Context. Theoretical studies predict that the length scale of convection in stellar atmospheres isproportional to the pressure scale height, which implies that giant and supergiant stars should have convection granules of sizes comparable to their radii. Numerical simulations and the observation of anisotropies on stellar discs agree well with this prediction. Aims. To measure the characteristic sizes of convection structures of models simulated with the CO5BOLD code, to look at how they vary between models and to study their limitations due to numerical resolution. Methods. Fourier analyses are performed to frames from the models to achieve spatial spectral power distributions which are averaged over time. The position of the main peak and the averagevalue of the wavevector are taken as indicators of these sizes. The general shape of the intensity map of the disc in the frame is fitted and subtracted so that it does not contaminate the Fourier analysis. Results. A general relationship of the convection granule size being more or less ten times larger than the pressure length scale is found. The expected wavevector value of the time-averaged spectral power distributions is higher than the position of the main peak. Loose increasing trends with the characteristic sizes by the pressure scale height increasing against stellar mass, radius, luminosity,temperature and gravity are found, while a decreasing trends are found with the radius and modelresolution. Bad resolution subtracts signals on the slope at the side of the main peak towards larger wavevector values and in extreme cases it creates spurious signal towards the end of the spectrum due to artifacts appearing on the frames. Conclusions. The wavevector position of the absolute maximum in the time-averaged spectral power distribution is the best measure of the most prominent sizes in the stellar surfaces. The proportionality constant between granule size and pressure length scale is of the same order ofmagnitude as the one in the literature, however, models present sizes larger than the ones expected, likely because the of prominent features do not correspond to convection granules but to larger features hovering above them. Further studies on models with higher resolution will help in drawing more conclusive results. Appendix. The SIA pipeline takes a set of time-dependent pictures of stellar disks and uses a Fourier Analysis to measure the characteristic sizes of their features and other useful quantities, such as standard deviations or the spatial power distributions of features. The main core of the pipeline consists in identifying the stellar disc in the frames and subtracting their signal from the spatial power distributions through a general fit of the disc intensity. To analyze a time sequence, the SIA pipeline requires at least two commands from the user. The first commandorders the SIA pipeline to read the .sav IDL data structure file where the frame sequence is stored and to produce another .sav file with information on the spectral power distributions, the second command orders the reading of such file to produce two more .sav files, one containing time-averaged size measurements and their deviations while the other breaking down time-dependant information and other arrays used for the calculations. The SIA pipeline has been entirely written in Interactive Data Language (IDL). Most of the procedures used here are original from the SIA pipeline, but a small handfull like ima3_distancetransform.pro, power2d1d.pro, extremum.pro and smooth2d.pro from Bernd Freytag and peaks.pro and compile opt.pro amongst others are actually external. / <p>The report consists in two parts:</p><p>1.- The main project, where we apply our pipeline and get scientific results.</p><p>2.- The appendix, where a technical description of the pipeline is given.</p>

In this work, the efficiency of the LUMBA UVES pipeline for processing of spectroscopic observations is tested by use on 23 high-resolution spectra of the open star cluster M67. An abundance trend discovered by Gavel et al. (2019) concerning iron abundances of giant and sub-giant stars of that cluster is examined. An initial run for a set of ”Gaia FGK benchmark stars”, as described in Blanco-Cuaresma et al. (2014) and Heiter et al. (2015) helps inspect the structure, method and output of the pipeline. Through Python language programming, processes are greatly automatized and the pipeline is run for a total of 460 weak and strong iron lines of our 23-star sample. The line fitting and efficiency of the pipeline is appreciated by statistically analyzing the results and looking into individual discrepant ones. The abundance trend is reproduced while using FeI lines, unlike runs using FeII lines. Trends in abundance over line strength plots also hint at bias through the Gaia-Eso Survey (GES) microturbulence relation. Using internal Data Release 6 (iDR6) and LUMBA-derived starting parameters, log(g) - Teff plots of our sample stars agree with a previously established 4.3 Gyr cluster age. An alternate run is performed for those stars, using LUMBA-derived starting parameters. The choice of starting parameters does impact abundance derivation, but is not the primary source of persistent systematic discrepancies.

