Hot-wiring the Transient Universe VI will explore opportunities and challenges of massively parallel time domain surveys coupled with rapid coordinated multi-wavelength follow-up observations.

The interdisciplinary agenda includes:

1. Future and ongoing science investigations;
2. Information infrastructure for publishing observations in real time;
3. Novel data science to classify events and systems to optimize follow-up campaigns;
4. Hands on activities to train on alerts from current surveys and broker systems.

Recent rapid progress by instruments in space and on the ground has been toward a continuous record of the electromagnetic sky with ever increasing coverage, sensitivity, and temporal resolution. With the advent of gravitational wave and neutrino observatories we are witnessing the birth of multi-messenger astronomy.

See conference website for additional information.

This fifth edition of the VGGRS workshop (previous ones include: Heidelberg 2010, Barcelona 2013, Heidelberg 2015, Tokyo 2017) will be focused on the study of gamma-ray binaries as well as on the potential of CTA in advancing our understanding of these systems. We intend to gather people actively working in these fields and discuss the present and future challenges that new observations, numerical simulations, and theoretical modelling are posing. The workshop will last for three days, from September 4th to September 6th 2019, with extended discussion sessions at the end of each day.

The format will be similar to the previous meetings: modest size, quite informal, and very much discussion oriented. As in past editions, there will be no proceedings. The talks will be of 20 minutes including questions.

See conference website for additional information.

We decided to organize this conference to commemorate 60 years since the first release of the Third Cambridge Catalogue (3C).

The main scientific aims of the meeting are to discuss major advances in studies of interactions between radio sources and their large-scale environments (i.e., feedback processes) in the context of past and anticipated future radio surveys, with special attention devoted to the legacy of the 3C radio sources. Both observational and theoretical points of view will be covered.

We are pleased to offer participants the opportunity to propose special topical sessions that will be more interactive -- see TOPICAL SESSIONS below.

• The Third Cambridge catalogue - historical and future perspectives
• Panchromatic view of past and future radio surveys
• Radio-loud AGN & their environments: non-thermal processes, feedback mechanisms - mergers, shocks, and cavities - ISM and ICM - role of BCGs
• Extragalactic jets at all scales: from the central black hole to the interaction with the large scale environments
• New frontiers of MHD simulations on all scales: jets and outflows, and interactions with their surrounding medium
• The most famous 3C sources: beyond 3C405 (Cygnus A), 3C274 (M87), 3C84 (Perseus A) and the others
• Quasars and Blazars: the heritage of 3C273, 3C279, and 3C454.3

This meeting - fourth in a decadal series of X-ray astronomy conferences held in Bologna - will focus on the contribution of current and past X-ray missions to our knowledge of the hot and energetic Universe, and highlight the results from the ESA and NASA flagships missions XMM-Newton and Chandra in the 20th anniversary of their operation. In the era of multi-messenger and transient astronomy, emphasis will be given to the synergy between observations of cosmic sources in X-rays and other wavelengths and also through gravitational waves. We plan to review the most significant results obtained in recent years and lay out the discovery space offered by future high-energy missions. For more information please visit the conference website, or email to xray2019[AT]inaf.it.

An International Conference "Active Galaxies and Quasars" will take place on Sep 9-10, 2019 in the Byurakan Astrophysical Observatory (BAO) dedicated to M. A. Arakelian's 90th anniversary. Prof. Arakelian (1929-1984) was one of the prominent Byurakan astronomers, the author of famous Arakelian galaxies, which at present are target for many-sided studies with ground-based and space telescopes. Arakelian is known as a distinguished specialist in the theoretical astrophysics and extragalactic astronomy.

Arakelian has compiled and published the Catalog of 621 high-surface-brightness galaxies, has proved the extragalactic origin of quasars, has determined the space density of extragalactic objects, has proposed several methods for study of properties of extragalactic objects, has made a comparative analysis of properties of different types of galaxies, and with his Russian colleagues spectroscopically has observed and studied some 800 faint galaxies and quasars. Arakelian galaxies have been observed in many observatories in the USA, UK, USSR, and elsewhere in optical wavelengths, radio and X-rays. Especially interesting objects are Akn 120 and Akn 564 (both are strongly variable AGN in X-ray and optical wavelengths; Akn 564 is a Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 galaxy that strongly changes the intensities of its emission lines).

