SAVE THE DATE! Details TBA

For additional questions, please visit the FIG SAG website.

This scientific workshop will explore current understanding of AGN populations, with a particular focus on current and future observational surveys. The primary scientific questions to be addressed are:

1. How can we establish a complete census of black hole growth across cosmic time (including the highest redshift AGN) and what does this tell us about how and when supermassive black holes form and grow?
2. What can multi-wavelength surveys tell us about different physical components of AGN and what implications does this have for a standard/unified model or evolutionary model of AGN? For example: obscured vs. unobscured AGN; red vs. blue quasars; 'radio quiet' vs. 'radio loud' AGN. This could include understanding the information we need from the different physical components of an AGN (e.g., obscuring torus, narrow line region, broad line region, jets, etc.).
3. What are the properties of the host galaxies of different AGN populations and what does this tell us about how galaxies and AGN influence each other?
4. What are the different data, observational techniques, and analysis methods we need to accelerate progress in answering these questions over the coming decade? This could include: exploiting SKA and its pathfinders; utilising current and forthcoming large-scale photometric/spectroscopic surveys; placing new constraints on magnetic fields; and applications of machine learning.

A parallel objective to the scientific content, is to build research connections between the European and African continents. Towards this, there will be substantial financial support to enable participation from astronomers based in Africa, who might otherwise be unable to attend the workshop. In conjunction with the scientific programme, we will hold dedicated activities before, during, and after the workshop to develop collaboration between the different scientific communities, and provide early career researchers with peer networking opportunities.

We anticipate a strong showcase of work that is of strong interest to both the European and African communities. For example, results from SKA pathfinder telescopes such as LOFAR, e-MERLIN, JVLA, and MeerKAT, in addition to telescopes such SALT in South Africa and H.E.S.S. in Namibia. Whilst the focus is on European-African collaboration, scientists from everywhere are welcome to participate.

The workshop will be limited to around 80 participants. Selection will be based on the quality of abstract submissions for talks or posters, and their alignment to the focus of the meeting. Consideration will also be made to a strong representation from African astronomers, to ensure a balanced view of AGN science across the continents.

Costs and Financial Support

The anticipated conference fee is around £350 (details to be confirmed later).

We have a substantial (but finite) budget to support scientists coming from Africa. This could cover, up to and including all travel and accommodation costs, plus a fee waiver. Preference for financial support will be given to those most in need, and to early career researchers. Applicants should indicate in their form, the level of financial support they would require to attend the workshop (e.g., travel, accommodation, fee waiver, complete costs, etc.).

SOC/LOC

Scientific Organising Committee:

Chris Harrison (UK) - Co-Chair; Leah Morabito (UK) - Co-Chair; Mirjana Pović (Ethiopia); James Chibueze (South Africa); Cristina Ramos Almeida (Spain); Zara Randriamanakoto (South Africa); Eli Kasai (Namibia); James Aird (UK); Brooke Simmons (UK)

Local Organising Committee:

Nicole Thomas (Durham); Ann Njeri (Newcastle); Houda Haidar (Newcastle); Emmanuel Bempong-Manful (Manchester); Leah Morabito (Durham); Chris Harrison (Newcastle)

For additional questions, please see the conference website.

In this edition, we have the pleasure of commemorating the 50th anniversary of the workshop meetings, which began in Kiel, Germany, in 1974.

As in previous editions, any topic related to white dwarfs is welcome. In particular, some of the most relevant in recent years have been:

• WD Structure and Cooling Processes
• WD Populations, Galactic Components, Local Star-Formation History, Initial-to-Final Mass Function, Luminosity Function, Mass Distribution
• WDs in New Surveys
• WDs in Binaries: Cataclysmic Variables (CVs), Supernova Type Ia Progenitors, Supersoft X-ray Sources, Double Degenerate WD/Brown Dwarf Systems, etc.
• WD Dust Disks and Planetary Systems
• WDs in Open and Stellar Clusters
• WD Atmospheres, Chemical Composition, and Magnetic Fields
• WD Progenitors; Central Stars of Planetary Nebulae, Hot-subdwarfs
• Asteroseismology and Pulsating WDs
• Automated Classification and Statistical Techniques in WD Research

Santiago Torres and Alberto Rebassa-Mansergas on behalf of the LOC/SOC.

For additional questions, please see the conference website.

