Main Colloquium
Prof. Andreas Eckart	ORATED

Universität zu Köln

I will report new simultaneous near-infrared/sub-millimeter/X-ray observations of the SgrA* counterpart associated with the massive 3-4 million solar masses black hole at the Galactic Center. The observations have been carried out using the NACO adaptive optics (AO) instrument at the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope and the ACIS-I instrument aboard the Chandra X-ray Observatory as well as the Submillimeter Array on Mauna Kea, Hawaii, and the Very Large Array in New Mexico. In addition preliminary results from a recent VLA observing run on NIR polarimetry of SgrA* flare emission is presented.

	Special Colloquium
Prof. Laszlo Gergely	ORATED

Departments of Theoretical and Experimental Physics, University of Szeged, Hungary

Modern cosmological precision experiments, in particular distant supernovae surveys, suggest that a significant part of our universe is composed of a mysterious dark energy. An equivalent interpretation would be to modify gravitational dynamics in order to comply with observations. In this talk I discuss recent scenarios in which our observable universe is regarded as a (mem)brane in a higher-dimensional spacetime. Consequently, the cosmological evolution can be different from the standard one both at high energies and at low densities. Finally, I review what is known on black holes and gravitational collapse in such theories.

	Special Colloquium
Dr. Mark Reid	ORATED

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, MA, U.S.A.

I will describe measurements with the VLBA of the position of Sgr A* with respect to two extragalactic radio sources over a period of eight years. The apparent proper motion of SgrA^* relative to J1745-283 is almost entirely along the plane of the Galaxy. The effects of the orbit of the Sun around the Galactic center can account for this motion, and the residual proper motion of SgrA^* is exceedingly small. I will show how an upper limit on the motion of SgrA^* implies a lower limit to its mass. This mass limit, coupled with upper limits to the apparent size of SgrA^*, provides overwhelming evidence that SgrA^* is a super- massive black hole. Our observations provide the first direct evidence that a compact radio source at the center of a galaxy contains sim10^6 Modot. Also, the existence of ``intermediate mass" black holes near the Galactic Center are strongly constrained by our observations.

	Main Colloquium
Dr. Pierre Cox	ORATED

IRAM, Grenoble

The study of the molecular gas in quasars and submillimeter galaxies at high redshift has significantly progressed during the last few years. From the current detection of CO emission in 38 sources spanning a range in redshift from 1

	Main Colloquium
Dr. Volker Springel	ORATED

MPA, Garching

Cosmological simulations have become a primary tool for studying the non-linear regime of structure formation starting from the initial conditions of the LCDM concordence cosmology. I present results from the ”Millennium Simulation”, the largest cosmological N-body calculation performed to date. We track structure growth with a spatial resolution of 5 kpc/h within a typical region of the Universe more than 2 billion light-years across. Approximately 20 million dark matter halos form in this region. I discuss techniques for following post hoc the formation of visible galaxies within them, using simple physical models for the cooling and condensation of gas, for its transformation into stars, for the growth of supermassive black holes in galaxy cores, and for the associated energetic feedback processes. This allows the construction of complete catalogs of galaxies brighter than 10luminosity in a volume comparable to those probed by large galaxy surveys like SDSS and 2dF. I present new results on the small-scale clustering properties of the predicted galaxy catalogues, on the dependence of clustering on halo formation time, and on the formation history of elliptical galaxies. I will emphasize the role of AGN feedback for galaxy evolution, as infered both from the Millennium simulation and from smaller-scale hydrodynamic simulations of merging spiral galaxies, which include an explicit modelling of supermassive black hole growth and associated quasar feedback.

	Special Colloquium
Prof. Dave McComas	ORATED

Southwest Research Institute San Antonio (Texas), USA

High velocity O and B type stars have been known since decades. They are often called runaway stars, as they are moving away at high velocity from their place of birth in the Galactic plane. None of the runaway O and B stars were known to have velocities so high as to exceed the Galactic escape velocity. Only a few months ago the first so-called hypervelocity star (HVS), a 20th magnitude late B-type star, was discovered in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) with a radial velocity of 853 km/s, which exceeds the Galactic escape velocity. Hence the star is not bound to the Galaxy. Mechanisms for producing run-away stars (supernova ejection and dynamical ejection) cannot produce ejection velocities higher than about 300 km/s. A binary encounter with a massive black hole, however, can accelerate a star to such high velocities, as already predicted in the late eighties. The Galactic centre, which hosts a supermassive black hole, therefore is the most likely origin of HVS. We report the discovery of two other HVS stars not bound to the Galaxy, which establishes HVS as a class of objects. The first object is a 16th magnitude early B-type star with a radial velocity of 723 km/s discovered in the Hamburg-ESO survey, whereas the other one is a subluminous O star found in the SDSS whose radial velocity is 708 km/s. Both stars are not bound to the Galaxy. Kinematical experiments are carried out to investigate their possible places of birth.

	Main Colloquium
Prof. Uli Heber	ORATED

Sternwarte Bamberg

High velocity O and B type stars have been known since decades. They are often called runaway stars, as they are moving away at high velocity from their place of birth in the Galactic plane. None of the runaway O and B stars were known to have velocities so high as to exceed the Galactic escape velocity. Only a few months ago the first so-called hypervelocity star (HVS), a 20th magnitude late B-type star, was discovered in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) with a radial velocity of 853 km/s, which exceeds the Galactic escape velocity. Hence the star is not bound to the Galaxy. Mechanisms for producing run-away stars (supernova ejection and dynamical ejection) cannot produce ejection velocities higher than about 300 km/s. A binary encounter with a massive black hole, however, can accelerate a star to such high velocities, as already predicted in the late eighties. The Galactic centre, which hosts a supermassive black hole, therefore is the most likely origin of HVS. We report the discovery of two other HVS stars not bound to the Galaxy, which establishes HVS as a class of objects. The first object is a 16th magnitude early B-type star with a radial velocity of 723 km/s discovered in the Hamburg-ESO survey, whereas the other one is a subluminous O star found in the SDSS whose radial velocity is 708 km/s. Both stars are not bound to the Galaxy. Kinematical experiments are carried out to investigate their possible places of birth.

	Main Colloquium
Dr. Asuncion Fuente	ORATED

Observatorio Astronomico Nacional, Spain

Intermediate-mass young stellar objects (IMs) (protostars and Herbig Ae/Be [HAEBE] stars with M_* sim 2 - 10 M_{odot}) are crucial in star formation studies because they constitute the link between low- and high-mass stars. These objects share many characteristics with high-mass stars (clustering, PDRs) but their study presents an important advantage: there are many located closer to the Sun (d leq 1 Kpc), and in regions less complex than massive star forming regions. On the other hand, they are also important for the understanding of planet formation since Herbig Ae stars are the precursors of Vega-type systems. In a different scale, they dominate the mean UV interstellar field in our Galaxy (Wolfire et al. 2002). However, IMs have been very little studied so far. A few works on HAEBE stars have been carried out at millimeter wavelengths (Fuente et al. 1998,2002; Henning et al. 1998), but almost nothing is done on their precursors the Class 0 IM objects (see e.g. André et al. 2000) We have formed a group to study of the structure and evolution of Class 0 IMs using the largest millimeter telescopes (IRAM,Effelsberg,APEX,SCUBA,JCMT). In this talk we present a summary of the status of the project and first resutls.

