XXVII General Assembly of the IAU
3-5 August 2009, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Important Note
This Joint Discussion will be part of the scientific programme of the XXVII General Assembly (GA) of the International Astronomical Union (IAU), that will take place during AUGUST 03 - 14, 2009, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This website contains information directly relevant to the JD4: Progress in Understanding the Physics of Ap and Related Stars, only. Please check the GA website for all other information, including accommodation, Social program, Visa, etc.

Motivation
Chemically Peculiar (CP) stars are stage to a diversity of physical phenomena, such as pulsations, convection, rotation, accretion, diffusion or magnetism. As a consequence, they offer unique and colorful laboratory for examining and studying these phenomena simultaneously, competitively and in parallel, ultimately enriching the whole gamut of stellar physics.

During this Joint Discussion many new results from high-quality data of CP stars and sophisticated theoretical models will be presented. The techniques used to infer the data, and the ingredients of the models with which the data is compared will be discussed. Future challenges, expected in the context of new ground-based instrumentation, and of space missions recently launched or in preparation, will give the final tone to the Joint Discussion.

While the interaction and competition between different physical phenomena are particularly highlighted in studies of CP stars, these physical phenomena together with the ingredients and techniques needed to study them are of relevance to a much wider astrophysical community. We thus see this Joint Discussion as a possibility for a multi-disciplinary exchange of ideas, and a golden opportunity for us to share the recent progress from this field with a broader spectrum of researchers.

Organized by the IAU Working Group on Ap and Related Stars and coordinated by IAU Division IV Stars. With the participation of Division V (Variable Stars) and Commissions 14  (Atomic and Molecular Data), 27 (Variable Stars), 29 (Stellar Spectra),  35  (Stellar Constitution) and 36 (Theory of Stellar Atmospheres).

For more information please contact Margarida Cunha.