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First Announcement: IAU 287 Cosmic Masers: From OH to Ho |
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한국천문학회 |
등록일시 : 2011-07-13 10:45 |
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***************First Announcement****************** Cosmic Masers: From OH to Ho, IAU Symposium 287 January 29 - February 3 2012, Stellenbosch, South Africa website: http://iau287.ska.ac.za/ email: iaus287@hartrao.ac.za Scientific Rationale: Masers have left their mark across large areas of astrophysical research. They are observed in the interstellar medium near star-forming regions, they can probe the envelopes around dying stars and planetary nebulae and they occur in supernova remnants; they are even observed within the solar system in comets and at cosmological distances in galaxies where water masers have been observed at red shifts, z>2. Due to their brightness and compactness, masers give information on the structure and kinematics of a wide variety of sources on extremely small scales. They have therefore been important targets for high resolution observations with radio interferometers, such as MERLIN in the UK, the European VLBI Network (EVN), the Very Large Array, (VLA) and the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) in the US, VERA in Japan, and the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA). VLBI observations of e.g. Galactic water masers give information on the dynamics of star formation regions on scales of less than 0.1 ? 1 AU at a distance of 1 kpc, as well as accurate distances to these sources. We are now contemplating the advent of a new golden age in radio astronomy, with the Sub-millimetre Array (SMA), Herschel, the Korean VLBI Network (KVN), dedicated earlier this year and which will target millimeter wavelength masers, the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA), upgrades of the Plateau de Bure Interferometer (PdBI), VLA, ATCA and MERLIN and further developments of real-time (e)VLBI and the start of construction of the Square Kilometer Array (SKA) pre-cursors, MeerKAT and ASKAP. Studies of molecular masers are prime goals for these new and improved instruments, so maser research is undergoing a rapid growth and continues to provide answers to many important astrophysical questions. This meeting will be the fourth international symposium on astrophysical masers. Developments in maser research have accelerated over the past years and will continue to do so while new instruments come online. The first results of ALMA are expected towards the end of 2011. The upgraded EVLA and eMERLIN have already started producing science, while the SKA pre-cursors in Australia (ASKAP) and South Africa (MeerKAT) are on the near horizon, planning their early science. The new capabilities of these instruments for maser research will be highlighted by these early results. By bringing together maser researchers, this meeting aims to lead to the development of new observational programmes intended to answer a range of fundamental astrophysical questions. The meeting will also provide a forum for maser observers to interact with theorists working on the physics that must be understood for a full analysis of the wealth of new data. Specific focus areas for this symposium will include: * Advances in Maser Theory * Polarisation and magnetic fields * Star formation masers * Stellar masers * Maser Surveys * Astrometry using masers * AGN and Megamasers * Cosmology and the Hubble Constant * New masers and other developments in maser physics * Masers with new mm facilities Confirmed Review Speakers: * Anna Bartkiewicz * Shuji Deguchi * Christian Henkel * Karl Menten * Mark Reid * Anita Richards * Vladimir Strelnitski * Andrea Tarchi * Dinh Van Trung Scientific Organizing Committee: * Anna Bartkiewicz (Torun) * Athol Kemball (Illinois) * Huib van Langevelde (JIVE/Leiden) * Jim Moran (Harvard/SAO) * Jessica Chapman (CSIRO) * Kee-Tae Kim (KASI) * Liz Humphreys (ESO), co-Chair * Malcolm Gray (Manchester) * Mareki Honma (NAOJ) * Moshe Elitzur (Kentucky) * Roy Booth (SA SKA), Chair * Simon Ellingsen (Tasmania) * Valentin Bujarrabal (OAN) * Wouter Vlemmings (Chalmers), co-Chair * Yolanda Gomez (UNAM) Local Organizing Committee: * Johan van der Walt (North-West University) * Kim de Boer (SKA SA ) * Michael Gaylard (Hartebeesthoek RAO) * Patricia Whitelock (SAAO & UCT) * Simon Fishley (SAAO) * Anja Schroeder (SKA SA) * Nadeem Oozeer (SKA SA) * Sean Passmoor (SKA SA) * Rose Hames (SKA SA) * Roy Booth (SKA SA), Chair * Sharmila Goedhart (SKA SA), co-Chair Travel Grants: A limited amount of travel support will be available. Important dates/deadlines: Pre-Registration Opens: July 15 Registration Opens: August 1 Application for IAU Travel Support Deadline: September 16 Abstract Submission Deadline: November 1 (with a late deadline in January for new results) Early Registration Closes: December 1 (after that a late registration fee will be applied)
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