The main goal of this thesis is the study of the generation and transfer of polarized radiation in several spectral lines whose diagnostic potential has not been thoroughly investigated before. We aim at developing and applying reliable plasma diagnostic techniques, based on numerical radiative transfer calculations using realistic atomic and

NASA OSIRIS-REx and JAXA Hayabusa 2 sample-return missions have targeted two near-Earth asteroids: (101955) Bennu and (162173) 1999 JU3, respectively. These are primitive asteroids that are believed to originate in the inner belt, where five distinct sources have been identified: four primitive collisional families (Polana, Erigone, Sulamitis, and

Knowledge of the precise rigidity dependence of the helium flux is important in understanding the origin, acceleration, and propagation of cosmic rays. A precise measurement of the helium flux in primary cosmic rays with rigidity (momentum/charge) from 1.9 GV to 3 TV based on 50 million events is presented and compared to the proton flux. The

We performed a detailed analysis of the use of [C/N] measured in red giant branch stars between the completion of the first dredge up and the red giant branch bump ([C/N] FDU) as age indicator. [C/N] FDU cannot give accurate ages for individual stars, but may provide a general chronology for the formation of composite populations and add

We present estimates of the basic physical properties including size and albedo of the extreme Centaur 2013 AZ60. These properties have been derived from optical and thermal infrared measurements. Our optical measurements revealed a probable full period of ≈9.4 h with a shallow amplitude of 4.5%. By combining optical brightness information and