	Main Colloquium
Dr. Pierre Magain	ORATED

Universite de Liege

On-axis VLT spectroscopy has been performed on a sample of 20 bright low redshift quasars in order to study the properties of their host galaxies. For some of them, HST images have also been obtained. The MCS deconvolution method, which has been used to separate the images and spectra of the central AGN from those of the host galaxy, will be briefly described. The main results of the study will be discussed: types of host galaxies, rotation curve, stellar populations, importance of collisions, ionization of the gas by hot stars or by the AGN, etc... One of these quasars, HE0450-2958, does not appear to be hosted by a massive galaxy. The results for this object will be discussed in detail, as well as their implications on our understanding of the quasar phenomenon.

	Main Colloquium
Dr. Rolf Güsten	ORATED

MPIfR Bonn

Our new sub-millimetre telescope, the Atacama Pathfinder EXperiment, is now operational on what is probably the world’s best accessible site for submm observations - Llano de Chajnantor. The antenna is a modified version of the ALMA prototype built by VERTEX Antennentechnik, customized to accommodate two Nasmyth cabins for the heterodyne receivers. The performance of the facility after commissioning will be summarized. Selected highlights from the science verification will be presented. The suite of (current and future) instrumentation will be introduced, with an outlook on next year’s operation.

	Special Colloquium
Dr. Adrian Tanasa	ORATED

University of Strasbourg

Supersymmetry is one of most appealing candidates of New Physics beyond the Standard Model. Leaving aside technical details, we present here the basic features of supersymmetry as an extension of Poincaré symmetries of particle physics. In the final part we will briefly present a possible extension of supersymmetry, namely fractional supersymmetry; some existing results for this extension are stated.

	Main Colloquium
Dr. Fabian Heitsch	ORATED

Institute for Astronomy & Astrophysics, University of Munich

Molecular clouds (MC) are highly structured and “turbulent”. Colliding gas streams of atomic hydrogen have been suggested as a possible source of MCs, imprinting the filamentary structure as a consequence of dynamical and thermal instabilities. We present a numerical analysis of molecular cloud formation via converging HI flows. Even with modest flow speeds and completely uniform inflows, non-linear density perturbations as possible precursors of MCs arise. Thus, we suggest that molecular clouds are inevitably formed with substantial structure, e.g., strong density and velocity fluctuations, which provide the initial conditions for subsequent gravitational collapse and star formation in a variety of galactic and extragalactic environments.

	Special Colloquium
Dr. Joerg Fischera	ORATED

Mt Stromlo Observatory, Australia

The inhomogeneous diffuse interstellar medium of galaxies might have an important effect on the dust attenuation and the spectral energy distribution of galaxies. A fraction of the cold neutral medium is formed in isothermal clouds which are in pressure equilibrium with the surrounding warm neutral medium. In the ISM of our galaxy these clouds can be identified with translucent clouds which have typically column densities in the order of 10^{21} cm^{-2}. I will discuss the SED of idealised non turbulent isothermal clouds which are heated by the ambient interstellar radiation field. The radiative transfer problem is solved using a ray-tracing program to derive realistic light distributions inside the cloud and to consider non isotropic scattering and multiple scattering events. The results are based on dust properties which are consistent with the mean extinction, the diffuse IR-emission, and the chemical abundances in the ISM. The stochastic nature of the heating process of interstellar grains is taken accurately into account. For given radiation field and optical properties of the dust grains the SED is determined by the outer pressure and the mass fraction M_{cl}/M_{cl,max} of the cloud mass M_{cl} and the maximum cloud mass M_{cl,max} where the cloud becomes gravitational unstable. I will show how the outer pressure and the mass ratio affect the shape of the thermal emission spectrum and will present brightness profiles at wavelengths characteristic for the PAH emission and the warm and cold dust emission.

	Main Colloquium
Prof. Sun Kwok	ORATED

Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Academia Sinica, Taiwan & University of Calgary, Canada

Recent observations by the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO) have found evidence of rapid synthesis of complex organic molecules in the late stages of stellar evolution. The chemical synthesis begins with the formation of acetylene, the first building block of benzene, in carbon stars. In a following proto-planetary nebulae stage, emission features corresponding to stretching and bending modes of aliphatic compounds are detected. When these objects evolve to become planetary nebulae, aromatic C-H and C-C stretching and bending modes become strong. These results show that complex carbonaceous compounds can be produced in a circumstellar environment over a period of only a few thousand years. Isotopic analysis of meteorites and interplanetary dust collected in the upper atmospheres have revealed the presence of pre-solar grains similar to those formed in evolved stars. This provides a direct link between star dust and the solar system and raises the possibility that the early solar system was chemically enriched by stellar ejecta.

	Special Colloquium
Matthias Kadler	ORATED

RAIUB & MPIfR

I will present results from an archival X-ray spectral survey of radio-loud core-dominated AGN. Based on the VLBA 2cm Survey, the 2cm-X-Sample is defined, representing the so far largest sample of radio-loud AGN being studied in the (0.2–12)keV X-ray regime. The X-ray characteristics of the 2cm-X-Sample are derived and compared to the VLBI-monitored parsec-scale jet properties in search of the fundamental difference between radio-loud and radio-quiet AGN. Special emphasis will be put on the combined analysis of the available VLBI and X-ray data of the 2cm-X-Sample source NGC1052. The detection of a relativistic iron X-ray emission line is reported, which is the first of its kind in an object with a bright compact radio core. A violent ejection of relativistic plasma in the radio jet is observed, accompanied by pronounced variability of the broad iron line: the source was caught in the act of feeding a part of the accretion disk into the black hole while a fraction of the material was injected into the jet.

	Main Colloquium
Prof. Dr. Michael Kramer	ORATED

MPIfR

The small fields-of-view of radio telescopes and the short observation times of most radio surveys mean that the transient radio sky is largely unexplored. In the largest-scale search ever performed for transient radio sources, we have discovered a new class of neutron stars. The eleven new sources are characterized by short, dispersed radio bursts with average intervals between events ranging from 4 minutes to 3 hours. So far, no periodicities have been detected in their emission using standard search techniques, and radio emission is only detectable from these objects for typically less than one second per day. Nevertheless we have identified periodicities in the range of 0.4 to 7 s for ten of the eleven sources. Period derivatives have been measured for four sources; one with a spin period of 4.3s has an inferred surface dipole magnetic field strength close to that inferred for high-energy magnetars. Together with the discovery of a pulsar which shuts down radio emission quasi-periodically for 30 days, these newly discovered sources substantially increase the estimated population of Galactic neutron stars and highlight the rich variety of radio transient sources that will be discovered with LOFAR or the SKA.

	Special Colloquium
Prof. Eric Herbst	ORATED

Ohio State University

After a discussion of the current state of knowledge of gas-phase and grain-surface chemistry, the use of chemistry in understanding the various stages of low-mass star formation will be outlined. The emphasis will be on current and past successes as well as on current problems and future challenges posed by ever more detailed observations.

