Observations of very low-mass stars with Kepler represent an excellent opportunity to search for planetary transits and to characterize optical photometric variability at the cool end of the stellar mass distribution. In this paper, we present low-resolution red optical spectra that allow us to identify 18 very low-mass stars that have Kepler light

We report the first spectroscopic identification of massive Galactic asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars at the beginning of the thermal pulse (TP) phase. These stars are the most Li-rich massive AGBs found to date, super Li-rich AGBs with log ɛ (Li) ~ 3-4. The high Li overabundances are accompanied by weak or no s-process element (i.e. Rb and Zr)

We present measurements of the auto- and cross-frequency power spectra of the cosmic infrared background (CIB) at 250, 350, and 500 μm (1200, 860, and 600 GHz) from observations totaling ~70 deg2 made with the SPIRE instrument aboard the Herschel Space Observatory. We measure a fractional anisotropy δI/I = 14% ± 4%, detecting signatures arising

A series of 33 different polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were studied by far infrared spectroscopy (terahertz spectroscopy) in the spectral range comprised between 600 and 50 cm(-1). In addition to common PAHs like naphthalene, anthracene, phenanthrene, fluoranthene, picene, pyrene, benzo[α]pyrene, and perylene, also quite unusual PAHs were

We studied the evolution of the Fundamental Plane in B- and g-bands, for two samples of early-type galaxies at 0.2 z 0.35 and 0.35 z 1.2. We found a difference in the intercept that can be interpreted as galaxies at z > ~0.7 being 0.68 and 0.52 mag brighter in the B- and g-band respectively, than their local counterparts. From the study of the

The wealth of exoplanets and the architectures of planetary systems that continue to emerge, is astounding and raises questions about the general picture of planet formation and evolution. To achieve such a stage of understanding, continuing studies of planetary systems in various stellar environments are essential. At present, of about 900 known