X-ray polarimetry can provide insights to various physical phenomena that are not otherwise possible. Observations of a few targets by INTEGRAL, PoGO+, and XL-Calibur at high energies and new results every month from IXPE have started to reshape the field of X-ray astronomy. Furthermore, there are the prospects for instruments in development such as REDSoX, eXTP, and COSI with sensitivity ranging from 0.2 keV to 5 MeV. The main topics of the event would be current and upcoming instrumentation, observational results from existing missions, scientific principles and theoretical considerations relating to X-ray polarization, and models of possible observations. Observations in other bandpasses are often relevant for modeling and are encouraged.

Scientific Organizing Committee:

Matthew Baring (Rice U., USA), Michal Dovciak (Astron. Inst. CAS, Czech Republic), Hua Feng (Tsinghua U., China), V Girish (ISRO, India), Alice Harding (NASA/GSFC, USA), Svetlana Jorstad (Boston U., USA), Phil Kaaret (NASA/MSFC, USA), Henric Krawczynski (Washington U., USA), Giorgio Matt (U. Roma Tre, Italy), Stephen O'Dell (NASA/MSFC, USA), Biswajit Paul (Raman Research Inst., India), Mark Pearce (KTH Royal Inst. of Tech., Sweden), Kasiviswanathan Sankarasubramanian (URSC, India), Paolo Soffitta (INAF/IAPS, Italy), Silvia Zane (U. College London, UK), Shuang-Nan Zhang (IHEP, China)

The list of accepted abstracts will be made public shortly after the Program Committee meeting of end April 2024.

For additional questions, please see the conference website.

With a host of exciting new observational results, especially JWST detections at high redshifts and discovery of the gravitational wave background from pulsar timing arrays, the time is now ripe for a conference to discuss the origin and evolution of supermassive black holes (SMBHs). This meeting aims to bring together researchers from a variety of fields and cover the following science themes:

• SMBH Formation Theories
• SMBH Accretion Processes & Growth Models
• SMBH
• Galaxy Relations
• SMBH
• Star Formation Connections
• SMBH Feedback
• Massive Star & Supermassive Star Formation
• First Star and Galaxy Formation
• Observations of SMBHs in the Early Universe
• Cosmic Reionization
• Gravitational Wave Observations of SMBH Binaries
• SMBH and AGN Demographics, including Multiplicity
• Lessons from the Galactic Center

Sunday 14th July 2024, Welcome reception
Monday 15th - Friday 19th July 2024, 4 days of science sessions + 1 day excursion

SOC: Pierluigi Monaco (co-chair); Jonathan Tan (co-chair); Richard Ellis; Xiaohui Fan; Raffaella Schneider et al.

LOC: Vieri Cammelli; Pierluigi Monaco; Jasbir Singh; Jonathan Tan et al.

We expect the conference may be over-subscribed, so attendance at the conference is only for those with abstracts accepted by the SOC.

For additional questions, please see the conference website.

X-ray polarimetry can provide insights to various physical phenomena that are not otherwise possible. Observations of a few targets by INTEGRAL, PoGO+, and XL-Calibur at high energies and new results every month from IXPE have started to reshape the field of X-ray astronomy. Furthermore, there are the prospects for instruments in development such as REDSoX, eXTP, and COSI with sensitivity ranging from 0.2 keV to 5 MeV. The main topics of the event would be current and upcoming instrumentation, observational results from existing missions, scientific principles and theoretical considerations relating to X-ray polarization, and models of possible observations. Observations in other bandpasses are often relevant for modeling and are encouraged.

Scientific Organizing Committee:

Matthew Baring (Rice U., USA), Michal Dovciak (Astron. Inst. CAS, Czech Republic), Hua Feng (Tsinghua U., China), V Girish (ISRO, India), Alice Harding (NASA/GSFC, USA), Svetlana Jorstad (Boston U., USA), Phil Kaaret (NASA/MSFC, USA), Henric Krawczynski (Washington U., USA), Giorgio Matt (U. Roma Tre, Italy), Stephen O'Dell (NASA/MSFC, USA), Biswajit Paul (Raman Research Inst., India), Mark Pearce (KTH Royal Inst. of Tech., Sweden), Kasiviswanathan Sankarasubramanian (URSC, India), Paolo Soffitta (INAF/IAPS, Italy), Silvia Zane (U. College London, UK), Shuang-Nan Zhang (IHEP, China)

The list of accepted abstracts will be made public shortly after the Program Committee meeting of end April 2024.

