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Invited overview Talk: The quest for other Earths
Session Planets and Extrasolar Planets
by Nuno Santos
Nuno C. Santos is a Full Professor at the Departamento de Física e Astronomia of the Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade do Porto and researcher at the Instituto de Astrofísica e Ciências do Espaço, working on exoplanet research. His work focuses on the detection and characterization of exoplanets and the study of the star-planet connection. In this context he is leading the project of the PoET telescope, as well as the national participation in several ESO and ESA projects in the field (e.g. PLATO and ANDES@ELT).
Abstract:
Following the detection of the first planet orbiting a solar-type star back in 1995, exoplanet research has become one of the key science drivers for new instruments and missions by the main international agencies (ESO, ESA, NASA). One of the main drivers of the field is the detection of other "Earths" and the detection of life-signatures in an alien world. In this talk I will briefly present the efforts done in the Instituto de Astrofísica e Ciências do Espaço to develop this field. In the process I will present some high impact results led by the team, and show our future plans.
Invited overview Talk: Understanding Stars
Session Stars
by Margarida Cunha
Margarida S. Cunha is a Principal Researcher at the Instituto de Astrofísica e Ciências do Espaço, working on stellar astrophysics. Her work focuses on stellar structure and evolution using asteroseismology, and she leads key science work packages in the context of international consortia associated to ESA and NASA missions.
Abstract:
The past decade has brought a revolution in our understanding of stars, ranging from the processes that govern their formation, to the physics operating in their interiors, and their evolution toward the final stages of their lives. This progress has been driven by a new generation of space missions delivering ultra-precise photometry and astrometry, alongside cutting-edge ground-based facilities. In this talk, I will present some of the major recent advances in stellar physics, highlight key contributions led by Portuguese researchers, and discuss the major breakthroughs anticipated from forthcoming observational facilities.
Invited focus Talk: Gaia
Session Stars
by André Moitinho
André Moitinho is a professor at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon and a researcher at the Laboratory of Instrumentation and Experimental Particle Physics (LIP), working on stellar populations and Galactic evolution. He leads the Portuguese participation in the ESA Gaia mission, where he is responsible for the development of the Gaia Archive Visualisation Service and contributes to data validation.
Abstract:
The Gaia mission has mapped over two billion stars with unprecedented accuracy, producing results that are transforming astrophysics. This talk will provide an overview of mission's scientific goals, operations, and discoveries, as well as the major challenges of processing and calibrating its vast data volumes. Although data acquisition ended in January 2025 and the spacecraft was decommissioned in March, Gaia's most complete and accurate results are still to come. The final data releases, currently in preparation and planned for 2026 and 2030, are expected to fulfil the mission's full scientific promise and define its lasting legacy. The presentation will also highlight the nearly 20-year journey of Portuguese involvement, which began in 2006, and the ongoing work, extending through 2030, needed to deliver Gaia's full potential to the community.
Invited overview Talk: Origin and search for life in the solar system
Session Astrobiology
by Zita Martins
Zita Martins is an Astrobiologist, Associate Professor and Vice-President for International Affairs at Instituto Superior Técnico (IST). Her research interests include the detection of chemical signatures of extra-terrestrial life on space missions, and the potential chemical contribution of meteorites and comets to the origin of life. Zita Martins is co-investigator of two projects (OREOcube and EXOcube) of the European Space Agency (ESA) that will be installed on the International Space Station (ISS), she is a Community Scientist on the ARIEL mission (ESA), a member of the Insoluble organic matter team of the Hayabusa2 mission (JAXA), and a member of the Comet Interceptor mission (ESA). She chairs the Expert Team "Moons of the Giant Planets" from ESA, and is a member of the Solar System Exploration Working Group (SSEWG) from ESA.
Abstract:
Astrobiology is an interdisciplinary research area that investigates the origin and evolution of life in the Universe. The origin of life would have required water and organic molecules to make up the basic unit of life, i.e., the cell. These could have been provided by comets, and meteorites to the Earth between 4.56 to 3.8 billion years ago, or formed at hydrothermal vents. While the Earth is currently the only location we know that has life forms, life may have also arisen elsewhere in the solar system, including Mars and the icy moons of Jupiter and Saturn (e.g., Europe and Enceladus). In this presentation I will give an overview of the Astrobiology research area, and also show the findings of the Expert Committee of ESA for the Large-class (L4) space mission covering the science theme “Moons of the Giant Planets”, and how it will address topics such as habitability, prebiotic chemistry, and biosignatures.
Invited overview Talk: Galaxies
Session Galaxies
by Jarle Brinchmann (TBC)
Invited overview Talk: AGN: A Tale of Accretion and Cosmic Feedback
Session Active Galaxies & High-z Universe
by Israel Matute
Israel Mature is a researcher at the Departamento de Física of the Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa and at the Instituto de Astrofísica e Ciências do Espaço. He works on Active Galactic Nuclei, focusing on their detection, characterization and demographics at X-ray and radio wavelengths. He is involved in several key collaborations in the field (e.g. SPARCS and EMU) and serves as the Portuguese project scientist for the national participation in the WFI instrument for ESA's NewAthena mission and its Instrument Science Centre (WISC).