BAO is one of the main observational centers of the former Soviet Union and is an important observatory with modern facilities in the region. It was founded in 1946 by one of the greatest astrophysicists of the 20th century V. A. Ambartsumian and is well known for its large spectroscopic surveys: First and Second Byurakan Surveys (FBS and SBS), undertaken by B. E. Markarian and his colleagues. BAO hosts a number of medium-size optical telescopes, the most important being the 2.6m classical telescope and 1m Schmidt telescope. BAO holds the Digitized First Byurakan Survey (DFBS, or the Digitized Markarian survey), containing low-dispersion spectra of ~20,000,000 objects, largest number in the world, which is the basis of the Armenian Virtual Observatory (ArVO), a member of the International Virtual Observatory Alliance (IVOA).

The registration fee is AMD 50,000 (equivalent to EUR 90), which includes Welcome Reception, all local transportation expenses, participants' kits, coffee breaks, and organizational expenses. We offer a number of travel grants for the participants from countries with limited travel funds. English is the working language of the conference.

For more information please visit the conference website.

Are you new to Chandra data and the Chandra Interactive Analysis of Observations (CIAO) software? Are you an experienced CIAO user and would like to discuss advanced data analysis topics with CIAO experts?

Members of the Chandra X-Ray Center will host a two-day Chandra/CIAO workshop immediately following the the X-ray Astronomy 2019: Current Challenges and New Frontiers in the Next Decade conference on the week-end of Sep 14-15, 2019 in Bologna, Italy

This is the first time such a workshop is offered in Europe but plenty of information about previous CIAO workshops (including previous presentations) can be found on the CIAO workshop webpages. If you have any questions about the content of the workshop please contact the CXC Helpdesk.

The workshop will feature talks on introductory and advanced X-ray data analysis, statistics, and topics in Chandra calibration. The workshop will also include hands-on sessions where participants can practice X-ray data analysis following a workbook of CIAO exercises or perform their own analysis with members of the CIAO team ready to assist. Participants are required to bring their own laptop.

Students must register for the Chandra/CIAO workshop separately from the conference and they do not have to attend the X-ray meeting to attend the Chandra/CIAO workshop. The registration deadline is 31 July 2019. Please register as soon as possible since there must be a minimum number of registrants by that date for the workshop to occur. There is no cost to attend the Chandra/CIAO workshop, but registration is required.

For more information please visit the workshop website, or contact the CIAO Helpdesk with questions.

* Note: The meeting is limited to 100 participants, on the "first come first served basis".

Compact white dwarf binaries are formed when the more massive component in a stellar binary expands towards the end of its stellar life and engulfs its companion. This brief and dynamically violent common envelope phase shrinks the orbital separation, and results in a radically different evolution compared to single star evolution. Compact white dwarf binaries become interactive and lead to a variety of astrophysical important outcomes, including supernovae type Ia and low-frequency gravitational wave sources.

The goal of this conference is to bring together experts working across all areas related to compact white dwarf binaries, and to address the following key questions:

1. What is the efficiency of common envelope evolution in extracting energy and angular momentum from binaries?
2. What mechanisms drive the long-term evolution of compact binaries?
3. Under what circumstances do white dwarfs grow in mass?
4. How does accretion disc dynamics vary over the relevant parameters space, disc size and accretion rate?
5. How does the presence of strong magnetic fields affect accretion physics?
6. What are the properties of the Galactic population of ultracompact binaries, and what evolutionary paths produce them?
7. The field of cataclysmic variables and related objects has seen transformational progress over the past decade, driven by new powerful instrumentation and large photometric time-domain and spectroscopic surveys.