For additional questions, please see the conference website.

The Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) and Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) missions are pleased to announce a joint 2024 workshop. The workshop will be held at The George Washington University in Washington D.C from Monday, 29th of July, 2024 to Thursday, 1st of August, 2024. Registration is free for both in-person and remote attendees.

The first 3 days of the workshop will be held in hybrid format, and participants who cannot attend in person will be able to attend virtually. During this time there will be presentations on the missions status, latest calibration, and GO programs. There will also be invited and solicited science talks and poster presentations. The fourth day of the workshop is an in-person only hands-on session for data analysis, where NICER and IXPE experts will guide participants through the analysis of data from various source classes. Registration deadline for in-person attendance is July 1st, while for remote attendance is July 26th. We especially welcome users new to NICER/IXPE data analysis to attend the workshop.

The primary objective of the workshop is to introduce mission capabilites, discuss data analysis techniques and new science results that maximize use of the unique capabilities of both mission, as well as highlight synergies between them. The workshop will also update the community on opportunities to propose for time on both missions through the General Observer Program, and provide ample time for questions, discussion and networking. We anticipate that the program will provide a showcase for possible uses of NICER and IXPE for the community's scientific investigations.

Presentation topics will include, but are not limited to:

• Analysis, Calibration, Tools and Tutorials
• General Observer Program
• Magnetars and Rotation-powered Pulsars
• X-ray Binaries
• Supernova Remnants, Pulsar Wind Nebulae, and other extended galactic sources
• Blazars, Active Galaxies, and Quasars
• Tidal Disruption Events, Quasi-periodic Eruptions, and Changing-look AGN
• Multimessenger Astronomy
• Galaxy Clusters and Extragalactic Extended Sources

The first joint gravitational wave and electromagnetic detection of the binary neutron star GW170817 marked the dawn of the multi-messenger era with GWs. This watershed event opened a new window to study phenomena such as heavy element nucleosynthesis, black hole formation, the Universe's expansion rate, the equation of state of dense matter, and the intricate dynamics of relativistic jets. These profound inquiries have reignited interest in investigating similar physical processes at play in black hole-neutron star mergers and core-collapse supernovae. This endeavor necessitates the development of predictive models in anticipation of forthcoming observations in 2024 by LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA, Rubin Observatory, and future observation campaigns, that will transform the field of high-energy astrophysics transients. The primary goal of this workshop is to bring together physicists with diverse backgrounds in both theoretical and observational expertise within the domains of electromagnetic, gravitational wave, and particle emissions. Collectively, they will engage in collaborative efforts to identify and investigate pathways for tackling the pivotal scientific questions at the core of this rapidly evolving field.

For additional questions, please see the conference website.

As the long term reservoir of fuel for star formation, knowledge of the neutral hydrogen (HI) properties of galaxies is essential to fully understand the build-up of the stellar mass and evolution of galaxies. With next-generation radio telescopes opening new observational frontiers in the study of HI, we can, for the first time, follow the HI emission from galaxies across cosmic time. The unprecedented quality of the SKA Observatory precursor and pathfinder telescopes provides resolved HI detections of large samples of galaxies beyond the local Universe, giving a clearer view of the cycle of gas acquisition and loss, storage and consumption. The HI scaling relations defined at z=0 are now being extended over billions of years of lookback time, yielding new inputs, as well as benchmarks to be reproduced, for the cosmological simulations of galaxy formation and evolution. As we enter the SKA era, HI observations are joining the extragalactic census in a way that has not been possible until now. This proposed IAU symposium will bring together the observational and theoretical communities to build a more complete understanding of the life cycle of galaxies, which better incorporates the information from HI observations that has often been previously missing from our multi-wavelength view of galaxy evolution.

Key Topics:

• HI in the life-cycle of galaxies
• Connecting simulations of HI to observations
• An unbiased and resolved view of HI in the local Universe
• Evolution of HI galaxy scaling relations across cosmic time
• Constraining our cosmological model with HI observations
• Environmental processes as traced by HI
• The smallest galaxies as revealed by their neutral gas content

For additional questions, please see the conference website.

