was deployed to a dark site in the US desert southwest near Animas, New Mexico last spring and was commissioned and calibrated over the course of last summer and autumn. In this lecture, I will describe the telescope, report the current status of the project, and discuss the observations that Condor has obtained over its first year of operation. I will specifically discuss the current state of Condor’s search for Earth-like planets in the habitable zones of white dwarfs.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

résumé : The properties of galaxies are known to be modified by their environment, and this is particularly visible in galaxy clusters, where ram pressure stripping (RPS) by the hot intracluster medium may occur. I will present recent searches for RPS galaxies in clusters at intermediate redshifts (between 0.4 and 0.9) based on HST images, concentrating particularly on two clusters at z=0.5 for which a detailed study of their stellar properties (masses, ages, star formation rates) was possible.

Interestingly, RPS candidates with spectroscopic and with photometric redshifts have comparable stellar properties, suggesting that large samples of RPS galaxies could be gathered based on multi-band photometry only, a promising result in view of the very large imaging surveys planned in the coming years (DES, Euclid, LSST, etc.).

I will also discuss the properties of brightest cluster galaxies (BCGs), the influence of intracluster light on these galaxies, and the link of BCGs with the cosmic web.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

résumé : Radio observations are a unique window to explore the mystery of cosmic magnetism, from the Galaxy to cosmological ages. By tracing synchrotron emission below 200 MHz with unprecedented sensitivity, the LOFAR telescope is providing us with the most detailed image of the magnetized Milky Way that we have just started to study. In this talk I will present the progress of my MUSICA project. We have contributed to step forward in the understanding of the radio sky, highlighting with first statistical results the complex coupling of the multiphase interstellar gas with magnetic fields in our Galaxy. Our observational results and numerical models of the turbulent, multiphase, and magnetized Galaxy are preparing the ground for the interpretation of next-generation radio-telescopes such as NenuFAR, LOFAR2.0, and the Square kilometer Array.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

résumé : According to theory expectations, massive halos at high redshifts should be efficiently fed with cold gas streams from the cosmic web, and display intense activity as a result. Still, after decades of simulation work on these processes, not much has been obtained from observations in support of this theory, as directly observing accretion is very difficult. In my talk I will describe ongoing efforts to systematically characterise the presence and nature of cold gas shining in Lya around massive structures at high redshifts, based on KCWI follow-up of known structures. Our best studied case, RO-1001 at z=2.91, reveals a filamentary structure highly suggestive of accreting gas. Based on our current sample of 9 targets, we investigate trends between hosting DM halo mass, integrated SFRs, AGN bolometric activity and redshift, as a function of Lya luminosity and predicted properties, trying to unveil possible patterns pointing to accretion.
We also concentrated on galaxy properties in these fields, seeking signatures that could relate to accretion. I will discuss the present evidence in the framework of current understanding of gas accreetion, outflows, feedback and growth of structures with their galaxy content.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

résumé : Recent observations have revealed the organization of the interstellar medium into filament networks. In molecular clouds, the densest filaments are now identified as the precise birthplaces of individual stars, while the hubs formed at their intersections are the location of stellar clusters and high-mass stars. To understand the star formation process, it is thus essential to describe the formation and evolution of filaments and hubs and their fragmentation into star forming cores. I will present new theoretical and observational studies indicating the formation of filamentary molecular clouds at the edge of expanding bubbles. In particular, I will show observations suggesting multiple compressions responsible in the formation and evolution of the filament networks. I will also discuss the role of filament coalescence and hub-filament systems in the formation process of stars from low to high masses.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

résumé : Thanks to their ability to efficiently extract non-Gaussian features, as well as allowing realisitic generative models to be built from a very small amount of data, scattering transforms can be used as an important lever for scientific goals in astrophysics and cosmology. In this talk, I will focus on two particular topics. First, the comparison between different observations and simulations of the interstellar medium, the underlying goal of which is to develop simulations capable of reproducing the nonlinear dynamics observed in the sky. Second, the separation of components in astrophysical observations thanks to their different non-Gaussian signatures, in particular the CMB/CIB and their respective galactic foregrounds.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