	Special Colloquium
Multiple Speakers: Check abstract for details	ORATED

Program Draft - Bonn Dwingeloo Neighbourhood VLBI Meeting 10:45-11:15 Arrival from Dutch Participants and Coffee Welcome 11:15-11:30 Max Avruch et al. VLBI tracking of the Huygens Probe 11:30-11:45 Maria Massi Precession in the Jet of the Microquasar LS I +61 303 11:45-12:00 Valeriu Tudose et al. Radio observations of the 2004 December 27th flare of SGR 1806-20 12:00-12:15 Kazuya Hachisuka A water maser outflow in W3 OH 12:15-12:30 Zsolt Paragi et al. Result from the first continuum e-VLBI experiment 12:30-12:45 Krisztina Gabanyi Multi-frequency VLBI observations of the scatter-broadened QSO B2005+40 12:45-13:00 Hayley Bignall Structure of the scintillating quasar PKS 1257-326 13:00-14:00 Lunch at the MPIfR Casino (3rd floor) 14:00-14:15 Alicia Berciano-Alba et al. Highly-magnified multiply-imaged Radio counterparts of the sub-mm Starburst Emission in the Cluster-Lens MS0451.6-0305 14:15-14:30 Anupreeta More Global VLBI observations of B2016+112 14:30-14:45 Corina Vogt Rotation measure studies in galaxy clusters 14:45-15:00 Sang-Sung Lee 86 GHz VLBI surveys of compact radio sources 15:00-15:15 Olaf Wucknitz Noise in CLEAN Maps 15:15-15:30 Alan Roy Phase correction of 3 mm VLBI with the Effelsberg WVR 15:30-16:00 Coffee Break (MPIfR entrance hall) 16:00-16:15 Ivan Agudo Rapid Jet Rotation in NRAO 150 16:15-16:30 Andrei Lobanov Binary Black Holes as Drivers of the Nuclear Activity in Galaxies 16:30-16:45 Rene Vermeulen Atomic hydrogen in the one-sided ”compact double” radio galaxy 2050+364 16:45-17:00 Violette Impellizzeri Molecular tori in AGN: a search using excited states of OH 17:00-17:15 James Anderson Radio Emission in Low-Luminosity Active Galactic Nuclei 17:15-17:30 Manuel Perucho A numerical simulation of the fate of a FR I jet: the case of 3C 31 17:30-17:45 Julianne Sansa Data transfer challenges for e-VLBI 18:00-19:00 Reception and dinner at the MPIfR Casino (3rd floor) 19:30- Departure of Dutch Participants back to Dwingeloo

	Special Colloquium
Dr. Dharam Vir Lal	ORATED

NCRA, Pune, India

The Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) is a synthesis instrument operating at frequencies 1.4 GHz and below. The Frequency bands between 1400 and 240 MHz were in use for astronomical observations since 1999. Although severely affected due to radio frequency interference, recently, the 150 MHz band of the GMRT is also released for observations. Analysis of GMRT low frequency data for an X-shaped source, 3C 223.1 has revealed an unusual result (Lal & Rao 2005). The radio morphologies of it at 240 and 610 MHz show a well-defined X-shaped structure with a pair of active jets along the north-south axis and a pair of wings along the east-west axis, that pass symmetrically through the undetected radio core. The wings (or low surface brightness jet) seem to have flatter spectral index with respect to the high surface brightness jet. We have now obtained GMRT data for almost all of the X-shaped radio sources, performed in a uniform way. We would discuss formation models, based on radio morphologies of these sources and present our current statistical understanding of the X-shaped radio sources.

	Main Colloquium
Prof. Ralph Neuhaeuser	ORATED

AIU, Jena

The formation of low-mass stars, brown dwarfs, and planets is still a puzzle. Since several years, we are searching for sub-stellar objects (brown dwarfs and planets) as companions to young nearby stars, in order to study their formation. We found and confirmed a few brown dwarf companions to young T Tauri stars yielding constrains on their formation mechanism and time-scale. Most recently, we also found a companion to the 1 Myr young classical T Tauri star GQ Lupi, which may even be a few-Jupiter-mass planet according to our indirect mass determination. In the talk, we will present all our observational evidence on GQ Lupi and its companion to discuss its mass and nature. If it is a planet, then planets can form fast.

	Special Colloquium
Dr. Theodore Gull	ORATED

Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, USA

In the 1840’s, astronomers witnessed Eta Carinae brightening to rival Sirius. Today we see a expanding dusty hourglass-shaped Homunculus. Internal is an ionized Little Homunculus, ejected in the 1890’s. Between the bipolar lobes lies an extended disk structure. Part of this is the Strontium Filament, a neutral emission region seen in hundreds of metal, but no hydrogen, lines. Within a thousand AU, a necklace of bright clumps surround the central source. Three of these are the partially ionized Weigelt clumps, rich in emission lines of iron-peak elements. Lyman-alpha-pumped Fe II lines, seen for five year intervals, disappear for a few months every 5.54 years. Multiple shells are seen in absorption against the central source and the nebular scattered starlight. What is this telling us about the central source? Models of the Weigelt clump emission indicate that the UV flux from a 35,000K O star is necessary to support their emission. N and He are overabundant; C and O are nearly absent. Models of the Sr Filament indicate that lack of O leads to many metals, such as Sr, V and Ti usually bound as oxides to normal interstellar dust, staying in gaseous phase. The Homunculus and Little Homunculus contain at least twelve solar masses of gas. The X-ray bright outer structure - likely from a previous event - indicates even more mass lost in the past. Recently a faint [O III] emission structure much further out is thought to indicate the wind interaction boundary with the interstellar medium. The primary star is thought to be about 100 solar masses. The companion, whether an O star, an ON or WN star, appears to be about 30 solar masses based upon its UV flux and on wind-wind models of the X-ray spectroscopy. The companion’s orbit is estimated to be highly elliptical with a major axis approaching 20 AU (9 milliarcseconds X cos(inclination angle)). What observation will lead to detection of this companion?

	Special Colloquium
Prof. Jonas Zmuidzinas	ORATED

Caltech, Pasadena, USA

The Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) is a synthesis instrument operating at frequencies 1.4 GHz and below. The Frequency bands between 1400 and 240 MHz were in use for astronomical observations since 1999. Although severely affected due to radio frequency interference, recently, the 150 MHz band of the GMRT is also released for observations. Analysis of GMRT low frequency data for an X-shaped source, 3C 223.1 has revealed an unusual result (Lal & Rao 2005). The radio morphologies of it at 240 and 610 MHz show a well-defined X-shaped structure with a pair of active jets along the north-south axis and a pair of wings along the east-west axis, that pass symmetrically through the undetected radio core. The wings (or low surface brightness jet) seem to have flatter spectral index with respect to the high surface brightness jet. We have now obtained GMRT data for almost all of the X-shaped radio sources, performed in a uniform way. We would discuss formation models, based on radio morphologies of these sources and present our current statistical understanding of the X-shaped radio sources.

	Main Colloquium
Dr. Kevin B. Marvel	ORATED

Deputy Executive Officer, American Astronomical Society

From Europe, the process of how the United States funds scientific research often seems confusing, short-sighted and non-stable. Appearances can be deceiving. The US government is a firm supporter of basic research and will remain so into the future. Policy makers are in agreement that supporting basic research is the best way to secure a good quality of life for its citizens. I will present the basic process of how astronomy research is funded in the United States including describing in detail the funding outlook for the coming year and discussing current policy issues of importance to astronomy. Plenty of time will be available for questions.

	Special Colloquium
Christopher Thom	ORATED

Swinburne University of Technology, Australia

High Velocity Clouds are clouds of neutral hydrogen which do not conform to simple models of galactic rotation. Since such kinematic models cannot be used to infer their distances, other more direct methods are needed. I will present a catalogue of stars which may used to constrain HVC distances directly. We have obtained high resolution spectroscopic observations of such stars, and some preliminary results will be presented. Such observations will allow us to disentangle the multiple origin scenarios.