Warm and hot astrophysical plasmas are ubiquitous in the Universe, e.g. stellar coronae, hot gas in supernova remnants, ionized outflows running away from black holes, hot atmosphere of individual galaxies and galaxy assemblies, and warm-hot intergalactic medium in the cosmic web filaments. Characteristic emission and absorption spectral features in high-resolution X-ray spectroscopy provide powerful diagnostics to quantify the physical properties of the ionized plasmas, including temperature, density, abundance, kinematics, etc. These physical properties are essential to advance our knowledge of the formation and evolution of the Universe.

In the past few decades, high-resolution X-ray spectra have been sourced from the grating spectrometers aboard Chandra and XMM-Newton. In the next decade, we will enter a golden era for high-resolution X-ray spectroscopy, when most of the next-generation X-ray space observatories will have high-resolution spectrometers aboard, such as XRISM/Resolve, Athena/X-IFU, and proposed missions like HUBS, Arcus, LEM, etc. All these missions will provide a large number of high-resolution X-ray spectra.

The main goal of this I-HOW/COSPAR workshop is to facilitate the learning of high-resolution X-ray spectroscopy for early-career scientists in the Asia-Pacific countries. We will invite experts to teach:

• Current high-resolution X-ray spectrometers and archival databases;
• Data reduction and analysis skills on high-resolution X-ray spectra,
• Astrophysical plasma models and the underlying atomic data,
• The next generation of high-resolution X-ray spectrometers,
• Writing and evaluating observational proposals.

For any queries and information please contact us via email at: hr_xrayspectroscopy_2024 [AT] outlook [DOT] com or see the conference website.

Tidal Disruption Events and Nuclear Transients: Entering the Data-Rich Era will be held in Heraklion, Crete, Greece on 2-6 September 2024. The conference will be in person at the Aquila Atlantis hotel in the city of Heraklion.

The aim is to bring together theorists and observers broadly working in the field of Tidal Disruption Events and Nuclear Transients, as well as the adjacent fields of AGN/blazars, GRBs and X-ray binaries.

The main scientific themes of the conference are:

• Accretion disk theory
• Simulations/Modeling
• Jets and Outflows
• Multiwavelength/Multimessenger observations
• Connection to blazars/GRBs/XRBs/QPEs
• Host galaxies and environments
• Future experiments

We are pleased to announce the first of a series of conferences on Astrophysics and Space Science in Marche, entitled "AGN Feedback and Star Formation Across Cosmic Scales and Time" which will be held at the historical theater of Sirolo, Italy, on September 2-6, 2024.

Scientific rationale

The star-formation properties of galaxies and the central supermassive black holes that they host follow a tight co-evolution. Current structure formation models invoke Active Galactic Nucleus (AGN) feedback via quasar or radio modes at the high stellar mass ends, as well as feedback from supernovae at low stellar masses, to explain the observed number density of galaxies as a function of stellar mass and redshift. However, despite decades-long efforts both simulations and observations still struggle to reach a consensus on the physical mechanisms regulating star formation and feedback across all scales (from sub-parsec to mega-parsec) and across cosmic history (from the local universe to the first galaxies). The advancements of hydrodynamical and semi-analytical simulations in terms of improved physically motivated models, code efficiency, and hardware for HPC infrastructures now allow us to reach unprecedented numerical accuracy, but the sensitivity leap in recent and current observations is further challenging our understanding of galaxy formation in a cosmological context. The conference will gather major experts to review the recent advancements in the field in the context of multi-wavelength observations and their comparison with theoretical and numerical models.

Key Science topics that will be covered:

• Star formation across cosmic epochs
• Quenching of star formation in galaxies
• Physics of star formation and feedback from supernovae and AGN in simulations/li>
• High resolution imaging and spectroscopy of AGN feedback, inflow/outflows and star formation (e.g., ALMA, JWST, MUSE, XRISM, etc.)
• AGN feedback in clusters and dense environments
• Theoretical and observational aspects of the formation and evolution of super massive black holes

David Alexander (Durham University); Marcella Brusa (University of Bologna); Adam Carnall (Royal Observatory, Edinburgh); Françoise Combes (Observatoire de Paris); Tiziana Di Matteo (Carnegie Mellon University); Roberto Maiolino (University of Cambridge); Brian McNamara (University of Waterloo); Raffaella Morganti (Kapteyn Institute, Groningen); Valeria Olivares (University of Kentucky); Annagrazia Puglisi (University of Southampton); Debora Sijacki (University of Cambridge); Linda Tacconi (MPE); Sylvain Veilleux (University of Maryland); Katherine Whitaker (UMass); Feng Yuan (Fudan University)

Registration fees:

The registration fee of 250 euro will cover transportation from/to airport and/or Ancona train station, coffee breaks and the welcome drink on Monday. There will be a discounted fee for PhD students.

