Colloquium by Professor Jarken ESIMBEK (Xinjiang Astronomical Observatory)

Founded in 1957, the Xinjiang Astronomical Observatory (XAO) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) is a leading institution in radio and optical astronomy. Headquartered in Urumqi, it operates key facilities like the Nanshan 26-m radio telescope and other stations across Xinjiang. XAO’s research spans pulsar emission and gravitational wave detection, star formation and evolution, galaxies and cosmology, astrochemistry, time domain optical astronomy, solar physics, space objects and debris, and astronomical techniques and methods. A landmark project, the 110-meter Qitai Radio Telescope (QTT), launched in 2022, aims to explore fast radio bursts, dark matters, black holes, gravitational waves, celestial bodies and the origins of life in the universe.

In this presentation, I will first provide an overview of XAO's core observational facilities and principal research domains, followed by an introduction to our significant scientific advancements. Particular emphasis will be placed on Galactic star-formation studies through large-scale NH₃/H₂CO surveys, hierarchical cloud structures (filaments/cores), dynamical processes (infall/feedback), environmental extremes (Galactic center/edge), and extragalactic studies via VLBI megamaser, VLA HI and ALMA molecular-line observations.