résumé : The chemical link between the diffuse interstellar medium and molecular clouds is not well characterized. This is in part because the century old mystery of the Diffuse Interstellar Bands (DIBs) is still unsolved, as it could hold the keys to unlocking which are the most important molecules capable of surviving in the diffuse interstellar medium for aeons. By studying the radiation-induced fragmentation of several PAH species of different symmetry and different sizes, this work shows that PAHs appear to follow very similar fragmentation pathways, giving rise to ionized magic number carbon clusters. These could be ideal candidates as products of PAH destruction in PDRs and other astrophysical regions that ungergo significant energetic processing. If this scenario is taken to the extreme, these clusters might survive in the diffuse interstellar medium for a long enough period to form the first chemical seeds of molecular clouds – becoming the common carbon ancestors of stars, planets, and life.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Abstract. The increasing volume, diversity, and role of data in modern research has been very fruitful. However, these same factors, have also made it harder to describe (in sufficient detail) the processing behind a scientific result within the confines of a traditional paper. It is thus becoming harder and harder to reproduce results (i.e., critically review by coauthors, referees or larger community) that define scientific progress. In this talk, Maneage (MANaging data linEAGE) is introduced as a working solution to this problem. Maneage is (a template) that provides a framework to exactly reproduce a scientific analysis (from the input data and software, to the processing and creation of final report/paper/dataset. The necessary software are built (from the low-level C compiler and shell, to the higher-level science programs and all their dependencies) with the predefined configuration. The software are then run on the input data sets to produce the final result. The template will finally produce a "dynamic" PDF using LaTeX macros: any change in the analysis will automatically update the relevant parts of the PDF (for example numbers, tables or figures). A project defined in this template is fully managed and published in plain text and only consumes a few hundred kilo-bytes (unlike binary multi-gigabyte blobs like containers). It is thus easily to publish, for example on arXiv with the paper's LaTeX source or Software Heritage. Giving readers the ability to exactly study and reproduce the paper's results. It is also easily search-able, providing a treasure trove to extract metadata on the project (even after publication, and without the author's active involvement). This can be very valuable when implement widely (e.g., using machine learning on many project sources to define automatic workflows). But most importantly it will allow other scientists to independently study the details, verify in practice, and build incrementally on each others' work, without necessarily needing to run it.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

résumé : To unveil the nature of 95% of the Universe, missions such as Euclid aim at reaching a few percent precision. In this quest for precision, tensions between the standard cosmological model and observations already arise: local and global H0 measurements are incompatible at more than 3-sigma, anomalies emerge within the CMB, small scale simulations mismatch detailed small scale observations. These tensions suggest that we should perhaps not be so quickly inclined to disregard our observational site as a bias factor: Accuracy is not Precision. Few percent precision and local-induced biases are of the same order of magnitude. A precise mapping and modeling of the local distribution of matter is essential to properly account for these biases. Simulations constrained to resemble the local Universe constitute the tool of choice for such studies. I will summarize the genesis of the initial conditions of such simulations, that I baptized CLONES (Constrained LOcal & Nesting Environment Simulations), as well as present a few results that promise to tremendously impact our capacity to evade local-induced biases that will matter in future analyses to reach accurate precision cosmology.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

résumé : Faint extended elliptically-shaped ultra-diffuse galaxies (UDG) and slightly brighter and more compact dwarf elliptical (dE) and lenticular stellar systems are common in galaxy clusters. Their poorly constrained evolutionary paths can be studied by identifying young UDG and dE analogs populated with bright, massive stars. Using data mining we identified 11 such low-mass (between 2e8 and 2e9 Msun) galaxies with large half-light radii (between 2 and 5 kpc) and recently quenched star formation in the Coma and Abell 2147 galaxy clusters. All galaxies happen to have ram-pressure-stripped tails with signs of current or recent star formation. Deep spectroscopic observations revealed rotating stellar discs containing 70-95% dark matter by mass. A large fraction of the disc stars (10-60%) formed in intense star bursts 180-970 Myr ago, likely triggered by ram pressure. Observed global gradients of stellar age corroborate this scenario. Passive evolution in the next 10 Gyr will transform 9 of the 11 galaxies into UDGs. If we assume a constant rate of galaxy infall, 44±16% of the most luminous present-day UDGs in Coma must have formed via ram pressure stripping of discy progenitors.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

