We study for the first time the environment of massive black hole (BH) seeds (˜104-5 M⊙) formed via the direct collapse of pristine gas clouds in massive haloes (≥107 M⊙) at z > 6. Our model is based on the evolution of dark matter haloes within a cosmological N-body simulation, combined with prescriptions for the formation of BH along with both

Context. The VISTA Variable Survey (VVV) is able to map the Galaxy at l ≤ 0° with an unpaired depth (at least 3 mag deeper than 2MASS), opening new possibilities for studying the inner structure of the Milky Way. Aims: In this paper we concentrate on the exploitation of these data to better understand the spatial disposition and distribution of the

We present deep Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph-South optical broad-band images for a complete sample of 20 Sloan Digital Sky Survey selected type II quasars taken from Zakamska et al., with redshifts in the range 0.3 z 0.41 and [O III]λ5007 emission-line luminosities L[O iii ]>108.5 L . The images were taken with the aim of investigating the

Context. We study the time history of the yellow hypergiant HR 8752 based on high-resolution spectra (1973-2005), the observed MK spectral classification data, B - V- and V-observations (1918-1996) and yet earlier V-observations (1840-1918). Aims: Our local thermal equilibrium analysis of the spectra yields accurate values of the effective

In order to understand the heating of the solar corona it is crucial to obtain empirical information on the magnetic field in its lower boundary (the transition region). To this end, we need to measure and model the linear polarization produced by scattering processes in strong UV lines, such as the hydrogen Lyα line. The interpretation of the