We report Spitzer/IRS spectra of a small sample of heavily obscured and high mass loss post-AGB stars with O-rich maser emission. IRAM 30 m observations for two post-AGBs are also reported. The Spitzer/IRS spectra show the C-rich character of their circumstellar envelopes (CSE), as revealed by the presence of small hydrocarbon molecules such as

Protogalaxies forming in low-mass dark matter haloes are thought to provide the majority of ionizing photons needed to reionize the Universe, due to their high escape fractions of ionizing photons. We study how the escape fraction in high-redshift galaxies relates to the physical properties of the halo in which the galaxies form, by computing

We have performed a new abundance analysis of Carina red giant (RG) stars from spectroscopic data collected with UVES (high spectral resolution) and FLAMES/GIRAFFE (high and medium resolution) at ESO/VLT. The former sample includes 44 RGs, while the latter consists of 65 (high-resolution) and ~800 (medium-resolution) RGs, covering a significant

Microvariability consists of small timescale variations of low amplitude in the photometric light curves of quasars and represents an important tool to investigate their inner core. Detection of quasar microvariations is challenging because of their non-periodicity, as well as the need for high monitoring frequency and a high signal-to-noise ratio

In this review I will tour through the most recent findings on the internal kinematic properties of Local Group dwarf galaxies, as determined from extensive spectroscopic surveys of their stellar component.I will also discuss the current status on determinations of the dark matter content and distribution in these objects, with particular focus on

We present a suite of cosmological radiation-hydrodynamical simulations of the assembly of galaxies driving the reionization of the intergalactic medium (IGM) at z ≳ 6. The simulations account for the hydrodynamical feedback from photoionization heating and the explosion of massive stars as supernovae (SNe). Our reference simulation, which was