	Special Colloquium
Ilana Klamer	ORATED

Australia Telescope National Facility, Epping, Australia

TBA

	Informal Colloquium
Dr. Tracy L. Huard	ORATED

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

The Cores-to-Disk Spitzer Legacy team has discovered a mid-infrared source, L1014-IRS, with protostellar colors embedded in a molecular cloud core previously thought to be starless. This source is faint enough that it evaded detection by previous observations, and is consistent with being either a young substellar source or a low-mass protostar early in its formation. The Spitzer Space Telescope is sensitive enough that such sources can now be detected. Preliminary results of a search for sources similar to L1014-IRS, and the implications of these results, will be presented.

	Special Colloquium
Graham Moorey	ORATED

CSIRO

TBA

	Main Colloquium
Prof. Wolfgang J. Duschl	ORATED

Institut für Theoretische Astrophysik, Universität Heidelberg

Recent surveys, both in the optical and, in particular, in the X-ray regime, indicate that the most massive black holes (for instance in quasars) must have formed earlier and quicker than less massive ones. We show that the rapid formation of super-massive black holes in quasars can indeed be understood in terms of major galaxy mergers followed by disk accretion. Weaker galaxy interactions lead to less compact and less massive accretion disks which take considerably longer to grow a (consequently less massive) black hole. Due to the expansion of the cosmos, strong interactions become less likely with time and thus lead to the formation of fewer and fewer very massive black holes.

	Main Colloquium
Dr. Jonathan Tan	ORATED

ETH Zuerich

I review some recent developments in our attempts to understand massive star and star cluster formation. Both processes can be understood with a model involving the formation and collapse of gas cores from a highly pressurized and turbulent medium. Given these initial conditions we can make predictions for the properties of the collapsing cores, accretion disks, protostars and their outflows. The interaction of protostellar ionizing flux with the mainly neutral protostellar outflow produces a hypercompact HII region, which is a particularly useful diagnostic. We test these models by comparing to some well-studied regions, particularly in the Orion Nebula Cluster. We argue that while individual star formation occurs rapidly on a local freefall time ( 10**5 years), the time to build up an entire star cluster is much longer ( few x 10**6 yr). Finally we emphasize the importance of the dynamical ejection of massive stars, as illustrated by the recent example involving the Becklin-Neugebauer object in Orion.

	Main Colloquium
Dr. Chris Carilli	ORATED

NRAO, Socorro, NM, USA

The epoch of reionization (EoR) corresponds to a ’cosmic phase transition’, when the neutral intergalactic medium (IGM) becomes ionized by the first stars and/or AGN. While the discoveries of Gunn-Peterson (GP) absorption troughs in the spectra of the highest redshift QSOs, and large scale polarization of the CMB, have set the first constraints on the EoR, the process of reionization, and the nature of the first luminous objects, remain two of the paramount questions in cosmic structure formation. Moreover, the GP effect is such that observations of this epoch will be difficult at wavelengths shorter than about 1micron. In this talk I will explore studies of the EoR at meter through millimeter wavelengths. I will present recent observations of the dust, molecular gas, and star formation activity in the host galaxies of the highest redshift QSOs (z>6). These results have interesting implications on the timescale for metal and dust enrichment, on the possibility of co-eval formation of SMBHs and galaxies, and on the process of reionization. I will then discuss future capabilities of low frequency radio astronomy to study the neutral IGM via the HI 21cm line, including details on the VLA-VHF project to image the cosmic Stromgren spheres around the highest redshift objects.

	Special Colloquium
Prof. Fred Rasio	ORATED

Northwestern University, USA

Dynamical interaction processes occurring in dense star clusters lead to the formation of many of the most interesting types of gravitational wave sources for both ground-based and space-based interferometers (eg GEO, VIRGO, LIGO, and LISA). In this talk I will present some recent results on the production of two types of sources: merging stellar black hole binaries, which are one of the main targets for ground-based detectors, and inspirals of intermediate-mass black holes into supermassive black holes in galactic centers (key sources for LISA). Constraints from and implications for our own Galactic center will also be discussed.

	Special Colloquium
Dr. Roy van Boekel	ORATED

MPIA Heidelberg

TBA

	Special Colloquium
Prof. Jacques Roland	ORATED

Institut d'Astrophysique, Paris, France

A large fraction of active galactic nuclei (AGN) exhibit a number of quasi-periodic changes indicative of the presence of binary systems of supermasive black holes. We discuss here the hypothesis that most of the AGN contain supermassive binary black hole systems, in which the orbital motion and precession are ultimately responsible for the observed broad–band emission variations, as well as for the morphological and kinematic properties of the radio emission on parsec scales. We present a new method to determine the characteristics of the binary black hole systems from observations of optical variability and changes of compact radio structure. We apply this scenario to explain the compact radio and optical emission in the quasar 3C345, and discuss the general applicability of this model to studies of AGN and galactic X-ray binaris.

	Main Colloquium
Prof. Dr. Andreas Burkert	ORATED

Ludwig-Maximilians University Munich

The formation of stars is still one of the most important unsolved astrophysical problems. It is now well established that stars form in turbulent and clumpy giant molecular clouds. However the origin of these structures, their lifetimes and stability and the processes that lead to their condensation into star clusters are not understood theoretically. I will summarize theoretical work in this field which is based on high-resolution numerical hydrodynamical simulations and will present new results of the computational astropysics group at the University Observatory Munich which focus especially on the origin of filamentary molecular clouds and their star formation history.

	Main Colloquium
Dr. Simone Recchi	ORATED

University of Vienna

Blue Compact Dwarf and Dwarf Irregular galaxies are generally believed to be unevolved objects, due to their blue colors, compact appearance and large gas fractions. Many of these objects show an ongoing intense burst of star formation or have experienced it in the recent past. By means of 2-D hydrodynamical simulations, coupled with detailed chemical yields originating from SNeII, SNeIa and intermediate-mass stars, we study the dynamical and chemical evolution of model galaxies with structural parameters similar to NGC1569, a prototypical starburst galaxy. A burst of star formation with short duration is not able to account for the chemical and morphological properties of this galaxy. The best way to reproduce the chemical composition of this object is by assuming long-lasting episodes of star formation and a more recent burst, separated from the previous episodes by a short quiescent period. The last burst of star formation, in most of the explored cases, does not affect the chemical composition of the galaxy, since the enriched gas produced by young stars is in a too hot phase to be detectable with the optical spectroscopy. Models assuming the infall of a big cloud towards the center of the galaxy reproduce the chemical composition of the NGC1569, but the pressure exercised by the cloud hampers the expansion of the galactic wind, at variance with what observed in NGC1569.

	Main Colloquium
Dr. Lex Kaper	ORATED

University of Amsterdam

Using the highest spectral resolution (R sim 10,000) currently available in the near-infrared on the Very Large Telescope, we have obtained K-band spectra of young massive stars deeply embedded in (ultra-) compact H II (UCHII) regions. Our sample consists of “normal” OB-type stars that seem to have settled on the main sequence, as well as massive stars that show no photospheric spectrum, but exhibit the spectral signatures of a dense circumstellar disk. We present arguments that these objects are massive young stellar objects. One of the main results of our accompanying near-infrared imaging survey is that the large majority of IRAS sources with UCHII colours correspond to young (embedded) clusters, rather than to UCHII regions. This may well solve the UCHII lifetime problem.

	Special Colloquium
Prof. Peter Frick	ORATED

Institute of Continuous Media Mechanics, Perm, Russia

The lecture includes a short basical introduction into the wavelet analysis and an overview of some data treatment problems which are suitable for wavelet techniques: differentiation of noised data, nonstationary spectra analysis, scale by scale cross-correlations, analysis of data with gaps, examples of DWA (double wavelet analysis) technique - determination of stellar rotation period and of anharmonicity of stellar cycles, 2D maps analysis using isotropic and anisotropic wavelets.