At the turn of the decade, in 2010 a number of moderate-sized telescopes were equipped with digital cameras of around 10 square degrees. The relative cost of detectors and computing had reduced to a level where rapid, real-time processing of the imaging data provided monitoring of large sky areas every few days. This revolutionised the field of time domain astronomical surveys and we have witnessed a vast array of new discoveries. The global community have mapped the solar system, star forming regions in our galaxy, local group galaxies, and the local a nd high-redshift Universe leading to the discovery of new types of transients. We have discovered low luminosity stellar explosions in nearby galaxies and the most luminous supernovae beyond a redshift of 3, exotic transients in the nuclei of galaxies including tidal disruption events, stellar mergers, unusual novae and previously unknown species of stellar outbursts. The diversity in the explosive Universe is remarkable.

Type Ia supernovae have long been renowned for their homogeneity and use as standardisable candidates, but we now know thermonuclear supernovae show a wide diversity in explosion energies and composition of radioactive elements. How a white dwarf explodes, exactly what is the critical mass (Chandrasekhar or not), and what is the most common progenitor channel are all still unknowns. Explosions that we assume are from the core-collapse in massive stars are also stretching our understanding of how the explosion mechanism works. Many supernovae have explosion energies greater than a few times 10⁵¹ erg and are difficult to physically explain by neutrino driven core-collapse. The likely candidates are magnetar driven explosions, black hole and jet formation (as in GRBs), circumstellar interaction and pair-instability driven stellar deaths. Discoveries by revolutionary wide-field surveys such as the Palomar Transient Factory, Pan-STARRS, Catalina Sky Survey, La Silla QUEST, OGLE, Skymapper, Gaia, DES, ASAS-SN and ATLAS have changed the field. The extreme physics has come from rapid and detailed follow-up from X-ray to radio domains. ESO has played a major part in this through the swift reaction of the VLT and its extensive instruments combined with the Public ESO Survey of Transient Objects (PESSTO). Many of these surveys have now entered their second phase with upgraded detectors and even more ambitious goals.

These new data-driven initiatives are joined by the exciting prospect of routine detections of gravitational wave sources and electromagnetic follow-up. The spectacular discovery in August 2017 of the first merging neutron star system detected in gravitational waves and at almost every wavelength from gamma-rays to the radio has truly opened this new field. By September 2019, the third LIGO-Virgo run will have been running for 6 months and we may have new discoveries by the time of the meeting. The coming decade will have larger data sets that require public access for full scientific exploitation. The meeting will discuss how we will manage these large data sets. The conference will focus on the rich physics that has arisen from these discoveries and multi-wavelength follow-up programmes. Theory and modelling experts will also be a key part of the meeting, with a focus on how we can provide open data products to enhance model and data testing.

For more information please visit the conference website.

The Joint Space-Science Institute (JSI), a partnership between the University of Maryland and NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, will be holding the 2019 JSI Workshop on The New Faces of Black Holes, November 11-13, 2019. The workshop will take place at The Hotel Annapolis in Annapolis, Maryland.

Topics include:

1. Gravitational Waves from Black Holes
• Ground-based; LIGO/Virgo/KAGRA O3 and beyond
• Space-based; LISA
• Pulsar timing arrays
2. Time Domain
• Tidal Disruption Events
• Reverberation Mapping
• LISA EM Counterparts, evidence for binary SMBHs
• AGN Variability (changing-look quasars, QPOs, etc.)
3. EHT & High Resolution Imaging
• What have we learned from current EHT analysis?
• What will we learn from EHT in the future?
• Gravity VLT results on SgrA* and 3C273
• Dynamical Black Hole Mass Measurements

This meeting will celebrate the twenty years of the Chandra X-ray Observatory. The meeting will cover all areas of active research in X-ray astronomy, but will emphasize the science that is enabled by the high angular resolution and spectral resolution provided by Chandra. Results from other high energy missions, theoretical results, multi-wavelength results, and archival results that relate to the science topics listed below are encouraged. There will be a session that examines how the questions raised by the recent observations may be addressed by future missions. There will also be sessions that examine the history of X-ray astronomy, with an emphasis on Riccardo Giacconi's role in this history, and the launch and deployment of Chandra as described by the STS-93 crew.

