We summarise our on-going project aimed at calibrating the metallicity of M dwarfs. We have selected a large sample of physical binaries composed of an F-, G- or K-dwarf primary and an M-dwarf secondary. High-resolution spectra of the primary components are being analysed in order to determine, in a uniform way, accurate atmospheric parameters

We present orbit-based dynamical models and stellar population analysis of Sloan Digital Sky Survey J151741.75-004217.6, a low-redshift (z = 0.116) early-type galaxy (ETG) which, for its moderate luminosity, has an exceptionally high velocity dispersion. We aim to determine the central black hole (BH) mass (M•), the i-band stellar mass-to-light

The candidate SX Phe star KIC 11754974 shows a remarkably high number of combination frequencies in the Fourier amplitude spectrum: 123 of the 166 frequencies in our multifrequency fit are linear combinations of independent modes. Predictable patterns in frequency spacings are seen in the Fourier transform of the light curve. We present an analysis

We present the results from an optical monitoring campaign aimed at studying the afterglow properties of the short GRB 100816A. We implemented a new way of processing the Swift-BAT data, and based on it we reclassified this burst as short, discarding the initial classification as long. Observations were carried out mainly with the GTC Telescope

Long gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) pinpoint star-forming galaxies as they are linked to the deaths of massive stars. In most cases, these galaxies have been found to be blue, sub-luminous and of low-metallicity. However, our recent survey have demonstrated that a sizeable fraction of GRBs reside in massive, dusty and star-forming extremely red objects

We have discovered a ˜420-d modulation, with associated X-ray dips, in Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer-All Sky Monitor/Monitor of All-Sky X-ray Image/Swift-Burst Alert Telescope archival light curves of the short-period (3.2 h) black hole X-ray transient, Swift J1753.5-0127. This modulation only appeared at the end of a gradual re-brightening