188.C-0265

Melendez

We propose a four year radial velocity planet search targeting 66 so-called ``solar twin'' stars using HARPS. We have recently shown as a result of our five-fold increase in chemical abundance accuracy that the Sun is chemically unusual compared with the majority of solar-type stars, a signature that we attribute to planet formation proceeding more efficiently in the solar system than around other stars. The proposed planet search will exploit the advantage offered by solar twins to obtain abundances of unmatched accuracy, allowing thus to study the stellar composition -- planet connection to a level that was unthinkable before. Our HARPS survey will quadruple the number of solar twins being searched for planets at high precision, illuminating the relation between chemical anomalies and planet formation in a variety of systems, ranging from stars with no planets detected in their inner regions (systems similar to our own Solar System) to stars with gas and ice giants, and probably super Earths. We are complementing the planet search by measuring with unprecedented accuracy chemical abundances for all sample stars using the 6.5m Magellan telescope. The project will ultimately yield a statistically robust sample of solar twins with homogeneous and tight constraints on both their chemical composition and planetary systems, providing novel insights on the still unknown mechanisms of planet formation.

190.C-0027

Santos

The detection of extra-solar planets with masses in the super-earth and neptune mass regime represents a benchmark for planet surveys. With the number of detections growing at a steady pace, the properties and true frequency of such systems are slowly being accessed. However, due to selection biases, the frequency of neptune and super-earth planets has not been systematically probed in its whole extent. This is particularly true for the the metal-poor regime, where no specific major survey aiming at the detection of very low mass planets was carried out. Interestingly, however, planet formation models strongly suggest that neptunes and super-earths should be frequent around stars with low metallicity, contrarily to the case for giant planets. Here we propose to complete a previously started survey to test this theoretical finding, by using the HARPS spectrograph to search for very low mass exoplanets around a sample of 109 southern solar-type stars with metallicities ([Fe/H]) below $-$0.4\,dex. Results from P82, P85, and P86 revealed several very good candidates, but the available data is insufficient to allow for a confident detection. Here we aim at obtaining a number of measurements that allows us to compare the statistics of low mass planets orbiting metal-poor stars to the results from the HARPS high precision GTO program (aimed at the solar metallicity regime).

191.D-0255

Morel

Massive stars are key agents in the Universe, driving the evolution of star forming galaxies through their photons, winds and violent deaths at all redshifts. The community devotes large efforts to characterize those processes which have been identified to affect the evolution of massive stars: rotation and stellar winds. Recently, important effects of magnetic fields in massive stars are suggested by observations and by models, and spectacular objects such as gamma-ray bursts and magnetars can not be understood without their consideration. But what is their frequency and field strength distribution, their origin, and what are the evolutionary consequences of magnetic fields in massive stars? We aim at directly addressing these questions through the study of a systematically selected sample of massive OB stars of different ages, considering their spin and their hard X-ray emission. We want to measure the polarization induced in spectral lines by the Zeeman effect. Recent observations showed that FORS\,2 and HARPS are ideal instrument for this. Through (funded) parallel theory projects, we aim to clarify the role of magnetic fields in the advanced stages of massive stars, including their fate as supernova or gamma-ray burst.

191.C-0873

Bonfils

The number of planets orbiting M dwarfs increases very steeply with decreasing planetary mass or radius. At small orbital separations, M dwarfs seem to host more super-Earths than FGK stars do, and their super-Earths have a high occurence rate in the habitable zone (Bonfils et al. 2012, A\&A in press.; Howard et al. 2012, ApJS 201, 15). In that context, observing even a small sample of M dwarfs with sensitivity to Earth-mass planets on short to moderate orbital periods will give important new insight on planetary formation. {\bf We thus focus our new \textsc{Harps} Large program on the Earth-mass regime of planet formation. We propose to intensively observe 30 M dwarfs over 3.5 years}, to reach completeness: $-$ for Earth-mass planets with orbital period up to 5 days $-$ for few Earth-mass planets with orbital periods up to the outer edge of the habitable zone ($P<50$ days). In that course, we expect to detect 20$\pm$5 new super-Earths, of which ~2-3 are Earth-mass planets and 4$\pm$2 are habitable zone super-Earths, with one planet likely to transit across its star.

191.D-0935

Smartt

This proposal is a placeholder for extra PESSTO observing runs.

192.C-0224

Lagrange

We propose a HARPS radial velocity survey dedicated to the search for close-in ($\leq$ 5 AU) giant planets (GP) around young (from a few Myr to 300 Myr) stars. This survey will bring unique information on the processes at work to form GPs and the timescales associated to planet dynamical evolution, which is thought to play a major role in the early building of planetary systems and could e.g. explain the existence of Hot Jupiters. Combined with other techniques, especially direct imaging with VLT/SPHERE, and also Gaia, our survey will constrain, for the first time, the occurence of giant planets at {\it all separations} to get a unique view of GP systems architectures, test their formation and evolution processes, and to calibrate the luminosity-mass relationship of giant planets.