	Special Colloquium
Maik Wolleben	ORATED

MPIfR

A new FPGA-based wide-band polarimeter has been developed at DRAO to be used on the DRAO 26-m Telescope. The polarimeter is capable of sampling two input channels with a sampling frequency of 1 GHz and 8 bit resolution. It is currently being used for the new DRAO-MPI Rotation Measure Survey, which covers the northern sky in the frequency range 1300 to 1800 MHz. I will discuss its implementation, capabilities, and limitations, as well as the objective for the new rotation measure survey.

	Main Colloquium
Dr. Moshe Elitzur	ORATED

Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Kentucky, U.S.A.

The variety of observations of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) have been classified with a simple unified scheme: The nuclear activity is powered by a central massive black hole that drives radio emitting jets and ionizes surrounding line-emitting clouds. The whole system is surrounded by a dusty torus and the observer’s orientation with respect to this obscuring torus determines the appearance of the AGN. Pole-on viewing gives rise to superluminal jets and Seyfert 1 line spectrum, edge-on results in extended radio lobes and Seyfert 2 lines. The torus is comprised of optically thick dusty clouds in a rotating configuration with roughly equal vertical and radial dimensions. Although the observed IR is in broad agreement with the expected effects of the dusty torus, detailed properties of the spectral energy distribution (SED) posed difficult problems. The dynamical origin of the rotating cloud configuration, and especially the maintenance of its vertical height, present an even more serious challenge. We have recently developed a formalism to handle radiative transfer in clumpy media and in this talk I show that the SED problems find a natural explanation if the dust is contained in about 5–10 clouds along radial rays through the torus. Furthermore, the properties of the model SED may also provide the answer for the torus dynamical origin.

	Special Colloquium
Prof. Hans Böhringer	ORATED

MPE, Garching

The observational constraints of the cosmological model that fits our Universe is reviewed and the prerequesites for these constraints are discussed. Particular emphasis is given to the cosmological tests using the galaxy cluster population. Besides current results, future prospects with an X-ray survey with eROSITA are pointed out.

	Special Colloquium
Dr. Kengo Tachihara	ORATED

University of Jena

The Lupus molecular cloud complex is a nearby star forming region which shows large variety of different modes of star formation such as active cluster formation, isolated star formation, and starless clouds. The region has been surveyed for molecular clouds in m ^{12}CO, m ^{13}CO, and m C^{18}O entirely by the NANTEN radio telescope, and the embedded m C^{18}O cores have been almost completely sampled. We have then searched for even denser (n({ m H_2}) > 10^5 cm^{-2}) gas and dust condensations in the cores and found 10 m H^{13}CO^+ cores by SEST. The m H^{13}CO^+ cores are well traced by near-IR extinction map whose Av is greater then 30 mag. Further follow-up observation in 1.3 mm dust continuum detected an embedded point source besides the molecular cloud and cores in Lupus 3. The SED of this mm point source shows very low temperature and low luminosity suggesting that it is a very young protostar called class 0 object. The K- band image shows jet-like structure coming out of the mm point source. Base of these observational results, I will discuss general properties of star formation in Lupus and future survey project in the southern sky.

	Special Colloquium
Prof. David Field	ORATED

University of Aarhus, Denmark

The Orion Molecular Cloud, OMC1, is a type-site for high and low mass star formation. Winds from massive stars, identified in the IR and in radio observations, perturb the gas giving rise to spectacular outflows with velocities ranging from a few km/s to several hundred in the outer reaches of the cloud. Resulting shocks compress the gas and create a scenario of “”triggered star formation“”, which may contribute to the nearly one thousand young stars of similar age in the Orion region. Less energetic outflows associated with protostars may also be identified in OMC1, one or two with a bipolar form, but in several cases with 6 or 8 apparent outflows, presumably associated with multiple star formation. Our understanding of this complex region has been greatly enhanced through the very high spatial resolution afforded by adaptive optics (AO) in the near-IR. This allows us to isolate specific clumps of gas and study shocks, photodissociation regions and outflows with a minimum of spatial overlap. I will describe data for H2 IR emission in the K-band (2-2.5micron) which records both morphology at a spatial resolution of 60-70 AU, using the VLT, and velocities of the gas, with a velocity discrimination as good as 1 km/s, using the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope. These data reveal the presence of magnetic shocks in a graphic manner and open a new window into the structure of this highly active star-forming zone. The data also highlight the need for high spatial resolution radio observations of the cold gas component.

	Special Colloquium
Dr. Andrej Sobolev	ORATED

Astronomical Observatory, Ural State University, Ekaterinburg, Russia

Methanol masers arise in the regions of massive star formation and can tell a lot about their properties and the processes in them. Several topics of the use of methanol masers as diagnostic tools will be discussed. Maser pumping is very sensitive to the parameters of the region of maser formation and its environment. Observations of multiple masing transitions provide good constraints on the physical parameters. Temperatures, densities, column densities and even dust composition are among those. Extensive surveys in different lines allow to construct a picture of the “common” methanol maser region. Interferometric maser images provide information on the distribution and kinematics of masing gas on small spatial and time scales. This puts constraints on the sizes and structure of the maser regions and allows tracing motions, including turbulent ones. Long term monitoring with single-dish antennas helps reveal the evolution of the maser profiles and intensities over long periods of time. Character of variability of the methanol masers greatly varies from source to source. Different possible causes of this variability do exist. Analysis of those shows that the variability of class II methanol masers reflects the character of accretion processes onto massive young stellar objects. A unified catalogue of the class II methanol masers is compiled. The luminosity function and observed maser distribution in the Galaxy are constructed. Velocity correlations between masers and tracers of high density molecular material are analysed. Analysis of the data shows that the class II methanol masers have high potential for the studies of the spiral structure of our Galaxy, reflect grand design and evolutionary stage of the massive star forming regions.

	Special Colloquium
Dr. Marijke Haverkorn	ORATED

CfA, Cambridge, USA

The Southern Galactic Plane Survey (SGPS) is a radio survey in the neutral hydrogen line and full-polarization continuum at 1.4 GHz. It spans 253 < l < 20 and |b| < 1, with a resolution of about an arcminute. Part of the Vela supernova remnant (SNR) is prominently present in the radio polarization data, which reveals new clues about Vela’s structure and magnetic field. I will discuss radio, optical and X-ray data in the North-Eastern shell of Vela proper, giving information about the supernova shock and the surrounding interstellar medium. Furthermore, I will discuss magnetic field structure in the Vela SNR and the protrusion outside the shell called Bullet D. Finally, our data give an independent lower limit for the distance of SNR G266.2-1.2 (Vela Junior).

	Main Colloquium
Dr. Jochen Greiner	ORATED

MPE, Garching

I will review the status of gamma-ray burst knowledge with particular emphasis on Swift. Swift is a dedicated GRB afterglow satellite launched by NASA in Nov. 2004. I will review first results from Swift, and discuss expectations for the future. In the second part of the talk I will report on our efforts at MPE to build a 7-channel optical/near-infrared camera to be placed at the 2.2m MPG/ESO telescope with the aim to chase Swift-detected GRB afterglows.

	Special Colloquium
Dr. Markus Wittkowski	ORATED

European Southern Observatory, Garching

I present recent results on stellar atmospheres and circumstellar environments of evolved stars obtained with optical/infrared and radio long-baseline interferometry. I demonstrate the advantages of a coordinated multi-wavelength approach including near/mid-infrared as well as radio (and millimeter) interferometry to further our understanding of the extended atmospheres, of the mass-loss process from evolved stars, and ultimately of the evolution of AGB stars toward planetary nebulae.

