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This paper presents an overview of the current status of the Virtual Atomic and Molecular Data Centre (VAMDC) e-infrastructure, including the current status of the VAMDC-connected (or to be connected) databases, updates on the latest technological development within the infrastructure and a presentation of some application tools that make use of the VAMDC e-infrastructure. We analyse the past 10 years of VAMDC development and operation, and assess their impact both on the field of atomic and molecular (A&M) physics itself and on heterogeneous data management in international cooperation. The highly sophisticated VAMDC infrastructure and the related databases developed over this long term make them a perfect resource of sustainable data for future applications in many fields of research. However, we also discuss the current limitations that prevent VAMDC from becoming the main publishing platform and the main source of A&M data for user communities, and present possible solutions under investigation by the consortium. Several user application examples are presented, illustrating the benefits of VAMDC in current research applications, which often need the A&M data from more than one database. Finally, we present our vision for the future of VAMDC.

The study of dwarf galaxies is important in order to better understand the physics of the young universe and how larger galaxies form and evolve. In this work we focus on Blue Compact Galaxies (BCGs) which havemuch enhanced star formation (starbursts), causing blue colours and strong emission line spectra.Investigating of the inner motions of BCGs provides a means for determining masses and understanding what triggered the current starburst. We have used the Very Large Telescope to perform challenging observations of the stellar motions in several BCGs, as seen in the near-infrared Ca-triplet absorption lines. By comparing these to the kinematics of the ionized interstellar medium, we were able to look into the role of feeback from stellar winds and supernova explosions, as well as further strengthen the notion that the merging of galaxies plays an important role.Spatially resolved spectroscopy can yield information about the 3D-structure of galaxies. We have used a Fabry-Perot interferometer to study the kinematics of the interstellar medium in two samples of galaxies, each containing about twenty objects. We find strong indications for ongoing galaxy mergers that correlate well with the strength of the star-formation activity. Furthermore, by estimating dynamical masses, BCGs are shown to be on average not dynamically supported by rotation.In addition, we have used data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey to study the frequency of starbursts in the local universe and the connection to their descendants. We selected starbursts by the strength of emission in H-alpha, the first Balmer recombination line, and post-starbursts by the strength of absorption in H-delta. These are indicators of currently ongoing and recent, on the order of 100 Myr, star-formation, respectively. By modelling the stellar populations we derive ages and masses and can establish a link between starbursts and postbursts in a time sequence. We find that starbursts are active on a 100 Myr timescale but are rare objects in the local universe.

The price of instruments and observing time on modern telescopes is quickly increasing with the size of the primary mirror. Therefore, it is worth revisiting the data reduction algorithms to extract every bit of scientific information from observations. Echelle spectrographs are typical instruments in high-resolution spectroscopy, but attempts to improve the wavelength coverage and versatility of these instruments results in a complicated and variable footprint of the entrance slit projection onto the science detector. Traditional spectral extraction methods fail to perform a truly optimal extraction, when the slit image is not aligned with the detector columns but instead is tilted or even curved. We here present the mathematical algorithms and examples of their application to the optimal extraction and the following reduction steps for echelle spectrometers equipped with an entrance slit, that is imaged with various distortions, such as variable tilt and curvature. The new method minimizes the loss of spectral resolution, maximizes the signal-to-noise ratio, and efficiently identifies local outliers. In addition to the new optimal extraction we present order splicing and a more robust continuum normalization algorithms. We have developed and implemented new algorithms that create a continuum-normalized spectrum. In the process we account for the (variable) tilt/curvature of the slit image on the detector and achieve optimal extraction without prior assumptions about the slit illumination. Thus the new method can handle arbitrary image slicers, slit scanning, and other observational techniques aimed at increasing the throughput or dynamic range. We compare our methods with other techniques for different instruments to illustrate superior performance of the new algorithms compared to commonly used procedures.

