The central engines of Seyfert galaxies are thought to be enshrouded by geometrically thick gas and dust structures. In this paper, we derive observable properties for a self-consistent model of such toroidal gas and dust distributions, where the geometrical thickness is achieved and maintained with the help of X-ray heating and radiation pressure

We study the evolution of galaxy structure and of the major merger fraction since z ˜ 1 to present in GOODS-S field for MB ≤ -20 and M* ≥ 1010 Msun selected galaxies. We segregate the galaxies into early-type galaxies (ET, E/S0/Sa), and late-type galaxies (LT, Sb-Irr) by their position in the concentration-asymmetry plane, while we pick up high

Does a merging event always precede AGN activity? In this starting PhD project, we will try to address this question by quantifying the distortions and interaction signatures that can be detected on a sample of AGN galaxies from the ACS-COSMOS survey. In order to do this, we will investigate and combine all the different available galaxy

As a result of the variability survey in χ Persei and NGC 6910, the number of β Cep stars that are members of these two open clusters is increased to twenty stars, nine in NGC 6910 and eleven in χ Persei. We compare pulsational properties, in particular the frequency spectra, of β Cep stars in both clusters and explain the differences in terms of

In the last two decades, solar physics has greatly explored the 10^-3 polarimetric sensitivity level (referred to the continuum intensity). This has provided us with a quantitatively accurate picture of the photospheric magnetism for mean longitudinal fields in the range of about 5 Gauss. However, the same 10^-3 detection levels translate into a

We study the impact of the environment on the evolution of galaxies in the zCOSMOS 10 k sample in the redshift range 0.1 ≤ z ≤ 1.0 over an area of ~1.5 deg2. The considered sample of secure spectroscopic redshifts contains about 8500 galaxies, with their stellar masses estimated by SED fitting of the multiwavelength optical to near-infrared (NIR)