192.A-0359

Wagg

The cold molecular gas reservoirs fueling star-formation in distant galaxies are most effectively studied through observations of \loj CO line emission. Being the second most abundant molecule after H$_2$, \co and \cotwo line emission has been used to infer cold molecular gas masses and measure the kinematic properties of galaxies that existed all the way back to the first billion years after the big bang. Over the past 37 years, studies of nearby galaxies have led to significant samples of CO line emitters being assembled, however, many of these surveys have focused on the most massive galaxies ($M_{*} > 10^{10}$~M$_{\odot}$), while the bulk of the molecular gas in the present-day Universe is contained in lower-mass objects. Here, we propose a large APEX survey of \cotwo line emission in a subsample of 69 galaxies with stellar masses $8.5 < \log{(M_{*}/M_{\odot})} < 10.0$ and redshifts, $0.010 < z < 0.015$. We request 300~hours of poor weather observing time ($PWV < 4$~mm) over the next four semesters (2~years). This survey is designed to detect molecular gas masses as low as $M_{gas} \ga 6.4 \times 10^7$~M$_{\odot}$, allowing us to estimate gas mass fractions ($f \equiv \frac{M_{gas}}{M_{gas} + M_{*}}$) for `normal' galaxies, and determine how these relate to properties such as stellar mass and metallicity. Our proposed survey of Southern galaxies will provide an ideal sample for high-resolution follow-up studies with ALMA, and data would be made public immediately.

192.C-0653

van Kempen

The molecular clouds in the Small Magellanic Cloud are the most metal-poor nearby clouds we can observe individually. Therefor they provide a unique laboratory for star formation in low metallicity environments ($<$20$\%$ solar), likely similar to the environments that existed in the early Universe. The MAGMA survey on Mopra surveyed all known molecular clouds with CO in the SMC. Although almost all clouds were detected, these observations were not sufficient to determine the molecular cloud properties. It limited itself as an indicator to the presence of molecular gas and the relation to the dust and [HI] gas. To derive other basic properties of the molecular gas, such as density, temperature and column density , one needs to determine the actual excitation conditions of the molecular gas, including the influence of the high ISRF present in the SMC. As a full complement to the MAGMA survey, we therefor propose to use APEX to observe the entire molecular cloud population in the SMC. This new survey, targetting large maps in $^{12}$CO 2--1 and deep single pointings in $^{13}$CO 2--1 allow us to determine the full excitation conditions in the entire SMC clouds and subsequently draw unique but statistically significant conclusions about the conditions of individual molecular clouds at low metallicity that can be applied to high-z star formation.

192.A-0762

Aghanim

The Planck survey is the first all-sky survey capable of blind cluster detection since the ROSAT All Sky Survey (RASS). Recently released to the general community, the Planck catalogue of Sunyaev-Zeldovich sources (PSZ) provides us with a unique sample of objects including a complete census of massive clusters ($M\ga 5\times10^{14}\,M\odot$) out to z$\sim$1 distributed across the sky. Using ESO facilities, NTT/EFOSC2 and VLT/FORS2, in a well coordinated follow-up programme including Northern telescopes, we propose to achieve the full redshift determination of the whole PSZ clusters over the 65\% cleanest sky area. Combining the redshift measurement with the SZ flux from Planck, we will estimate cluster masses for the whole catalogue, filling a unique window in the $M-z$ space with the most massive high-redshift clusters. The evolution of the mass function of this well understood catalogue will be used to put constraints on cosmological parameters, in particular $\sigma_8$ and $\Omega_{\mathrm{m}}$, with an accuracy better than 1\%. With such tight constraints, and in combination with CMB, SZ-selected clusters may put the most stringent limits on the neutrino mass. ESO-NTT and VLT are key facilities for the success of this programme, and their spectroscopic and photometric data will allow us to construct a lasting legacy catalogue of massive clusters for studies of galaxy clusters and the evolution of their constituent galaxies.