For additional questions, please see the conference website.

This symposium follows previous Fermi Symposia at Stanford, CA (February 2007), Washington, DC (November 2009), Rome, Italy (May 2011), Monterey, CA (November 2012), Nagoya, Japan (October 2014), Arlington, VA (November 2015), Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany (October 2017), Baltimore, MD (October 2018), virtual (April 2021), and Johannesburg, South Africa (October 2022).

The two Fermi instruments have been surveying the high-energy sky since August 2008. The Large Area Telescope (LAT) has discovered more than seven thousand new sources and many new source classes, bringing the importance of gamma-ray astrophysics to an ever-broadening community. The LAT catalog includes supernova remnants, pulsar wind nebulae, pulsars, binary systems, novae, several classes of active galaxies, starburst galaxies, normal galaxies, and a large number of unidentified sources. Continuous monitoring of the high-energy gamma-ray sky has uncovered numerous outbursts from a wide range of transients. Fermi LAT's study of diffuse gamma-ray emission in our galaxy revealed giant bubbles shining in gamma rays. The direct measurement of a harder-than-expected cosmic-ray electron spectrum may imply the presence of nearby cosmic-ray accelerators. LAT data have provided stringent constraints on new phenomena such as supersymmetric dark-matter annihilations as well as tests of fundamental physics. The Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM) continues to be a prolific detector of gamma-ray transients: magnetars, solar flares, terrestrial gamma-ray flashes and gamma-ray bursts at keV to MeV energies, and complementing gravitational wave observations by LIGO/Virgo/KAGRA and the higher energy LAT observations of those sources.

All gamma-ray data are made immediately available at the Fermi Science Support Center. These publicly available data and Fermi analysis tools have enabled a large number of important studies. We especially encourage guest investigators worldwide to participate in this symposium to share results and to learn about upcoming opportunities.

This meeting will focus on the new scientific investigations and results enabled by Fermi, the mission and instrument characteristics, future opportunities, and coordinated observations and analyses.

Invited Speakers:

Niccolo Bucciantini; Songzhan Chen; Milena Crnogorcevic; Adi Foord; Daniele Gaggero; Michelle Hui; Sasha Kashlinsky; Ioannis Liodakis; Alexander Philippov; Benjamin R. Safdi; Tinn Thongmeearkom; Kartick Sarkar

Organizing Committees

Scientific Organizing Committee:

Liz Hays (co-chair); Judy Racusin (co-chair); Peter Shawhan (co-chair); Justin Finke (co-chair); Miguel Araya; Zhen Cao; Benoît Cerutti; Paolo Coppi; Alessandra Corsi; Fiorenza Donato; Ke Fang; Deirdre Horan; Brian Humensky; Yoshiyuki Inoue; Paul Lasky; Alicia López-Oramas; Peter Michelson; Lara Nava; Michela Negro; Naoko Neilson; Melissa Pesce-Rollins; Maria Petropoulou; Felix Ryde; Miguel Sanchez Conde; David Smith; Andreas von Kienlin; Colleen Wilson-Hodge;

Local Organizing Committee:

Lynn Cominsky; Abhishek Desai; Chris Karwin; Aaliyah Kerr; Judy Racusin; Giovanna Senatore; Vidushi Sharma; George Younes; Haocheng Zhang;

For additional questions, please see the conference website.

Most stars in our Universe live in Binary and multiple systems. Understanding these objects is critical for practically all fields of astrophysics. The presence of a companion significantly alters the evolution of a star and results in a plethora of unusual objects including type Ia supernovae, symbiotic stars, classical novae, or post-common-envelope systems. Observations of the binary stars enable us to directly determine masses, radii, and luminosities of stars. These are necessary inputs for all models of stellar structure and evolution. The presence of binary and multiple systems affects all galactic environments including stellar associations, open and globular clusters.