Abstract:
The co-evolution of supermassive black holes (SMBHs) and their host galaxies, critically shaped by Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) phases and feedback, is a central theme in astrophysics. This talk will provide an overview of our current understanding of SMBH birth and growth, traced by AGN, up to the highest redshifts, including the most recent discoveries and questions raised by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). It will then focus on the contributions and future scientific aspirations of our team at the Instituto de Astrofísica e Ciências do Espaço (IA). We will finally discuss Portuguese key involvement in the development and exploitation of upcoming major facilities poised to dramatically advance our understanding of the role that SMBHs play in the context of galaxy formation up to the highest redshifts: ESO's MOONS (VLT) and MOSAIC (ELT) for comprehensive AGN demographics; ESA's NewAthena X-ray observatory for probing accretion physics and obscured growth; and the SKA precursors (and SKA itself) for investigating jet feedback and gas reservoirs.
Invited focus Talk: Status on GRAVITY(+) results on active galaxies
Session Active Galaxies & High-z Universe
by Paulo García
Paulo Garcia is an Associate Professor at Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto, working on the interface of instrumentation and astrophysics. His current work focuses on very high angular resolution and the galactic centre, and he is involved in the GRAVITY+ and LISA collaborations.
Abstract:
GRAVITY is a powerful instrument that enables phase-referenced optical/infrared interferometry for the very large telescope interferometer. In this talk, we will review recent results obtained by the instrument on active galaxies. GRAVITY achieved the first spatial resolution of an AGN BLR, detecting rotation in the nearby quasar 3C 273. This allowed a dynamical measurement of the central supermassive black hole mass (2.6 ± 1.1) × 10^8 M☉, confirming fundamental reverberation mapping assumptions. These results were extended to higher redshifts with a luminous quasar at z=2.33 (J0920), whose BLR rotation was detected, yielding a dynamical BH mass of 3.2 × 10^8 M☉. GRAVITY measurements of the AGN hot dust continuum have shown a tight dust radius-luminosity relation. Interferometric dust sizes are approximately twice those derived from reverberation mapping, likely due to dust structure geometry. Dust continuum sizes can be used to estimate BLR radii and BH masses with accuracy comparable to traditional methods. Finally, I’ll highlight how GRAVITY+ will enable similar studies for a much larger sample of AGNs.
Invited overview Talk
Session Cosmology
by Andrew Liddle
Invited focus Talk: Euclid
Session Cosmology
by Ismael Tereno
Ismael Tereno is a Principal Researcher at the Instituto de Astrofísica e Ciências do Espaço and an Invited Professor at the Departamento de Física of the Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, working on observational cosmology. His work focus on cosmological structure formation using weak gravitational lensing, and he is the Euclid Consortium survey scientist and ESA-appointed scientist in NASA’s Roman mission.
Abstract:
The ESA Euclid mission, in operation since 2023, is designed to probe the dark universe via weak gravitational lensing and galaxy clustering. In addition, the combination of wide field-of-view and high-resolution optical imaging enables a wide range of science as evidenced by the analyses of 30 million objects in the 0.45% of the final survey area recently released on March 2025. In this talk, I will give an overview of the mission, its science goals and achievements, and operational challenges. I will also highlight Portuguese contributions, including the leadership of the Instituto de Astrofísica e Ciências do Espaço in Euclid’s mission planning.
Invited overview Talk: Instrumentation to Space
Session Instrumentation
by Alexandre Cabral
Alexandre Cabral is a Principal Investigator at the Departamento de Física of the Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa. He is a researcher at the Institute of Astrophysics and Space Sciences, where he is the head of the Astronomical Instrumentation and Systems group. His activity has been focused in the field of optics, particularly in the development of instrumentation for astronomy and metrology for space instrumentation, and he is responsible for the instrumental component of several projects for the European Southern Observatory.
Abstract:
Light is a fundamental tool in understanding our universe. With the most modern telescopes and instruments capable of analysing the light that reaches us from other Astronomical objects, it has been possible in recent years to make considerable progress not only in astrophysics but also in the technology that supports its instruments. In this talk, we will explore the involvement of the Institute of Astrophysics and Space Sciences in ESA and ESO projects, presenting some examples where the demands of astronomy are driving the development of state-of-the-art space instrumentation.
Invited focus Talk: Portuguese Space Instrumentation for High-energy Astrophysics
Session Instrumentation
by Rui Curado Silva
Rui Curado da Silva is a Principal Researcher at Laboratório de Instrumentação e Física Experimental de Partículas, coordinating i-Astro group (space instrumentation for Astrophysics group). His work focus in the development of space spetro-imager polarimeters for high-energy astrophysics. He is coordinating GLOSS and THOR ESA PRODEX projects and is involved in NASA AMEGO and New ASTROGAM (ESA M8 call) mission proposals
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