One-dimensional radiative transfer (RT) calculations suggested that the scattering polarization profiles of the Hα line are very sensitive to the strength and structure of the chromospheric magnetic field. Here we present unprecedented spectropolarimetric observations of the Hα line obtained with ZIMPOL-3 at IRSOL. The linear polarization profiles

Directly linked to the mass of the dark matter halo where baryons form, the galaxy stellar mass (M_star) is the most important observable parameter to understand galaxy evolution. Still, we have not completely figured out how the growth of the stellar mass in galaxies happen. A fundamental problem stands at the fact that galaxies are complex

We conduct a quantitative analysis of the star formation history (SFH) of the Milky Way's (MW) bulge by exploiting the constraining power of its stellar [Fe/H] and [Mg/Fe] distribution functions. Using Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment survey data, we confirm the previously established bimodal [Mg/Fe]-[Fe/H] distribution within

The Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) is the closest and most studied example of an irregular galaxy. Among its principal defining morphological features, its off-centred bar and single spiral arm stand out, defining a whole family of galaxies known as the Magellanic spirals (Sm). These structures are thought to be triggered by tidal interactions and

By using deep observations of clusters of galaxies, it has been recently found that the projected stellar mass density closely follows the projected total (dark and baryonic) mass density. In this work, we aim to test these observations using the Cluster-EAGLE simulations. We find that the shape of the stellar mass distribution follows that of the

We show that quasar microlensing magnification statistics induced by a population of point microlenses distributed according to a mass-spectrum can be very well approximated by that of a single-mass, "monochromatic", population. When the spatial resolution (physically defined by the source size) is small as compared with the Einstein radius, the