title: X-ray Spectral Study of the Photoionized Stellar Wind in Vela~X-1

abstract:
  We present results from quantitative modeling and spectral analysis of the
high mass X-ray binary Vela X-1 obtained with the Chandra HETGS. The spectra
exhibit emission lines from H-like and He-like ions driven by photoionization,
as well as fluorescent emission lines from several elements in lower charge
states. In order to interpret and make full use of the high-quality data, we
have developed a simulator, which calculates the ionization and thermal
structure of a stellar wind photoionized by an X-ray source, and performs Monte
Carlo simulations of X-ray photons propagating through the wind. The emergent
spectra are then computed as a function of the viewing angle accurately
accounting for photon transport in three dimensions including dynamics. From
comparisons of the observed spectra with the simulation results, we are able to
find the ionization structure and the geometrical distribution of material in
Vela X-1 that can reproduce the observed spectral line intensities and
continuum shapes at different orbital phases remarkably well. It is found that
a large fraction of X-ray emission lines from highly ionized ions are formed in
the region between the neutron star and the companion star. We also find that
the fluorescent X-ray lines must be produced in at least three distinct regions
--(1)the extended stellar wind, (2)reflection off the stellar photosphere, and
(3)in a distribution of dense material partially covering and possibly trailing
the neutron star, which may be associated with an accretion wake. Finally, from
detailed analysis of the emission lines, we demonstrate that the stellar wind
is affected by X-ray photoionization.


title:
SearchCal: a Virtual Observatory tool for searching calibrators in
  optical long baseline interferometry. I: The bright object case

abstract:
  In long baseline interferometry, the raw fringe contrast must be calibrated
to obtain the true visibility and then those observables that can be
interpreted in terms of astrophysical parameters. The selection of suitable
calibration stars is crucial for obtaining the ultimate precision of
interferometric instruments like the VLTI. We have developed software SearchCal
that builds an evolutive catalog of stars suitable as calibrators within any
given user-defined angular distance and magnitude around the scientific target.
We present the first version of SearchCal dedicated to the bright-object case
V<=10; K<=5). Star catalogs available at the CDS are consulted via web
requests. They provide all the useful information for selecting of calibrators.
Missing photometries are computed with an accuracy of 0.1 mag and the missing
angular diameters are calculated with a precision better than 10%. For each
star the squared visibility is computed by taking the wavelength and the
maximum baseline of the foreseen observation into account.} SearchCal is
integrated into ASPRO, the interferometric observing preparation software
developed by the JMMC, available at the address: http://mariotti.fr.


title: Canals in Milky Way radio polarization maps

abstract:
  Narrow depolarized canals are common in maps of the polarized synchrotron
emission of the Milky Way. Two physical effects that can produce these canals
have been identified: the presence of Faraday rotation measure ($\RM$)
gradients in a foreground screen and the cumulative cancellation of
polarization known as differential Faraday rotation. We show that the behaviour
of the Stokes parameters $Q$ and $U$ in the vicinity of a canal can be used to
identify its origin. In the case of canals produced by a Faraday screen we
demonstrate that, if the polarization angle changes by $90\degr$ across the
canal, as is observed in all fields to-date, the gradients in $\RM$ must be
discontinuous. Shocks are an obvious source of such discontinuities and we
derive a relation of the expected mean separation of canals to the abundance
and Mach number of supernova driven shocks, and compare this with recent
observations by \citet{Haverkorn03}. We also predict the existence of less
common canals with polarization angle changes other than $90\degr$.
Differential Faraday rotation can produce canals in a uniform magneto-ionic
medium, but as the emitting layer becomes less uniform the canals will
disappear. We show that for moderate differences in emissivity in a two-layer
medium, of up to 1/2, and for Faraday depth fluctuations of standard deviation
$\lesssim 1 \mathrm{rad}$, canals produced by differential rotation will still
be visible.


title: Can We Trust the Dust? Evidence of Dust Segregation in Molecular Clouds

abstract:
  Maps of estimated dust column density in molecular clouds are usually assumed
to reliably trace the total gas column density structure. In this work we
present results showing a clear discrepancy between the dust and the gas
distribution in the Taurus molecular cloud complex. We compute the power
spectrum of a 2MASS extinction map of the Taurus region and find it is much
shallower than the power spectrum of a 13CO map of the same region previously
analyzed. This discrepancy may be explained as the effect of grain growth on
the grain extinction efficiency. However, this would require a wide range of
maximum grain sizes, which is ruled out based on constraints from the
extinction curve and the available grain models. We show that major effects due
to CO formation and depletion are also ruled out. Our result may therefore
suggest the existence of intrinsic spatial fluctuations of the dust to gas
ratio, with amplitude increasing toward smaller scales. Preliminary results of
numerical simulations of trajectories of inertial particles in turbulent flows
illustrate how the process of clustering of dust grains by the cloud turbulence
may lead to observable effects. However, these results cannot be directly
applied to large scale supersonic and magnetized turbulence at present.