Access to molecular and atomic data is critical for many forms of remote sensing analysis across different fields. Many atomic and molecular databases are however highly specialized for their intended application, complicating querying and combination data between sources. The Virtual Atomic and Molecular Data Centre, VAMDC, is an electronic infrastructure that allows each database to register as a \"node\". Through services such as VAMDC's portal website, users can then access and query all nodes in a homogenized way. Today all major Atomic and Molecular databases are attached to VAMDC. This article describes the software tools we developed to help data providers create and manage a VAMDC node. It gives an overview of the VAMDC infrastructure and of the various standards it uses. The article then discusses the development choices made and how the standards are implemented in practice. It concludes with a full example of implementing a VAMDC node using a real-life case as well as future plans for the node software.

Atmospheres of transiting exoplanets can be studied spectroscopically using space-based or ground-based observations. Each has its own strengths and weaknesses, so there are benefits to both approaches. This is especially true for challenging targets such as cooler, smaller exoplanets whose atmospheres likely contain many molecular species and cloud decks. We aim to study the atmosphere of the warm Neptune-like exoplanet WASP-107 b (Teq~740 K). Several molecular species have been detected in this exoplanet in recent space-based JWST studies, and we aim to confirm and expand upon these detections using ground-based VLT, evaluating how well our findings agree with previously retrieved atmospheric parameters. We observe two transits of WASP-107 b with VLT/CRIRES+ and create cross-correlation templates of the target atmosphere based on retrieval results from JWST studies. We create different templates to investigate the impact of varying volume mixing ratios of species and inclusion or exclusion of clouds. Considering this target's observational challenges, we create simulated observations prior to evaluating real data to assess expected detection significances. We report detections of two molecular species, CO (~6 S/N) and H2O (~4.5 S/N). This confirms previous space-based detections and demonstrates, for the first time, the capability of VLT/CRIRES+ to detect species in targets cooler than hot Jupiters using transmission spectroscopy. We show our analysis is sensitive to cloud inclusion, but less so to different volume mixing ratios. Interestingly, our detection deviates from its expected location in our Kp-vsys diagrams, and we speculate on possible reasons for this. We demonstrate that the error budget for relatively cooler exoplanets is severely reduced in comparison to hotter exoplanets, and underline need for further work in context of high-resolution spectroscopy.

Blue Compact Galaxies (BCGs) have received interest mainly because they comprise the best available test-beds for studies of low-metallicity star formation (SF) and allow the study of relatively unevolved systems at low redshift. Their ongoing phase of intense star formation is a transient phenomenon and the best candidates for its trigger are interactions and mergers. Studies of the kinematics are important for the understanding of this process. We present spatially resolved kinematics from the Hα line in five BCGs that show an extended region of ionised emission around the central starburst. We find this region to have near-spherical isophotes at large radii and to be dynamically decoupled from a central disturbance. A scenario where the strong triggered star formation in the center ionises the surrounding gas cloud, still following its original motions, can qualitatively explain these common features. The poster, including the figures, can be found at http://kern-2pt/thomasmarquart.net/pspdf/prague-marquart.pdf.

Despite strong interest in the starburst (hereafter SB) phenomenon, the concept remains ill-defined. We use a strict definition of SB to examine the statistical properties of local SB and post-starburst (hereafter PB) galaxies. We also seek relationships to active galaxies. Potential SB galaxies are selected from the SDSS DR7 and their stellar content is analysed. We apply an age dependent dust attenuation correction and derive star formation rates (SFR), ages and masses of the young and old populations. The photometric masses nicely agree with dynamical masses derived from the H-alpha emission line width. To select SB galaxies, we use the birthrate parameter b=SFR/, requiring b>=3. The PB sample is selected from the citerion EW(Hdelta_abs)>=6 A. Only 1% of star-forming galaxies are found to be SB galaxies. They contribute 3-6% to the stellar production and are therefore unimportant for the local star formation activity. The median SB age is 70 Myr, roughly independent of mass. The b-parameter strongly depends on burst age. Values close to b=60 are found at ages ~10 Myr, while almost no SBs are found at ages >1 Gyr. The median baryonic burst mass fraction of sub-L* galaxies is 5%, decreasing slowly with mass. The median mass fraction of the recent burst in the PB sample is 5-10%. The age-mass distribution of the progenitors of the PBs is bimodal with a break at log(M)~10.6 above which the ages are doubled. The SB and PB luminosity functions (hereafter LFs) follow each other closely until M_r~-21, when AGNs begin to dominate. The PB LF continues to follow the AGN LF while SB loose significance. This suggests that the number of luminous SBs is underestimated by about one dex at high luminosities, due to large amounts of dust and/or AGN blending. It also indicates that the SB phase preceded the AGN phase. We also discuss the conditions for global gas outflow caused by stellar feedback.