	Main Colloquium
Prof. Jürgen Ehlers	ORATED

AEI, Hannover

As a scientific activity with interactions between observation and theory, cosmology has two roots. Observationally it started with Slipher’s measurements of extra galalctic red shifts in 1913 , theoretically it began with Einstein’s static, spherical model universe of 1917 which was based on his general relativity theory, augmented by the lambda term. Einstein paricipated in cosmological discussions in 1918, 1931 and around 1945. I shall describe some of his work, emphasizing topics of lasting interest, such as the time scale, dark matter and lambda.

	Special Colloquium
Dr. Jörn Geisbüsch	ORATED

College de France, Paris

Galaxy clusters are the largest gravitationally collapsed objects in the universe. A unique way to detect them is the Sunyaev-Zel’dovich (SZ) effect - a Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) imprint due to inverse Compton scattering of the CMB photons off the cluster electron gas. Just recently it has become feasible to build instruments capable of conducting blind SZ cluster surveys. The talk will motivate the use of such SZ cluster surveys as a cosmological tool. Upcoming SZ survey instruments and their abilities will be discussed on the basis of simulations. Methods to overcome data analysis challenges will be introduced and preliminary predictions about parameter constraints will be shown.

	Special Colloquium
Prof. Nikolaj Voshchinnikov	ORATED

St. Petersburg University, Russia

A serious challenge to dust modelling in last years is related to a steady decrease of estimates of solar (cosmic) abundances of metals. This calls for new dust models able to produce the same extinction with a less amount of solid material. A solution to the problem could be provided by the inclusion of vacuum (nothing) as a component of interstellar grains. It will be shown how to describe the optics of porous particles and how the porosity (fluffiness) of dust grains influences on interstellar extinction, dust temperature, infrared features, etc.

	Main Colloquium
Prof. Alfred Krabbe	ORATED

1. Physikalisches Institut, Universität Köln

Imaging spectroscopy in the NIR can take full advantage of adaptive optics assisted diffraction limited imaging available at large optical telescopes. Two newly deployed spectrographs, SINFONI at the VLT and OSIRIS at the Keck,are already showing remarkable results. A study for a similar instrument at the interferometric focus of the LBT (using LINC-NIRVANA) has already been started. Itsprojected angular resolution of 10mas will be 30 times better than current non-AO assisted instruments capabilities. It will be the first operating NIR spectrograph at an ELT and will open up a new exciting window for NIR imaging spectroscopy.

	Special Colloquium
Dr. Dorothea Samtleben	ORATED

Kavli Institute, Chicago University

The Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) is radiation which was released 400000 years after the Big Bang and contains a wealth of cosmological information. Its spectrum has been measured with extraordinary precision and its spatial anisotropy has been very well characterized, with WMAP providing the most comprehensive results. There are two distinct patterns to the polarization of the CMB, conventionally termed E- and B-modes. Characterization of the E-mode power spectrum is important for testing the understanding of the origin of the CMB as well as for breaking degeneracies in cosmological parameter determinations. The B-modes are expected to be at least an order of magnitude smaller and can be produced by gravity waves from the inflationary epoch as well as from lensing of E-modes. The amplitude of the gravity waves as seen in the CMB is linked to the energy scale of inflation which may also be the GUT scale. Measurements of the lensing contribution can provide limits on neutrino masses. The CMB polarization measurements thus have exciting prospects for opening new windows to fundamental physics. CAPMAP is an experiment measuring the E-mode CMB Polarization in the angular range from 5’ to 40’ with multiple 90 GHz and a few 40 GHz correlation receivers on the 7m Crawford Hill telescope. The techniques of polarization measurements and the implementation for CAPMAP will be described. The latest results from CAPMAP will be presented as well as the overall status and future of CMB polarization measurements. The potential for the successor of CAPMAP will also be shown: the experiment QUIET, a large polarimeter array, using miniaturized correlation polarimeters. QUIET will increase the sensitivity of current experiments to unprecedented precision.

	Special Colloquium
Carolin Hieret	ORATED

MPIfR Bonn

On the galactic scale, molecular clouds have a low density (n 200cm-3) and temperature (T 10K). Their chemistry is known to contain the easily observable CO molecule. Little is known about the abundances of other molecul es, whose low columnn densities make them difficult to observe. In this talk I will report on a study of the chemical compositions in diffuse molecular clouds along the line-of-sight towards SgrB2(M). The Giant Molecular Cloud SgrB2 is located in the Central Molecular Zone, at a projected distances of  100 pc away from the Galactic Center. It hosts several compact and ultra compact HII regions, which emit strong continuum emission. This continuum emission can be used as a background source to study the absorption of gas along the line of sight towards SgrB2. We have conducted a survey over the complete 3mm band towards the two cores, SgrB2(M) and SgrB2(N), resulting in a plethora of absorption and emission lines. Out of this data, I have studied lines that show absorption against SgrB2(M). They appear at velocities which show little contamination by emission from SgrB2 itself. The absorption arising along the line of sight can be divided into features originating in the cold and dense molecular envelope around the SgrB2(M) core and features arising from diffuse clouds (n 200cm-3) located between us and the Galactic Center. Absorption lines are our only means to study those clouds, since the low densities prevent rotational levels from being thermally excited, with excitation temperatures as low as the 2.7K cosmic background. According to chemical models, there should only be a simple chemistry found in those low density clouds, but studies, including our own, have shown that the observed species are a lot more complicated than the chemistry allows for.

	Special Colloquium
Dr. Vincent Fish	ORATED

NRAO Socorro

I present full-polarization VLBA images of 1665 and 1667 MHz hydroxyl (OH) masers in massive star forming regions. Magnetic fields deduced from Zeeman splitting suggest organized field structures with at most one line-of-sight field direction reversal in each source, suggesting that the magnetic field is not highly twisted by the process of star formation. Correlations between magnetic field directions around star forming regions separated by kiloparcsecs have implications for the Galactic magnetic field. The clustering and ages of OH masers are consistent with the location of OH masers in the ionization-shock front zone around a central ultracompact H II region. I discuss the significance of linear polarization as well as possible complications arising from Faraday rotation.

	Informal Colloquium
Dr. Yoshiaki Hagiwara	ORATED

ASTRON

This talk will outline the next generation space radio Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) mission, VSOP-2. Following the successes of the VLBI Space Observatory Programme (VSOP) mission, which was realized with the launch of the HALCA satellite in 1997, the VSOP-2 mission is being planned in Japan in collaboration with international partners for a launch in 2011 at this present. The mission has not yet been approved in ISAS/JAXA and staffs in National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ) are collaborating with the ISAS VSOP-2 team to support and promote the VSOP-2 project. The scientific objectives include high angular resolution imaging of the jets and accretion disks of AGN, Galactic and extra-galactic water maser sources, and the coronae of YSO. The observing bands will be 8, 22, and 43 GHz and an highest achievable angular resolution will be 38 micro-arcseconds at the 43 GHz band. The VSOP-2 spacecraft will employ a 9 m off-axis paraboloid antenna with dual polarization. The VSOP-2 mission was realized through a large international collaboration in terms of large ground telescopes such as MPIfR Effelsberg Telescope, correlators, and tracking stations, and a similar degree of collaboration with European institutes/astronomers, including MPIfR staffs and the 100-m telescope, will be essential for the success of VSOP-2.