title: Intergalactic CIV absorption at redshifts 5.4 to 6

abstract:
  We report the discovery of a strong CIV 1548,1550 absorption system at z_abs
= 5.7238 in the near-infrared spectrum (J-band) of the z_em = 6.28 QSO SDSS
J1030+0524. These observations, obtained with the Infrared Spectrometer And
Array Camera (ISAAC) on the European Southern Observatory Very Large Telescope
(ESO VLT), demonstrate that, with modern instrumentation, QSO absorption line
spectroscopy can be successfully extended to near-infrared wavelengths to probe
the intergalactic medium near the end of the reionization epoch. Although the
statistics of this pilot study are limited, the mass density of triply ionized
carbon implied by our data is comparable to the values of Omega_CIV reported at
lower redshifts. Neither the column density distribution of CIV absorbers nor
its integral show significant redshift evolution over a period of time which
stretches from 1 to 4.5 Gyr after the big bang, suggesting that a large
fraction of intergalactic metals may already have been in place at redshifts
above 6. Alternatively, the strong CIV system we have detected may be
associated with outflowing, highly-ionized, gas from a foreground massive
galaxy; deep imaging and spectroscopy of galaxies near the QSO sightline should
be able to distinguish between these two possibilities.


title: Snapping Supernovae at z>1.7

abstract:
  We examine the utility of very high redshift Type Ia supernovae for cosmology
and systematic uncertainty control. Next generation space surveys such as the
Supernova/Acceleration Probe (SNAP) will obtain thousands of supernovae at
z>1.7, beyond the design redshift for which the supernovae will be exquisitely
characterized. We find that any z\gtrsim2 standard candles' use for
cosmological parameter estimation is quite modest and subject to pitfalls; we
examine gravitational lensing, redshift calibration, and contamination effects
in some detail. The very high redshift supernovae - both thermonuclear and core
collapse - will provide copious interesting information on star formation,
environment, and evolution. However, the new observational systematics that
must be faced, as well as the limited expansion of SN-parameter space afforded,
does not point to high value for 1.7<z<3 SNe Ia in controlling evolutionary
systematics relative to what SNAP can already achieve at z<1.7. Synergy with
observations from JWST and thirty meter class telescopes afford rich
opportunities for advances throughout astrophysics.


title:
X-Ray Absorption and an X-Ray Jet in the Radio-Loud Broad Absorption
  Line Quasar PG 1004+130

abstract:
  We investigate the X-ray properties of PG 1004+130, a low-redshift radio-loud
broad absorption line (BAL) quasar with a hybrid FR I/FR II radio morphology.
The 22.2 ks XMM-Newton and 41.6 ks Chandra observations presented here are the
first X-ray detections of PG 1004+130 and constitute the highest spectral
quality X-ray observations of a radio-loud BAL quasar available to date. The
Chandra ACIS-S spectrum shows evidence for complex soft X-ray absorption not
detected in the data obtained 1.7 yr previously with XMM-Newton, with a
best-fit intrinsic column density of N_H=1.2e22 cm-2 for the preferred
partial-covering model. There is no significant difference in the hard-band
power-law photon index of ~1.5 between the two observations. The Chandra image
also reveals extended X-ray emission ~8'' (30 kpc) south-east of the nucleus,
aligned with the FR I jet but upstream of the 1.4 GHz radio-brightness peak.
The jet is not detected by HST, and the optical upper limit rules out a simple
single-component synchrotron interpretation of the radio-to-X-ray emission. The
multiwavelength characteristics of the PG 1004+130 jet, including its
relatively flat X-ray power law and concave spectral energy distribution, are
similar to those of powerful FR II jets. The lack of strong beaming in PG
1004+130 limits the efficiency of inverse Compton upscattering, and we consider
the X-ray emission to most likely arise from a second synchrotron component
generated by highly energetic electrons.