The field of binary systems significantly benefits from numerous all-sky surveys and satellite missions which are primarily focused on exoplanets or pulsating stars. The unprecedented precision of the satellite data revolutionized research of binary stars. Numerous fine effects are being routinely observed and must be taken into account in the modeling. The continuous satellite photometry led to the detection of long-period eclipsing binaries and multiply-eclipsing multiple systems. The study of binaries also benefits from a simultaneous analysis of different types of observations including radial velocities, line profiles, multi-color photometry, astrometry, or polarimetry. In spite of substantial progress in the field there are still many open questions. Those include the formation of close binaries and multiple systems, the common-envelope evolution, the magnetic dynamo, and activity in binary stars or stellar mergers.

The scientific meeting will be organized in the city of Litomyšl, Czech Republic, on the week of September 9 - 13, 2024. The city will be honouring Zdenek Kopal, one of the foremost investigators of binary stars who was born in this city in 1914. A similar, smaller-scale conferences in the same city took place in 2004 and 2014.

For additional questions, please see the conference website.

In little more than half a century, X-ray astronomy has established itself as a fundamental domain of observational astrophysics. X-rays probe the hot and energetic components of the Universe, encompassing, among others, the million-degree coronae of stars, the remnants of supernovae, the ultra-dense matter in neutron stars, the immediate surroundings of black holes, the plasma filling galaxy clusters — the most massive objects in the Universe.

The new X-ray telescope eROSITA launched successfully on July 13, 2019, on board the Russian/German X-ray mission Spektr-RG (SRG). After commissioning and a successful performance verification program, eROSITA has started mapping the entire sky at unprecedented depths. Before being placed into safe mode on February 26, 2022, eROSITA completed 4.4 all-sky surveys. As in any other astrophysics domain, the eROSITA all-sky surveys unlock large swathes of discovery space, provide large statistical samples to study various classes of objects, and explore sufficiently large volumes to serve as cosmological tools for the study of the Universe as a whole. Serendipitous scientific highlights include an X-ray flash from a nova, quasi-periodic eruptions, tidal disruption events, and the eROSITA bubbles. The high sensitivity, large field of view, and high survey efficiency of eROSITA are revolutionizing X-ray astronomy: The first all-sky survey includes in the Western Galactic Hemisphere, among others, more than 12.000 clusters of galaxies, 700.000 Active Galactic Nuclei, and 180.000 stars or compact stellar objects. This exceeds the total number of previously discovered celestial X-ray objects since the dawn of X-ray astronomy.

This conference follows the public data release of the first all-sky survey, including source catalogs of point-like and extended sources, images, spectra, light curves, and X-ray photon events. We invite presentations of the first scientific results driven by the international community. We plan to cover the following topics:

Galaxy Clusters and Cosmology:

• Physical properties of distant and nearby galaxy clusters, scaling relations
• Clusters as tracers of the large-scale structure of the Universe
• Tests of cosmological models with cluster statistics
• Theory and simulations of structure formation

• Evolution and properties of the AGN population
• AGN as tracers of large-scale structure
• Extreme sub-populations (high redshift, high luminosity)

Galactic compact objects, stars, and planets

• Heliosphere
• Active stars: physics and population studies
• Cataclysmic variables and X-ray binaries
• Isolated neutron stars
• ULX and X-ray sources in nearby galaxies

The Transient X-ray sky

• Tidal Disruption Events
• Quasi-periodic eruptions
• Gamma-ray bursts and afterglows
• Galactic X-ray transients
• Gravitational Waves and other multi-messenger counterparts

Diffuse X-ray emission

• Hot plasmas in the Milky Way, LMC, and SMC
• Circum-Galactic Medium
• Supernova Remnants
• Cosmic X-ray background and its fluctuations
• High-energy physical processes in the solar neighborhood

Synergies with multi-wavelength surveys and multi-messenger probes

We hope that the attendees will enjoy the famous Oktoberfest of Munich, which is right after the conference.

For additional questions, please see the conference website.

Decades after the pioneering launch of the first X-ray polarimeter onboard OSO-8, the field of X-ray polarimetry is experiencing a major resurgence, catalyzed by the launch of the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) -- the first dedicated astrophysics mission for X-ray polarimetry. During the initial 2-year prime mission phase IXPE has increased the number of X-ray polarization detections from one to a few dozen, with significant consequences for our understanding of high-energy astrophysical objects. The opening of the first General Observer period in early 2024 promises to expand on these discoveries to new source classes and science questions.