A supernova (SN) is the explosive destruction of a star. Via a luminous outpouring of radiation, the SN can rival the brightness of its SN host galaxy for months or years. In the past decade, astronomical surveys regularly observing the sky to deep limiting magnitudes have revealed that core collapse SNe (the demises of massive stars) are sometimes preceded by eruptive episodes by the progenitor stars during the years before the eventual SN explosion. Such SNe tend to show strong signatures of interaction between the SN ejecta and the circumstellar medium (CSM) deposited by the star before the SN explosion, likely by mass-loss episodes like the ones we have started to observe regularly. The complex CSM resolved around certain giant stars in our own galaxy and the eruptions of giant stars like η Car in the 19th century can be seen in this context. As the SN ejecta of an interacting SN sweep up the CSM of the progenitor, radiation from this process offers observers opportunity to scan the late mass loss history of the progenitor. In this thesis, interacting SNe and eruptive mass loss of their progenitors is discussed. The SN iPTF13z (discovered by the intermediate Palomar Transient Factory, iPTF) is presented. This transient was followed with optical photometry and spectroscopy during 1000 days and displayed a light curve with several conspicuous re-brigthenings ("bumps"), likely arising from SN ejecta interacting with denser regions in the CSM. Around 200 days before discovery, in archival data we found a clear precursor outburst lasting &gt;~ 50 days. A well-observed (but not necessarily well understood) event like SN 2009ip, which showed both precursor outbursts and a light curve bump, makes an interesting comparison object. The embedding of the (possible) SN in a CSM makes it hard to tell if a destructive SN explosion actually happened. In this respect, iPTF13z is compared to e.g. SN 2009ip but also to long-lived interacting SNe like SN 1988Z. Some suggestions for future investigations are offered, to tie light curve bumps to precursor events and to clarify the question of core collapse in the ambiguous cases of some interacting SNe.

In this licentiate thesis, I consider debris disks from an observational, astronomical viewpoint, but also discuss a potential astrobiological application. Debris disks are essentially disks of dust and rocks around main-sequence stars, analogue to the Kuiper- or the asteroid belt in our solar system. Their observation and theoretical modeling can help to constrain planet formation models and help in the understanding of the history of the solar system. After a general introduction into the field of debris disks and some basic debris disk physics, the thesis concentrates on the observation of gas in debris disks. The possible origins of this gas and its dynamics are discussed and it is considered what it can tell us about the physical conditions in the disk and possibly about the dust composition. In this way, the paper associated with this thesis (dealing with the gas in the β Pic debris disk) is set into context. More in detail, we observed the CII emission originating from the carbon-rich β Pic disk with Herschel HIFI and attempted to constrain the spatial distribution of the gas from the shape of the emission line. This is necessary since the gas production mechanism is currently unknown, but can be constraint by obtaining information about the spatial profile of the gas. The last part of the thesis describes our preliminary studies of the possibility of a debris disk containing biomarkers, created by a giant impact on a life-bearing exoplanet.

Dark matter has a long history, but it was not until modern times that we have a chance of detecting it. This thesis focuses on the velocity distribution and its effect on indirect WIMP detection. Recently a new velocity distribution, based on data from SDSS and GAIA, was proposed. For this reason simulation of capture, annihilation and resulting flux of neutrinos from the Sun and Earth has been made both for the new and Maxwell-Boltzmann velocity distribution. The newly proposed velocity can reduce the annihilation rate in Earth by two thirds. For the Sun the effect depends on the mass of the WIMPs. For 50 GeV WIMPs the newly proposed velocity distribution could increase the annihilation rate by 5%, while for 3 TeV WIMPs it could decrease the annihilation rate by 28%. For Earth and high mass WIMPs the low velocity tail is the important part and the low resolution of this region in the new velocity distribution result in some uncertainties.