The topics for the meeting will include but are not limited to:

• GRBs, SNe, TDEs, GW events and related phenomena
• Galaxies and AGN feedback
• Quasars and radio galaxies
• Formation and evolution of BHs in the early universe
• BH accretion (disks and jets)
• XRBs in the MW and nearby galaxies
• Life cycles of stellar systems I: stars, star-forming regions, and Galactic ecosystems
• Life cycles of stellar systems II: stellar death, SNRs, PWNe
• Neutron stars and pulsars
• Clusters of galaxies I: Cluster Physics
• Clusters of galaxies: II: Cluster cosmology
• Science with large surveys and synergies with the Chandra source catalog
• Future High energy missions
• History of Chandra
• Remembrance of Riccardo Giacconi

Invited Speakers (confirmed)

• Steve Allen
• Vallia Antoniou
• Daryl Haggard
• Paul Hertz
• Ryan Hickox
• Vicky Kaspi
• Brian McNamara
• Priyamvada Natarajan
• Sera Markoff
• Rachel Osten
• Gabriele Ponti
• Pat Slane
• Randall Smith
• Alexey Vikhlinin

A room block has been arranged on a first-come, first served basis. Attendees must make their own reservations. We have negotiated attractive rates for the Boston area at just $163 a night! Please visit the lodging page on the conference website for further instructions. The registration fee will include breakfast, lunch, and the conference banquet which is also at the Boston Park Plaza hotel. Given the mercurial Boston weather in December, attendees will find it convenient to stay at the conference hotel. Conference registration will open in early July.

Scientific Organizing Committee

A. Prestwich (co-chair), P. Plucinsky (co-chair), A. Basu-Zych, F. Civano, L. David, M. Eracleous, M. Nowak, M. Nynka, D. Pooley, D. Principe, D. Schwartz, D. Swartz, M. Wise, A. Wolter, H. Yamaguchi

Local Organizing Committee

J. Conry, A. Fruscione, K. Guardado, R. Hemond, K. Lestition, J. Little, R. Montez, A. Prestwich, P. Plucinsky, L. Robbins, A. Solares, M. Trischitta

Contact chandra20symposium[AT]cfa[DOT]harvard[DOT]edu

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), and Baltimore, MD (October 2018).

The two Fermi instruments have been surveying the high-energy sky since August 2008. The Large Area Telescope (LAT) has discovered more than a 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, complementing the higher energy LAT observations of those sources in addition to providing valuable science return in their own right.

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.

For more information please visit the symposium website.

The event is the ninth in a series of meetings gathering scientists working on astroparticle physics, cosmology, gravitation, nuclear physics, and related fields. As in previous years, the IWARA2020 meeting sessions will consist of invited and contributed talks, poster sessions, and will cover recent developments in the following topics:

• New phenomena and new states of matter in the Universe
• General relativity, gravitation, cosmology
• New directions for general relativity: past, present and future of general relativity
• FRW cosmologies
• Cosmic microwave background radiation
• First stars, hypernovae, and faint supernovae in the early Universe
• Quantum gravity and quantum cosmology
• Gravity and the unification of fundamental interactions
• Supersymmetry and Inflation
• String theory
• White dwarfs, neutron stars and pulsars
• Black hole physics and astrophysics
• Gamma-ray emission in the Universe
• High energy cosmic rays
• Gravitational waves
• Dark energy and dark matter
• Strange matter and strange stars
• Antimatter in the Universe
• High-energy cosmic neutrinos
• Blazars
• Quantum chromodynamics, nuclear and particle physics and new states of matter in the Universe. Heavy ion collisions and the formation of the quark-gluon plasma in heavy ion collisions and in the first instants of the Universe
• Strong magnetic fields in the Universe, strong magnetic fields in compact stars and in galaxies, ultra-strong magnetic fields in neutron star mergers, quark stars and magnetars, strong magnetic fields and the cosmic microwave background
• Laboratories, observatories, telescopes and other experimental and observational facilities that will define the future directions of astrophysics, astronomy, cosmology, nuclear and astroparticle physics as well as the future of physics at the energy frontiers, and topics related to these.

For more information, please visit the workshop website.