(abridged) Luminous blue compact galaxies are among the most active galaxies in the local universe in terms of their star formation rate per unit mass. They may be seen as the local analogs of higher redshift Lyman Break Galaxies. Studies of their kinematics is key to understanding what triggers their unusually active star formation In this work we investigate the kinematics of stars and ionised gas in Haro11, one of the most luminous blue compact galaxies in the local universe. Previous works have indicated that many such galaxies may be triggered by galaxy mergers. We have employed Fabry-Perot interferometry, long-slit spectroscopy and Integral Field Unit (IFU) spectroscopy to explore the kinematics of Haro11. We target the near infrared Calcium triplet to derive the stellar velocity field and velocity dispersion. Ionised gas is analysed through emission lines from hydrogen, [OIII] , and [SIII]. When spectral resolution and signal to noise allows we investigate the the line profile in detail and identify multiple velocity components when present. We find that to first order, the velocity field and velocity dispersions derived from stars and ionised gas agree. Hence the complexities reveal real dynamical disturbances providing further evidence for a merger in Haro11. Through decomposition of emission lines we find evidence for kinematically distinct components, for instance a tidal arm behind the galaxy. The ionised gas velocity field can be traced to large galactocentric radii, and shows significant velocity dispersion even far out in the halo. We discuss the origin of the line width, and interpreted as virial motions it indicates a mass of ~1E11 M_sun. Morphologically and kinematically Haro11 shows many resemblances with the famous Antennae galaxies, but is much denser which is the likely explanation for the higher star formation efficiency in Haro11.

HIRES will be the high-resolution spectrograph of the European Extremely Large Telescope at optical and near-infrared wavelengths. It consists of three fibre-fed spectrographs providing a wavelength coverage of 0.4-1.8 mic (goal 0.35-1.8 mic) at a spectral resolution of ~100,000. The fibre-feeding allows HIRES to have several, interchangeable observing modes including a SCAO module and a small diffraction-limited IFU in the NIR. Therefore, it will be able to operate both in seeing and diffraction-limited modes. ELT-HIRES has a wide range of science cases spanning nearly all areas of research in astrophysics and even fundamental physics. Some of the top science cases will be the detection of bio signatures from exoplanet atmospheres, finding the fingerprints of the first generation of stars (PopIII), tests on the stability of Nature's fundamental couplings, and the direct detection of the cosmic acceleration. The HIRES consortium is composed of more than 30 institutes from 14 countries, forming a team of more than 200 scientists and engineers.

We present Ly \\(\\) imaging of 45 low redshift star-forming galaxies observed with the Hubble Space Telescope. The galaxies have been selected to have moderate to high star formation rates using far-ultraviolet (FUV) luminosity and equivalent width criteria, but no constraints on Ly \\(\\) luminosity. We employ a pixel stellar continuum fitting code to obtain accurate continuum subtracted Ly \\(\\), H \\(\\) and H \\(\\) maps. We find that Ly \\(\\) is less concentrated than FUV and optical line emission in almost all galaxies with significant Ly \\(\\) emission. We present global measurements of Ly \\(\\) and other quantities measured in apertures designed to capture all of the Ly \\(\\) emission. We then show how the escape fraction of Ly \\(\\) relates to a number of other measured quantities (mass, metallicity, star formation, ionisation parameter, and extinction). We find that the escape fraction is strongly anti-correlated with nebular and stellar extinction, weakly anti-correlated with stellar mass, but no conclusive evidence for correlations with other quantities. We show that Ly \\(\\) escape fractions are inconsistent with common dust extinction laws, and discuss how a combination of radiative transfer effects and clumpy dust models can help resolve the discrepancies. We present a star formation rate calibration based on Ly \\(\\) luminosity, where the equivalent width of Ly \\(\\) is used to correct for non-unity escape fraction, and show that this relation provides a reasonably accurate SFR estimate. We also show stacked growth curves of Ly \\(\\) for the galaxies that can be used to find aperture loss fractions at a given physical radius.