résumé : The ubiquity of supermassive black holes in massive galaxies suggests the existence of intermediate-mass ones (IMBHs) in smaller systems. However, IMBHs are at best rare in dwarf galaxies and not convincingly seen in globular clusters. We embarked on a search for such an IMBH in a very nearby core-collapsed globular cluster, NGC 7397. For this we ran extensive mass-orbit modeling with our Bayesian MAMPOSSt-PM code that fits mass and velocity anisotropy models to the distribution of observed tracers in 4D projected phase space. We used a combination of proper motions from HST and Gaia, supplemented with redshifts from MUSE. We found very strong Bayesian evidence for an excess of unseen mass in the core of the cluster amounting to 1 to 2% of the cluster mass. But surprisingly, we found rather strong evidence that this excess mass is not point-like but has a size of roughly 3% of that of the cluster. Our conclusion is robust to our adopted surface density profile and on our modeling of the velocity anisotropy, as the data suggest isotropic orbits throughout the cluster. It is also robust to our use of one or two classes of Main Sequence stars (given the mass segregation in collisional systems such as clusters), as well as on our filtering for quality data. The expected mass segregation suggests that the excess mass is made of objects heavier than Main Sequence stars: white dwarfs, neutron stars and possibly stellar black holes, all of which lost their orbital energy by dynamical friction to end up in the cluster core. I will discuss the evidence for and against the possibility that most of the unseen mass in the center is in the form of such black holes, as well as the consequences of this intriguing possibility.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

résumé : Molecules have long been thought to be versatile tracers of cold neutral media in the universe, from high-redshift galaxies to star forming regions and proto-planetary disks, because their internal degrees of freedom are controlled by physical conditions in their environments. However, the promise that molecular emission has a strong predictive power of the physical and chemical state of the interstellar medium is still hampered by the incomplete understanding of the complex physical and chemical structure of the interstellar gas, and its dynamical evolution.

In this talk, I will present The ORION-B project (Outstanding Radio-Imaging of OrioN-B), a Large Program of the IRAM 30m telescope, and discuss three recent results obtained thanks to machine learning techniques: 1) How to improve the quantitative estimate of the H2 column density based on the molecular line intensities (Gratier et al. 2021);

2) How to estimate a reference precision on the column densities, excitation temperatures, centroid velocities and velocity dispersions of the three main CO isotopologues, 12CO, 13CO, C18O, with the help of the Cramer Rao Bound (CRB) technique (Roueff et al. 2021);

3) How to identify the best tracers of the ionization fraction among hundreds of species included in models (Bron et al. 2021). I will discuss the astrophysical consequences.

References : * Bron et al. 2021, A&A, 645, 28B, "Tracers of the ionization fraction in dense and translucent gas. I. Automated exploitation of massive astrochemical model grids" * Gratier et al. 2021, A&A, 645, 27G, "Quantitative inference of the H2 column densities from 3 mm molecular emission: case study towards Orion B" * Roueff et al. 2021, A&A, 645, 26R, "C18O, 13CO, and 12CO abundances and excitation temperatures in the Orion B molecular cloud. Analysis of the achievable precision in modeling spectral lines within the approximation of the local thermodynamic equilibrium".

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

résumé : The recent advances in space and ground based telescopes (ALMA, NOEMA…) have allowed the detection of more and more molecules in the gas phase in the coldest regions of the interstellar medium - ISM (star-forming regions, protoplanetary disks…). The puzzling detection of these gaseous species, including small organic molecules, in media where the temperature is very low (~ 10-100 K), is currently a major and still open question, directly linked to the astrochemical richness. Most of the observed molecules are indeed expected to either directly form or accrete on the surface of dust grains, and cannot thermally desorb in the regions where they are detected. Their observation requires thus non-thermal desorption processes, among which the desorption induced by UV or X-ray photons – so-called photodesorption – is a promising candidate. However, its role still needs to be clarified, especially in the case of the desorption of small organics molecules for which both the quantitative yields and the underlying mechanisms are lacking.