192.C-0852

Udry

A 10-years continuous effort of sub-m/s RV measurements of quiet stars with HARPS led to a breakthrough in the field of exoplanets, unveiling a large population of Neptunes and super-Earths within $\sim$0.5\,AU for more than 50\,\% of solar-type stars in the solar vicinity. We will build upon this past experience, fully exploiting the previous observational effort, to develop a complete view of the architecture of planetary systems from compact close-in systems out to Neptunes at the ice line limit. Intensively observed stars are treasure troves in this context. The large number of observations allows for a deep census of the planetary content, a crucial aspect for the modelling of the dynamical evolution of the systems. We propose a Large Program to focus on 117 of the brightest, quiet G-K dwarfs, closest to the Sun. Our goals are 1) to characterise the full planetary content from close-in Earth mass planets to Neptunes at several AUs, 2) to improve the estimated frequency and mass distribution of terrestrial planets, a key comparison with Kepler results; 3) to derive properties of the lowest mass planets to constrain planet-formation models; 4) to provide priceless targets for space-based transit searches around bright stars with warm Spitzer and CHEOPS, and for potential further characterisation with the E-ELT; and 5) to better understand stellar phenomena. This program is only possible with HARPS.

193.D-0232

Ferraro

Galactic globular clusters (GGCs) are the only astrophysical systems that, within the age of the Universe, undergo nearly all the physical processes known in stellar dynamics. Although they have been studied since the very beginning of modern Astrophysics, little is known from observations about their internal dynamics, thus preventing a complete understanding of their current dynamical state, stellar content, and dynamical history. The goal of this proposal is to provide the community with the first comprehensive catalog of velocity dispersion and rotation profiles ever obtained for GGCs. To this end, we propose to measure the radial velocity of hundreds individual stars in 30 GGCs well representative of the overall Galactic population, by exploiting the formidable multi-object spectroscopic capabilities of the VLT, combining KMOS observations for the central regions with FLAMES spectroscopy for the cluster outskirts. Together with the unprecedented set of star density profiles and internal proper motions that we are computing within our ERC project \emph{Cosmic-Lab}, this will trigger the blooming of a new generation of well constrained dynamical models. Long-lasting issues like the correct estimate of GGC total mass, mass-to-light ratio profiles, orbital anisotropy, the role of rotation, the extent of tidal stripping suffered and even the presence of intermediate mass black holes will be finally addressed.

193.C-0584

Schuller

Over the last decade, many surveys performed systematic mapping of the inner Galactic Disk at various wavelengths, e.g.: GLIMPSE (3.6 to 8\mic), MIPSGAL (24 and 70\mic), ATLASGAL (870\mic) or Hi-GAL (from 70 to 500\mic). Here we propose to conduct a systematic survey of the southern \GP ~in the J=2--1 molecular transition of $^{13}$CO, similar to the Galactic Ring Survey (GRS) covering the northern \GP ~in $^{13}$CO(1-0), but providing transformative new synergies in combination with existing $^{13}$CO(1--0) data from the Three-mm Ultimate Mopra Milky Way Survey (ThrUMMS). We propose to map 78~deg$^2$: -60\deg $\leq$ $l$ $\leq$ +18\deg, with $b$ $= \pm$0.5\deg, at 28$''$ resolution, to significantly enhance ThrUMMS and fully complement the GRS survey. Our immediate aims are: 1) to constrain the large scale Galactic structure: number of arms, size and orientation of a central bar; 2) to produce a fully three-dimensional realisation of the excitation and optical depth conditions in the molecular ISM across $\sim$80\% of the Milky Way; 3) to achieve a complete census of filamentary structures in the inner Galaxy, and to investigate their formation mechanism; 4) to study the dynamics of the interstellar medium at all scales (dense clumps, long filaments and molecular complexes); and 5) to constrain the star formation processes by measuring the star-formation efficiency as a function of environment.

193.B-0936

Gilmore

Gaia-ESO is a public spectroscopic survey, targeting $\geq 10^5$ stars, sampling all major components of the Milky Way, from halo to star forming regions, providing the first homogeneous overview of the distributions of kinematics and elemental abundances. This alone will revolutionise knowledge of Galactic and stellar evolution. When combined with Gaia astrometry the survey will quantify the formation history and evolution of young, mature and ancient Galactic populations. The full survey is detailed on the associated Public Spectroscopic Surveys phase 1 proposal form.

194.C-0207

Lacerda

We propose to obtain the first magnitude-limited, high-photometric-quality, high-temporal-resolution, multi-band survey of the rotational properties of over 60 Kuiper belt objects. The resulting data will allow us to 1) measure spin periods, and constrain shapes and bulk densities, 2) identify contact binaries or objects with extreme shapes or spins, 3) study surface colour variations, including the presence of surface spots, 4) obtain a sample of absolute magnitudes and optical colours protected from lightcurve variability, and 5) measure solar phase functions for the entire sample. Analysis of the survey data will place constraints on planetesimal accretion mechanisms and time-scales, the effects of collisional evolution with implications for dust production and mass loss in debris discs, the effects of strong early dynamical evolution in our planetary system (e.g.\ during radial displacement of mean-motion resonances due to planet migration), and allow for comparisons with main-belt asteroids and Trojans. This will be the first magnitude-limited survey of its kind to be conducted in an entirely homogeneous manner (same telescope, same observing strategy and data analysis). The data products will be a valuable resource to astronomers planning other types of observations of Kuiper belt objects, e.g.\ spectroscopic and polarimetric studies, including reassessment of archival data.