	Main Colloquium
Dr. Vincent Minier	ORATED

CEA, Saclay, France

We report on a multi-wavelength (IR to cm) and multi-resolution (1 mas to 20 arcsec) exploration of high-mass star formation regions in the Galactic plane, at longitudes observable from the Southern Hemisphere. Our source sample was originally identified through methanol masers in the Galactic plane, which exclusively trace high-mass star-forming regions. (Sub)millimetre continuum and molecular line observations were carried out with SEST/SIMBA, JCMT/SCUBA and the ATNF/Mopra mm-wave telescope and have allowed us to identify massive (>20 Msolar) and luminous (>10^3Lsolar) clumps in each star-forming region. We have also constrained the SED with additional archives IR data, the physical conditions (Td, L, M) and the chemical composition of each massive clump. Several types of objects were characterised based on the ratio Lsubmm/Lbol, the dust temperature and the molecular line properties, ranging from class 0-like YSO clusters (Lsub/Lbol>1%, Td=30 K) to hot molecular cores (Lsub/Lbol=0.1%, Td=40-200 K). Preliminary high-angular resolution observations for a subset of the sample with the ATCA at 3 mm, the VLA at 15, 22 and 43 GHz and Gemini in MIR have revealed that several (proto)stellar objects are embedded in the massive clumps: massive protostars, hot cores and hyper compact HII regions. We have thus identified protoclusters of massive YSOs, which are the precursors of the OB associations. This sample of Southern Hemisphere star-forming regions will be extremely valuable for the scientific preparation of ALMA and HSO observations.

	Main Colloquium
Dr. Nazar Ikhsanov	ORATED

Pulkovo Observatory & Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute

AE Aquarii is a close binary system which emits detectable radiation in all parts of the spectrum (from radio up to gamma-rays). The system components are a main sequence red dwarf and a fast rotating white dwarf. The appearance of the system does not allow us to assign it to any of presently known classes of close binaries. In particular, it is well established that the mass transfer in this system operates via the Roche lobe overflow mechanism, but the material transferred from the normal companion is neither accreted onto the surface of the white dwarf nor stored in a disk around its magnetosphere. Moreover, the energy budget of the system is dominated by the spin-down power of the white dwarf, which exceeds the bolometric luminosity of the system by a factor of a few. Finally, the system shows flaring activity whose properties are absolutely unique among all classes of flaring astrophysical objects. In my talk I overview the basic properties of the system and discuss the models suggested for their interpretation.

	Main Colloquium
Prof. Günther Rüdiger	ORATED

Astrophysikalisches Institut Potsdam

The magnetorotational instability (MRI) and the stratorotational instability (SRI) are the main candidates for the generation of turbulence in accretion disks. Also the Hall effect can destabilize differential rotation by an own instability reducing the critical magnetic Reynolds number in Kepler disks by one order of magnitude. For cold material, however, the combination of vertical density gradients and radial differential rotation in Taylor-Couette experiments leads to the excitation of global and spiral modes. New simulations for both the instabilities are presented together with calculations about the possible first experimental realization of the MRI.

	Special Colloquium
Dr. Carlo Burigana	ORATED

INAF/IASF, Sezione di Bologna

One of the most relevant discoveries of WMAP is the detection of a high redshift reionization through its imprints on CMB anisotropy T and TE mode angular power spectra. The CMB offers a particular view of the reionization process, being sensitive to the integrated history of the ionized medium. On the other hand, the accurate analysis of the CMB spectrum and anisotropies provides significant constraints also on the details of reionization since different reionization mechanisms predict different signatures in the CMB, both in temperature and polarization anisotropies at different angular scales and in spectral distortions at high and low frequencies. The Planck capability to distinguish among different scenarios and constrain the physical properties of specific models through its sensitivity to T, TE, and E mode angular power spectra is discussed. Perspectives open by future high sensitivity experiments on the CMB polarization anisotropy and spectrum are also presented. Finally, the information contained in the CMB is compared with that expected by future accurate ground observations at radio frequencies, in particular by SKA and LOFAR.

	Special Colloquium
Dr. Mira Naftaly	ORATED

University of Leeds, UK

A simple scheme for generating continuous-wave (CW) terahertz (THz) radiation from a two-colour laser has been developed in Leeds. A Ti-sapphire laser is forced to oscillate on two modes by placing a Fabry-Perot etalon in the laser cavity. THz radiation corresponding to the difference frequency of the modes is generated by photomixing in a biased photoconverter. The THz frequency is determined by the free spectral range of the etalon and can be varied by changing its plate separation. The design and performance of the CW THz system will be described in detail. The second part of the talk will describe other work on THz applications in Leeds, and will present results on THz transmission and reflection spectroscopy in a variety of materials.

	Special Colloquium
Dr. Diego Garcia-Appadoo	ORATED

Cardiff University

I will present an overview of galaxies detected in the HIPASS survey, the first all HI sky survey at 21 cm. Together with SDSS data we’ve discovered some fascinating objects including the 1st ”Dark Galaxy”.

	Special Colloquium
Dr. Catherine Vlahakis	ORATED

Cardiff University

New Results from the SCUBA Local Universe Galaxy Survey (SLUGS) the optically-selected sample. An investigation of dust in nearby ”normal” galaxies, free from dust temperature selection effects.

	Special Colloquium
Prof. Ewine van Dishoeck	ORATED

Leiden Observatory

TBA

	Informal Colloquium
Patrick Hudelot	ORATED

Observatoire de Toulouse

Clusters of galaxies are the most massive gravitationnaly bound objects in the universe. Therefore they are important tools for cosmology, providing information on the large scale dark matter distribution and the evolution of the universe. I will first present my work on gravitationnal lensing, and in particular new tools to measure the shape of galaxies and reconstruct the mass distribution in clusters using lensing constrains. This new software has been used on the HST/WFPC mosaic of Cl0024 and Abell 2218. I will then present a collaboration with Cambridge on cluster detection. CFH12K and MEGACAM optical images and AMI SZ maps will be used to detect clusters and analyse them. The optical method we chose (red cluster sequence) will be explained. Finally I will briefly present an update on the CFHT Legacy Survey.

	Special Colloquium
Dr. Nikolaus Volgenau	ORATED

Universität Köln

Although the theory of low mass star formation that had developed over the past several decades is quantitatively rigorous, it can only explain a fraction of real star-forming events. The motivation for our work is the hypothesis that turbulence is fundamental to the star formation process. We present evidence, from observations of dense cores in the Perseus cloud made with the BIMA interferometer and the FCRAO 14m antenna, that turbulent motions persist within the characteristic core radius (0.1 pc) identified in lower resolution studies. In general, the range of velocities traced by our molecular line emission maps, as well as the complexity of the fields, increases with resolution. No core resembles a quiescent condensation undergoing simple systematic rotation. In addition, a statistical analysis of the variations in line properties as a function of spatial separation indicates a hierarchy of turbulent gas motions.