I will present the outcomes of recent laboratory astrophysics studies base on the use of the monochromatic and tunable synchrotron radiation, dedicated to understand and quantify the photodesorption processes in both the vacuum UV (7-13,6 eV) and soft X-rays (500 – 1500 eV) energy ranges. The role played by the photon energy and of the molecular ice composition on the desorption yields will be highlighted, and a special focus will be made on the case of photodesorption of complex organics molecules.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Résumé : The origins of the relation between galaxy structure and star formation is still debated. I will discuss recent efforts to advance in our understanding of how massive galaxies change their morphology and quench from z~3. Using several state of the art deep learning techniques, we try to link hydrodynamic cosmological simulations with observations from deep surveys to constrain the physical conditions and evolutionary tracks of galaxies.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Résumé : While cold dark matter numerical simulations predict steep, `cuspy' density profiles for dark matter halos, observations favour shallower `cores'. The introduction of baryonic physics alleviates this discrepancy, notably as feedback-driven outflow episodes contribute to expand the dark matter distribution for stellar masses between 10^7 and 10^10 Msun. I will first present a parametrization of dark matter halo density profiles with variable inner slope and concentration that enables to describe the variety of halo responses to baryons and has analytic expressions for the gravitational potential, the velocity dispersion, and lensing properties. This parametrization provides a useful tool to study the evolution of dark matter haloes, to model rotation curves of galaxies and gravitational lenses, and to be implemented in semi-analytical models of galaxy evolution. I will then present two theoretical models describing core formation in dark matter haloes. In the first one, sudden bulk outflows induced by stellar feedback reorganise the halo mass distribution while it relaxes to a new equilibrium. In the second one, small stochastic density fluctuations induce kicks to collisionless particles that progressively deviate them from their orbits. Both models are tested against numerical simulations and provide a simple understanding of the transition from cusps to cores by feedback-driven outflows.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Résumé : The chemical enrichment in the interstellar medium of galaxies is regulated by several physical processes: stellar birth and death, dust growth and destruction, galactic inflows and outflows. Understanding the interplay of such processes is essential in order to study galaxy evolution, the chemical enrichment of the Universe through the cosmic epochs and to interpret the available and future observations. Despite the importance of such topics, the contribution of different stellar sources to the chemical enrichment of galaxies, e.g. massive stars exploding as Type II supernovae and low-mass stars, as well as the mechanisms driving the evolution of gas, metal and dust grains, remains controversial. In this seminar, I will revise our current knowledge on these physical processes and the observational challenges. I will then present the results of a recent investigation focused on local low-metallicity galaxies for which the evolution of metals, gas and dust content has been studied. In particular, I will show how the comparison between model predictions and observations can allow us to identify the most relevant physical processes determining the chemical evolution of these systems. I will then discuss how the information derived for local low-metallicity galaxies can be employed to study Lyman-Break Galaxies at the epoch of reionization, which are often considered to be their high-redshift counterparts.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Résumé : Hydrodynamical cosmological simulations are increasing their level of realism by considering more physical processes, having more resolution or larger statistics. However, one usually has toeither sacrifice the statistical power of such simulations or the resolution reach within galaxies. I will introduce the NewHorizon project where a zoom-in region of ~(16 Mpc)^3, larger than a standard zoom-in region around a single halo, embedded in a larger box is simulated at high resolution. A resolution of up to 34 pc, typical of individual zoom-in state-of-the-art resimulated halos is reached within galaxies, allowing the simulation to capture the multi-phase nature of the interstellar medium and the clumpy nature of the star formation process in galaxies. I will present and discuss several key fundamental properties of galaxies and of their black holes. Due to its exquisite spatial resolution, NewHorizon captures the inefficient process of star formation in galaxies, which evolve over time from being more turbulent, gas-rich and star-bursting at high redshift. These high redshift galaxies are also more compact, and are more elliptical, disturbed and clumpier until the level of internal gas turbulence decays enough to allow for the formation of stable rotating discs. I will show the origin and persistence of the thin and thick disc components, and explain why the settling of discs ``magically’’ occurs at around a stellar mass of 1e10 Msun.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

résumé : Le 14 septembre 2020, une nouvelle fait sensation dans le monde des astronomes… et au-delà. A partir de données obtenues avec le JCMT et ALMA, une équipe internationale pilotée par Jane Greaves (Université de Cardiff, UK) annonce la détection de la phosphine (PH3) dans l’atmosphère de Vénus et évoque la possibilité d’une forme de vie sur la planète. Plusieurs articles sont publiés ou soumis dans la foulée, étudiant les qualités éventuelles de la phosphine en tant que biomarqueur ou évoquant un développement possible de la vie dans les nuages de Vénus, et la presse internationale en fait grand cas. De notre côté, au LESIA, nous menons depuis huit ans une campagne d’observations de Vénus en infrarouge, avec le télescope IRTF de Maunakea, pour étudier les variations de deux molécules mineures importantes pour la climatologie de Vénus, SO2 et H2O. En mars 2020, nous avons été contactés par l’équipe de J. Greaves pour rechercher la phosphine dans l’infrarouge avec l’instrument que nous utilisons. Les observations n’auront pas lieu à cause de la crise sanitaire. Cependant, nous avons recherché la signature de PH3 dans d’anciennes données infrarouges prises avec le même instrument, et nous en avons déduit pour l’abondance de PH3 une limite supérieure très contraignante, quatre fois plus faible que la valeur annoncée par Jane Greaves et ses collègues. Par ailleurs, le traitement des données ALMA par son équipe fait l’objet de nombreuses réserves ou critiques de la part des radioastronomes. Il est donc vraisemblable que l’engouement des média pour la phosphine de Vénus va retomber prochainement…

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------