This conference will be an opportunity to explore the wide range of science enabled by X-ray polarimetry provided by IXPE and other missions such as XPoSAT and PolarLight. It will include sessions focused on active galactic nuclei, blazars, accreting neutron stars and stellar black holes, supernova remnants, magnetars, and pulsar wind nebulae, as well as future mission concepts. This conference aims to foster inclusivity and collaboration within the scientific community by providing sessions on X-ray polarimetry data analysis, and we invite researchers of all backgrounds to engage in the frontier of high energy polarimetry. As a highlight, the workshop will coincide with a celebration of the awarding of the Rossi Prize to Martin Weisskopf, Paolo Soffitta, and the IXPE team, to be held at the nearby U.S. Space and Rocket Center.

For additional questions, please see the conference website.

Astrophysical observations of the cosmos allow us to probe extreme physics and answer foundational questions on our universe. Modern astronomy is increasingly operating under a holistic approach, probing the same question with multiple diagnostics including how sources vary over time, how they appear across the electromagnetic spectrum, and through their other signatures, including gravitational waves, neutrinos, cosmic rays, and dust on Earth. Astrophysical observations are now reaching the point where approximate physics models are insufficient. Key sources of interest are explosive transients, whose understanding requires multidisciplinary studies at the intersection of Astrophysics, Gravitational Physics, Nuclear Science, Plasma Physics, Fluid Dynamics, Computational Physics, Particle Physics, and Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Science, and their corresponding interdisciplinary fields. Many of these fields are seeking to broaden the impacts of their results, or to move towards more complete understanding of a question by studying it over multiple scales, including extremes only reached in astrophysical environments. Incorporating fundamental physics into higher fidelity astrophysical observables requires both high-performance computing studies and enhanced data analysis methodologies. Multidisciplinary studies must occur across the separate physics disciplines, but also across bifurcation in professional societies, general meetings, funding agencies, advisory committees, and Decadal reviews (and other long range planning documents). Even within astrophysics itself, greater integration of theory and data analysis is required for progress.

To foster multidisciplinary research in the area of explosive transients, Louisiana State University, the DOE's Los Alamos National Lab and Center for Nuclear Astrophysics Across Messengers, NASA's Physics of the Cosmos Program, and possibly an additional 3 letter agency, invites the international community to participate in a workshop in Baton Rouge, LA during September 23-26, 2024. The workshop goals are to identify opportunities in multidisciplinary studies, both in using information from other fields to interpret astrophysical observations, but also to use astrophysical observations to probe outstanding questions in other fields. We invite the community to review the current state of resources in the relevant fields, reporting on existing collaborations and partnerships which cross disciplines, and identify barriers to multidisciplinary research. This workshop aims to understand how the scientific return of facilities can be maximized through alignment of existing initiatives, facilities, and mechanisms and, if necessary, suggest the creation of new ones. Lastly, we ask the participants to conceive of methods to sustain growth in this area.

Guiding Questions

• Beginning with the questions outlined in the first time-domain and multimessenger white paper, what are the most important multidisciplinary questions of interest for time-domain and multimessenger astrophysics?
• What are the key measurements? How can we leverage current and forthcoming facilities? Do we need new ones? For astrophysical observations, are additional coordination recommendations needed beyond those in the second time-domain and multimessenger white paper?
• What advances are relevant for other fields of physics and national strategic priorities?
• How can multidisciplinary research be fostered?

For additional questions, please see the conference website.

The DIAS-CDY workshop on "Gamma-ray Loud Binaries" scheduled from 7-10 October, 2024, will focus on the recent advances made in the rapidly expanding class of binary systems that reveal themselves as extreme gamma-ray emitters. The scientific topics will cover the latest gamma-ray observations, from GeV to PeV energies of gamma-ray loud binaries, binary pulsars, microquasars, Novae and colliding wind binaries. The 4-day programme of invited and contributed talks will discuss the multi-wavelength characteristics of these sources, and their theoretical and phenomenological interpretation. As part of the meeting, the programme will include an afternoon celebrating the contributions of Prof. Felix Aharonian to high-energy astrophysics and to DIAS since his appointment in 2006.

For additional questions, please see the workshop website.