Within this past decade, advances in spectropolarimetric analyses allowed mapping surface characteristics of nearby non-resolved stars with unique characteristics. In this study, we attempt mapping of the magnetic field structure and surface distribution of elements for such a star, the magnetic Ap star phi Dra. Using high-precision photometric data from TESS satellite, we improve its rotation period. Spectrum synthesis calculations allow compilation of a list of lines present in its spectrum. The resulting synthetic spectrum and observed NARVAL spectra are used to re-estimate element abundances. Least-squares deconvolved (LSD) intensity and circular polarisation profiles are then computed from a sample of 1260 metal lines. To determine which element(s) are most suitable for in-depth analysis, variability of LSD profiles is studied qualitatively for Fe, Cr and Si. The longitudinal magnetic field of phi Dra is calculated from LSD circular polarisation profiles. Stellar magnetic field maps and distributions of Fe concentration are derived through Zeeman Doppler Imaging (ZDI). The resulting maps of this study show five areas of high Fe concentrations, in the Northern stellar hemisphere. The magnetic field topology of phi Dra resulting from our analysis is that of an offset dipole with small quadrupole contributions. Our abundance and magnetic maps suggest correlation between high concentrations of Fe and high magnetic field strength. The field is primarily radial in 4 out of 5 such regions, contrary to theoretical expectations.

Neutrino telescopes such as IceCube monitor for low-energy neutrinos O(10 MeV) produced in nuclear processes during core-collapse in supernovae. The detection horizon to the neutrino burst is 50 kpc, the distance to the Magellanic Clouds. However, this limits the number of supernovae accessible through low-energy neutrino detection, as the Galactic rate is only <img src="http://www.diva-portal.org/cgi-bin/mimetex.cgi?%5Csim" data-classname="equation" data-title="" />2 per century. Some models predict the production of high-energy O(&gt;GeV) neutrinos through acceleration mechanisms, such as the ejecta colliding with the circumstellar material or relativistic jets in the stellar envelope. This thesis examines how these high-energy neutrinos could be exploited with neutrino telescopes like IceCube to extend the detection horizon to core-collapse supernovae past the Magellanic clouds. To examine the detection horizon for IceCube, we use two data samples, one utilizing muon tracks which provide good sensitivity in the northern sky, and the other all flavor starting events, which provide good sensitivity in the southern sky. We demonstrate that extending the reach past 50 kpc and well into the 10s of Mpc is possible, where the expected rate is more than two core-collapse supernovae per year.

The recent boom in 21cm astronomy has piqued the interest of many, especially cosmologists realizing its applications in their field. This study aims to determine if 21cm astronomy is a good tool for testing the validity of keV WDM models, as well as creating a code capable of simulating keV WDM models from an existing CDM code. The assumed WDM models vary only in dark matter particle mass and assume a single-species dark matter case as well as totally thermalized particles, such as gravitinos. Small-scale simulations of approximately 183Mpc3, as well as large-scale simulations of approximately 1503Mpc3-1793Mpc3, indicated that the CDM code was successfully modified to simulate WDM through the total dark matter power spectrum and the halo-mass function. Additionally, the large-scale simulations hinted at a positive use of 21cm astronomy for the restriction of keV WDM models, due to the existence of a distinct CDM HI power spectrum as compared to the 0.5keV WDMHI power spectrum. A discernable difference between CDM and keV WDM galactic HI power spectra would provide a step towards a confirmation or falsification of keV WDM models if supplied with a large-scale galactic HI power spectrum study