194.C-0443

Crossfield

M dwarfs offer the best near-term prospects for finding and characterizing rocky, Earth-sized planets -- and for studying the characteristics and occurrence frequency of potentially habitable planets. K2, the updated Kepler mission, will find $\sim$500 small planets around M dwarfs, including 30--50 potentially habitable systems. Measuring the occurrence frequency and physical parameters of these planets will inform models of planet formation, migration, and interiors, and will provide important data for planning future missions such as CHEOPS, JWST, and PLATO. We request 65~NTT nights over 2~years to obtain medium-resolution spectroscopy of $\sim$500 K2 M dwarfs hosting transiting planets in order to {\bf characterize the host stars, refine stellar and planetary parameters, measure the occurrence rate of habitable rocky planets around low-mass stars, optimize target selection for CHEOPS and PLATO, and find a few good targets for early-science JWST atmospheric characterization.}

194.C-0833

Cox

The carriers of $>$400 broad interstellar absorption features, imprinted on stellar spectra, pose the oldest mystery in astronomical spectroscopy. Any identification of an individual or set of carriers of these diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs) will provide a unique tool to probe the organic content and physical conditions of the ISM in galaxies. We propose to undertake a large and systematic study of the physical and chemical parameters that influence the DIBs, allowing us to ``reverse engineer'' key molecular carrier properties. With EDIBLES we will determine (1) the chemical composition of DIB carriers by studying their relation to interstellar elemental abundances (depletion), (2) the relation between weak and strong diffuse bands through identifying DIB sequences, and (3) the physical-chemical parameters that influence the DIB properties from observed molecular transitions linked with PDR models. This requires a high-precision (S/N$\sim$1000, R$\sim$100\,000) UV/VIS survey of 159 interstellar sightlines with well determined interstellar dust properties. This is achieved most efficiently with UVES-VLT in service/filler mode. EDIBLES will provide the input for comparison with dedicated laboratory programs, and has significant legacy value in terms of complementary stellar astrophysics studies. EDIBLES was ranked favourably in period 93, but was not scheduled due to technical reasons that are now resolved.

195.B-0283

Schoedel

The centre of the Milky Way is the only galactic nucleus and the most extreme astrophysical environment that we can examine on scales of milli-parsecs. It is also our Galaxy's most prolific massive star forming environment. However, due to the unique observational challenges -- extreme crowding and extinction -- any existing large-scale imaging data are limited by either one, or a combination, of the following limitations: saturation, lack of sensitivity, too low angular resolution, or lack of multi-wavelength coverage. Moreover, the few and small well-explored regions are extraordinary, such as the central parsec around the massive black hole, and are therefore probably not representative for the overall environment. Open fundamental questions on the stellar population, structure, and assembly history of the Galactic Centre therefore abound. We have demonstrated that we can obtain sensitive, accurate, $0.2"$ resolution $JHK$ images with a spatially stable PSF of the Galactic Centre with HAWK-I through holographic imaging. This opens the window to an unprecedented view of this region. Our Large Programme aims at a breakthrough in our understanding of the Galactic Centre through obtaining photometrically accurate, high-angular resolution, $JHK$ near-infrared photometry for an area of several 100\,pc$^{2}$, a more than ten-fold increase compared to the current state of affairs.

195.D-0750

Ferraro

Although Galactic GCs (GGCs) have been extensively studied in the last half century, little is known about their internal kinematics from the observational point of view. In particular the core region, where the most interesting dynamical processes are expected to occur, is still vastly unexplored. Here we present a two-period LP aimed at measuring the velocity dispersion and rotation profiles in the central regions of a representative sample of 19 high-density GGCs, by measuring the radial velocities of hundreds individual stars. To achieve this unprecedented goal we propose to exploit the superior performances of AO-assisted SINFONI spectroscopy, which our preparatory work already demonstrated to be very effective: in the innermost $10\arcsec$ of NGC\,2808 we have been able to measure more than 800 stars. These data will provide the final word about the existence of the long-searched intermediate-mass black holes. For all targets we are also performing complementary seeing-limited spectroscopy in the intermediate and external regions. The combination of all these data will provide the community with a new generation of velocity dispersion and rotation profiles, which are indeed essential ingredients for any realistic dynamical model and N-body simulation aimed at finally unveiling the formation history, evolutionary paths and current dynamical state of these dynamically active stellar systems.