We present high spatial resolution near-infrared spectra and images of the nucleus of Centaurus A (NGC 5128) obtained with NAOS-CONICA at the VLT. The adaptive optics-corrected data have a spatial resolution of 0.06" (FWHM) in K and 0.11" in H band, 4 times higher than previous studies. The kinematics of the ionized gas ([Fe II]) are mapped along

The WMAP results on the scalar spectral index n and its running with scale, though preliminary, open a very interesting window to physics at very high energies. We address the problem of finding simple inflaton potentials well motivated by particle physics which can accommodate WMAP data.

We present multiwavelength observations of the latest two GRB detected by Hete-2 in 2005. For GRB 051022, no optical/nIR afterglow has been detected, in spite of the strong gamma-ray emission and the reported X-ray afterglow discovered by Swift. A mm afterglow was discovered at PdB confirming the association of this event with a luminous (MV = - 21

We propose to take 5-37 micron IRS spectra of heavily obscured transition objects evolving from the Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) to the Planetary Nebula (PN) stage. The sample contains a complete flux-limited sample selected by IRAS colors. Their strong obscuration makes them optically invisible and some of them are not even detectable in the near

We propose to make an albedo and radius survey of 100 cometary nuclei using IRS PU and MIPS imaging. We focus on Jupiter family comets (JFCs), which have dynamical and evolutionary connections to other Solar System groups: transneptunian objects (TNOs), Centaurs, Trojan asteroids, and extinct comet candidates. However, among these groups, the

Aims.A new theoretical calibration of surface-brightness fluctuations (SBF) for single age, single metallicity stellar populations is presented for the optical and near-IR broad-band filters, as well as for the HST WFPC2 and ACS filters. Methods: .The IAC-star code is used. Two Padua and the Teramo stellar evolution libraries have been considered