The ejecta following the collision and merging of two neutron stars (kilonova) are currently considered promising sites for nucleosynthesis of r-process elements. Since the observed kilonova in 2017, GW2017817, astrophysicists have been working to analyze the collected electromagnetic spectra, trying to identify r-process elements. However, a lack of fundamental atomic data has been holding the efforts back. Motivated by spectral modelling of kilonovae out of equilibrium, this project aims to create a tool that uses line lists of spectroscopic accuracy from the Vienna Atomic Line Database (VALD) to generate energy level lists automatically for any ion. VALD in particular is used because it has wavelengths accurate enough for line identification purposes. The resulting level lists are compared to equivalent level lists from the database managed by the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST), in order to both ensure that the tool worked, and identify discrepancies between the databases. A number of problems with the VALD data were identified, mostly resulting in duplicate and missing energy levels. Finally, we also test the data in computations of kilonova expansion opacities in a complete solar r-process abundance mixture. Further work is needed to evaluate how damaging these problems are when modelling kilonovae, and when necessary remedy said problems. / Ejektat från en kollision och sammanslagning av två neutronstjärnor (kilonova) betraktas som lovande platser för nukleosyntes av r-processämnena. Sedan den observerade kilonovan år 2017, GW2017817, har astrofysiker försökt analysera de insamlade elektromagnetiska spektrumen för att försöka identifiera r-processämnen. Denna analys har dock hindrats på grund av en brist på fundamental atomisk data. Motiverat av spektralmodellering av kilonovor utanför ekvilibrium, syftar detta projekt på att utveckla ett verktyg för att utifrån spektroskopiskt noggranna linjelistor från Vienna Atomic Line Database (VALD) gererera listor över energinivåer automatiskt för godtycklig jon. VALD används på grund av att den har våglänger som är noggranna nog för linjeidentifiering. De resulterande nivålistorna jämförs med motsvarande nivålistor från databasen som sköts av National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST), detta för att dels säkerställa att verktyget fungerade, dels identifiera skillnader mellan databaserna. Ett antal problem med VALD identifierades, vilka oftast resulterade i dubbletter eller avsaknad av energinivåer. Slutligen testades datan i beräkningar av kilonova-expansionsopaciteter i en komplett solär r-process-ämnesblandning. Vidare arbete krävs för att evaluera hur skadliga dessa problem är för modellering av kilonovor, och vid behov åtgärda problemen.

Stripped-envelope supernovae were thought to be the explosions of very massive stars (&amp; 20 M) that lost their outer layers of hydrogen and/or helium in strong stellar winds. However, recent studies have highlighted that most stripped-envelope supernovae seem to be arising from rela- tively lower-mass progenitor stars in the 12 20 M(sun) range, creating a mystery about the fate of the higher-mass stars. In this licentiate thesis, we review our knowledge of stripped-envelope supernovae, and present the astrophysical problem of their missing high-mass progenitors. The thesis focuses on observations of unique and rare stripped-envelope supernovae classified with modern optical surveys such as the intermediate Palomar Transient Factory (iPTF) and the Public European Southern Observatory Spectroscopic Survey of Transient Objects (PESSTO). In these surveys we have discovered stripped-envelope supernovae with long-lasting broad lightcurves, which are thought to be a marker for highly massive (&amp; 20 M[sun]) progenitor stars. Despite this exciting association, there are only a handful of existing examples of stripped- envelope supernovae with broad lightcurves published in the literature, not numerous enough to account for the missing high-mass stars. During our efforts, the first object we focused on was OGLE-2014-SN-131, a long-lasting supernova in the southern sky initially classified by PESSTO. We re-classified it as a supernova Type Ibn interacting with a helium-rich circumstellar environment. Unlike all other Type Ibn’s in the literature, OGLE-2014-SN-131 was found to have a long rise-time and large lightcurve broadness. By modeling its bolometric lightcurve, we concluded that OGLE-2014-SN-131 must have had an unusually massive progenitor star. Furthermore, since an ordinary radioactive- decay model could not reproduce the lightcurve, we investigated both a magnetar and circum- stellar interaction as potential powering scenarios and favored the latter due to the signatures of interaction present in the spectra. Next, we looked for similar objects in the supernova dataset of the iPTF, which contains over 200 stripped-envelope supernovae. Searching in a sub-sample of 100 well-observed supernovae, we identified 11 to have unusually broad lightcurves. We also constrained the distribution of lightcurve broadness for iPTF stripped-envelope supernovae. The 11 with broad lightcurves will be studied carefully in a forthcoming paper. The first part of this forthcoming paper, which describes the careful statistical identification of these super-novae, is included in this thesis. In it we identify that 10% of the iPTF stripped-envelope supernova sample have broad lightcurves, which a surprisingly high fraction given their rarity in the published literature. Finally, we evaluate whether our estimate of the fraction of broad stripped-envelope supernovae could help explain the missing high-mass progenitors, and con- clude that they can only be a small fraction of the missing high-mass progenitors.