The start of the 21st century was marked with the advent of all-sky surveys at all wavelengths, from radio to X-ray and Gamma-ray. Together with recent breakthroughs in large-volume ice neutrino detectors, and the successful detection of astrophysical gravitational waves, these pivotal advancements are giving rise to multi-messenger astrophysics setting the stage for new theoretical challenges. The goal of the conference is to review and discuss recent achievements in high energy astrophysics and cosmology in the context of these developments. The meeting will focus on astrophysics of compact objects on all mass scales, formation and growth of supermassive black holes, non-stationary and transient phenomena in the vicinity of compact objects and selected themes of physical cosmology. The physics of jets in blazars and gamma-ray bursts will be also addressed, exploring the mechanisms and consequences of these extreme events.

The topics covered at the meeting will include:

• Sky surveys from radio to X/gamma-ray bands
• Physics of AGN, QSO, blazars - clues from sky surveys
• TDEs and other extragalactic X-ray transients
• Gamma-ray bursts
• Spectral formation near compact objects - clues from X-ray spectroscopy and polarimetry
• Gravitational wave astronomy
• Neutrino astronomy
• Cosmic rays and ultra-high energy gamma-rays
• Sky surveys in cosmological context
• Future prospects/missions

For participants from Belarus, Iran, and Russia if you are unable to pay the registration fee or book your hotel with a credit card or bank transfer prior to the meeting, please inform us by writing to heacoss2024[AT]gmail[DOT]com. Such participants will have the option to pay the registration fee in cash at the registration desk upon arrival. Payments should be made in Armenian drams, according to the official exchange rate on the day of payment. If you require a hotel reservation, please inform us accordingly. However, please be advised that hotel room payments must be made upon arrival.

The registration fee collected from participants is utilized to cover the costs of the conference. As we do not have external funding for this meeting, it is crucial that registration fees are paid in full, preferably via bank transfer. We appreciate your understanding and cooperation.

For additional questions, please see the conference website.

The Joint Space-Science Institute (JSI), a partnership between the University of Maryland and NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, will hold the 2024 JSI Workshop on The Formation and Early Evolution of Supermassive Black Holes, November 20-22nd, 2024. The workshop will be held at the Royal Sonesta Hotel, located in the Baltimore Inner Harbor, Baltimore, MD. This conference will bring together specialists from the astrophysics and physics community to discuss the latest observational results and theoretical models for the origin and early growth of supermassive black holes. Topics to be discussed include:

• Theoretical models of supermassive black hole seeding
• Observations of the high-z universe
• Accretion-driven supermassive black hole growth and multi-wavelength signature : theory and observations.
• Merger-driven SMBH growth and Multi-messenger astrophysics
• Future Prospects

This year we celebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary of the launch of the Chandra X-ray Observatory and the two and a half decades of science that have ensued. Chandra has been revolutionary for astronomy with its unprecedented and unparalleled sub-arcsecond angular resolution, its superb sensitivity to faint sources, and its high-resolution spectroscopy. This symposium will highlight and celebrate the discoveries made by Chandra, the unique capabilities of the mission, and the potential discoveries still remaining. Sessions topics will include:

• X-ray diagnostics of cosmic evolution
• The X-ray view of stellar evolution
• Exploring the cosmos with sky surveys, with a focus on the Chandra Source Catalog
• The sub-arcsecond revolution in X-ray astronomy
• Chandra synergies with current and future multi-wavelength missions

When the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory was launched on November 20, 2004, its prime objective was to chase Gamma-Ray Bursts. Since then, the mission has far exceeded its original scientific goals. Swift discovered the first afterglows and host galaxies of short-hard GRBs, and a growing sample of events from the local Universe to the epoch of reionization, providing arcsecond positions, light curves, and spectra for more than 1,500 events.

Over time, Swift has become an unequalled Target of Opportunity machine for the astronomical community, thanks to a unique combination of sensitive instrumentation and operational flexibility that provides unprecedented observational capabilities: rapid response coupled with multi-wavelength monitoring of any class of transient/variable object.

After almost 20 years of operations, we think it a fitting occasion to revisit Swift's achievements and to put our mission in the context of the rapidly evolving fields of time-domain and multi-messenger astrophysics. Therefore, we are organizing the meeting "Celebrating 20 years of Swift Discoveries", to be held on March 24-28, 2025, in Florence, Italy, at the Firenze Fiera conference center.

Please mark your calendar to save the date!

More detailed information on the symposium will be available soon on a dedicated web page that will be announced.