	Special Colloquium
Prof. Dr. Bernd Klein	ORATED

MPIfR

Obwohl bis zum heutigen Tage mehr als 1500 Radio-Pulsare in unserer Galaxie entdeckt wurden, konnte bislang nicht ein einziger Pulsar im direkten Umfeld des Galaktischen Zentrums gefunden werden. Dies ist um so mehr erstaunlich, da die statistische Pulsar-Verteilung nicht nur eine deutliche Zunahme der Pulsare zum Zentrum unserer Galaxie zeigt, sondern dieser Himmelsbereich auch schon mehrfach in verschiedenen Pulsar- Suchen intensiv beobachtet wurde. Das Defizit von Pulsaren im Galaktischen Zentrum wird heute allgemein durch Selektionseffekte bei der Suche erklärt, die aufgrund von Inhomogenitäten und der erhöhten Dichte des Interstellaren Mediums im Zentrumsbereich hervorgerufen werden. Diese Einflüsse bewirken eine frequenzabhängige Phasenverschiebung (Dispersion) sowie eine Pulsverbreiterung durch Mehrwegeausbreitung (Scattering) der zeitvarianten Strahlung von Pulsaren. Während die Dispersion durch geeignete Massnahmen bei der Beobachtung nahezu vollständig beseitigt werden kann, ist die Pulsverbreiterung durch Scattering, die einen negativen Einfluss auf die Suchempfindlichkeit hat, nur mit Beobachtungen bei höheren Frequenzen zu mindern. Weil die Strahlung von Pulsaren jedoch zu höheren Frequenzen steil abfällt, kann die optimale Beobachtungs- frequenz nur ein Kompromiss der beiden gegensätzlichen Forderungen sein. Der Vortrag berichtet ueber die erste Suche nach Zentrumspulsaren bei der für Pulsar-Beobachtungen ungewöhnlich hohen Frequenz von 5 GHz mit dem 100-Meter Radioteleskop und analysiert die Ergebnisse vor dem Hintergund theoretischer Überlegungen über die Detektierbarkeit von Pulsaren im Galaktischen Zentrum.

	Main Colloquium
Dr. Soeren Larsen	ORATED

ADDRESS: ESO, Garching

The last decade has seen an explosion in our knowledge of extragalactic star clusters. Observationally, major progress has been made on two fronts: First, HST and large ground-based telescopes have made it possible to routinely obtain imaging and spectroscopy for globular clusters (GCs) in galaxies well beyond the Virgo galaxy cluster. We now know that most extragalactic GCs are broadly similar to those in the Milky Way: they are mostly old (>10 Gyr), and GC systems often display bimodal metallicity distributions. Secondly, young luminous “super” star clusters have been detected in large numbers in starburst and merger galaxies, but also in some apparently undisturbed spiral galaxies. These clusters have properties which make them look similar to young versions of the ancient globulars in our own and most other galaxies. I will discuss what the study of extragalactic star clusters may tell us about the evolution of their parent galaxies, and in particular point to a few pitfalls to watch out for when using GCs to constrain galaxy evolution scenarios.

	Special Colloquium
Attila Kovacs	ORATED

Caltech, Pasadena, USA

Dust emission is a simple and robust tracer of a galaxy’s gas content, and star formation activity – in principle, that is. In practice, the interpretation of dust data is often tricky, especially if it relies entirely on data from past and present infrared satellites. This is no small problem as it ultimately limits how well we can understand the ever growing infrared galaxy populations churned out by these space missions. Submillimeter data can refine the picture substantially. It debunks some common myths about infrared galaxies, and perhaps provide new insights also. I will present data on a few select populations, ranging from the garden-variety infrared galaxy to hyper-luminous monsters, and spanning the universe from out local neighbourhood out to high redshifts.

	Main Colloquium
Prof. Tom Millar	ORATED

University of Manchester, UK

In the last 30 yars molecules of increasing chemical complexity have been detected in molecular clouds. Many of the 120 or so molecules detected in space can be used as probes of interstellar physics and give information on temperature, density, velocity and ionization fraction. In this talk, I shall introduce the physical and chemical processes which drive molecule formation and illustrate them with two particular examples - deuterium fractionation in cold cores and two-dimensional models of protoplanetary disks.

	Special Colloquium
Dr. Christiane Helling	ORATED

University of Leiden, NL

Brown dwarfs bridge the physical gap between planets and stars. Presently, the borders of the theoretical modelling in both areas is explored to uncover the principle chemical and physical mechanisms responsible, for example, for the particular metal deficiency of brown dwarf atmospheres or for an ambiguous spectral classification scheme. Spectral analysis provides strong hints that the weather-like formation of dust in the highly convective atmospheric environment of a brown dwarf’s atmosphere does play a major role in understanding these objects. After a short introduction to the object class of brown dwarfs and some of the present challenges, I will demonstrate the necessity of adequately modelling microphysical processes like dust formation and turbulence in the macroscopic environment of a brown dwarf atmosphere. I will present the results of a model for the microphysics of dust formation including nucleation, growth/evaporation and drift (gravitational settling) for typical brown dwarf atmospheres. Here, the 1D large scale atmospheric dust stratification is determined by the interaction of convective overshoot and gravitational settling. The small scale dust structures are determined by a multi-dimensional turbulent fluid field which origins from interacting convective cells. Remarkably, 2D small scale dust structure will develop into large scale, cloud- and weather-like features.

	Special Colloquium
Dr. Michael K. Bird	ORATED

Radioastronomisches Institut, Universität Bonn

The ESA Huygens Probe entered and descended for nearly 2.5 hours through the atmosphere of Saturn’s moon Titan on 14 January 2005. Huygens survived impact on the surface and continued its telemetry broadcast to the NASA Cassini spacecraft, which flew past Titan at an altitude of 60,000 km, for an additional 1.2 hours. Preliminary results from the six scientific investigations on Huygens include atmospheric height profiles of temperature and pressure, new assessments of surface composition, and particularly spectacular views of the surface under Titan’s veil of haze, as captured by the Huygens imaging system. A review of the initial in situ observations, as well as an update on the Doppler Wind Experiment, which was carried out by an international team directed from the Radio Astronomy Institute of the University of Bonn, are presented.

	Special Colloquium
Dr. Todd Gaier	ORATED

Jet Propusion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, USA

TBA

	Special Colloquium
Dr. Miriam Rengel	ORATED

Thueringer Landessternwarte Tautenburg

The earliest evolutionary phase of star formation, in which a deeply embedded protostar is known to exist, is the so-called Class 0 stage. Because protostars in this phase are difficult to detect, constraining their physical properties is a challenging task. I will present a study of the thermal emission from the dust of the circumstellar envelopes of Class 0 sources in order to investigate the physical structure and properties of these objects. SCUBA imaging at 450 and 850 mum of the thermal dust emission of envelopes of Class 0 sources in Perseus and Orion, a model of the envelope, the implementation of techniques like the blackbody fitting and the radiative transfer approach, and an evolutionary model for protostars provide a way to model and to interpret the structure of Class 0 sources, and to estimate their physical properties in an evolutionary context. This investigation leads to a more thorough understanding of the Class 0 stage and hence to a progress in the study of the determination of the initial conditions of the star formation process.

	Main Colloquium
Dr. Michiel Hogerheijde	ORATED

Sterrewacht Leiden, The Netherlands

With the detection of more than 100 planets around other stars we now know that planetary systems are a common outcome of the star formation process. However, these detected planetary systems show a large variety of properties, and one can wonder what processes control the planet-formation process in the disks that surround newly formed stars. I will present recent observations from interferometer arrays operating at millimeter and submillimeter wavelengths, that shed light on the structure and origin of these protoplanetary disks. I will also show recent data from the Spitzer Space Telescope that provide additional clues on the content of these disks. I will conclude with an outlook of what we hope to learn over the next years when powerful new observational facilities become available.

	Special Colloquium
Prof. Anthony Readhead	ORATED

California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, U.S.A.

Observations of the polarized cosmic background with the Cosmic Background Imager reveal the polarized spectrum with high significance, and show that the phase of the acoustic peaks is shifte by 180 degrees relative to the peaks in total intensity, as expected on the acoustic wave theory; thereby providing the first evidence for motion on the scale of galaxy clusters in the primordial density irregularities.