title:
Strong lensing statistics in large, z~<0.2 surveys: bias in the lens
  galaxy population

abstract:
  We calculate the expected lensing statistics of the galaxy population in
large, low-redshift surveys. Galaxies are modeled using realistic, multiple
components: a dark matter halo, a bulge component and disc. We use
semi-analytic models of galaxies coupled with dark matter haloes in the
Millennium Run to model the lens galaxy population. We predict that a fraction
of 1.4+/-0.18*10^-3 of radio sources will be lensed by galaxies within a survey
like the 2dF below z<0.2. With a simulated sample of lensed radio sources, the
predicted lensing galaxy population consists mainly of ellipticals (~80%) with
an average lens velocity dispersion of 164+/-3 km/s, producing typical image
separations of ~3 arcsec. The lens galaxy population lies on the fundamental
plane but its velocity dispersion distribution is shifted to higher values
compared to all early-type galaxies. Taking magnification bias into account, we
predict that the ratio of 4:2 image systems is 30+/-5%, consistent with the
observed ratio found in the Cosmic Lens All-Sky Survey. We also find that the
population of 4-image lens galaxies is distinguishable from the population of
lens galaxies in 2-image systems. Our key result is the explicit demonstration
that the population of lens galaxies differs markedly from the galaxy
population as a whole: lens galaxies have a higher average luminosity and
reside in more massive haloes than the overall sample of ellipticals. This bias
restricts our ability to infer galaxy evolution parameters from a sample of
lensing galaxies. (abridged)


title: OT 060420: A Seemingly Optical Transient Recorded by All-Sky Cameras

abstract:
  We report on a ~5th magnitude flash detected for approximately 10 minutes by
two CONCAM all-sky cameras located in Cerro Pachon - Chile and La Palma -
Spain. A third all-sky camera, located in Cerro Paranal - Chile did not detect
the flash, and therefore the authors of this paper suggest that the flash was a
series of cosmic-ray hits, meteors, or satellite glints. Another proposed
hypothesis is that the flash was an astronomical transient with variable
luminosity. In this paper we discuss bright optical transient detection using
fish-eye all-sky monitors, analyze the apparently false-positive optical
transient, and propose possible causes to false optical transient detection in
all-sky cameras.


title: The relation between star formation rate and accretion rate in LINERs

abstract:
  It is argued that there is a linear correlation between star formation rate
(SFR) and accretion rate for normal bright active galactic nuclei (AGNs).
However, it is still unclear whether this correlation holds for LINERs, of
which the accretion rates are relatively lower than those of normal bright
AGNs. The radiatively inefficient accretion flows (RIAFs) are believed to be
present in these LINERs. In this work, we derive accretion rates for a sample
of LINERs from their hard X-ray luminosities based on spectral calculations for
RIAFs. We find that LINERs follow the same correlation between star formation
rate and accretion rate defined by normal bright AGNs, when reasonable
parameters are adopted for RIAFs. It means that the gases feed the black hole
and star formation in these low-luminosity LINERs may follow the same way as
that in normal bright AGNs, which is roughly consistent with recent numerical
simulations on quasar evolution.


title:
The induced turbulence effect on propagation of radio emission in pulsar
  magnetospheres

abstract:
  The effect of photon-beam-induced turbulence on propagation of radio emission
in a pulsar magnetosphere is discussed. Beamed radio emission with a high
brightness temperature can generate low-frequency plasma waves in the pulsar
magnetosphere and these waves scatter the radio beam. We consider this effect
on propagation of radio emission both in the open field line region and in the
closed field line region. The former is applicable to most cases of pulsar
radio emission where the propagation is confined to the polar region; it is
shown that the induced process is not effective for radio emission of
moderately high brightness temperature but can have a severe effect on giant
pulses. For giant pulses not to be affected by this process, they must be
emitted very close to the light cylinder. We show that the induced process is
efficient in the closed field line region, inhibiting propagation of the radio
emission in this region.


title:
Discovery of H alpha absorption in the unusual broad absorption line
  quasar SDSS J083942.11+380526.3

abstract:
  We discovered an H alpha absorption in a broad H alpha emission line of an
unusual broad absorption line quasar, SDSS J083942.11+380526.3 at z=2.318, by
near-infrared spectroscopy with the Cooled Infrared Spectrograph and Camera for
OHS (CISCO) on the Subaru telescope. The Presence of non-stellar H alpha
absorption is known only in the Seyfert galaxy NGC 4151 to date, thus our
discovery is the first case for quasars. The H alpha absorption line is
blueshifted by 520 km/s relative to the H alpha emission line, and its redshift
almost coincides with those of UV low-ionization metal absorption lines. The
width of the H alpha absorption (~ 340 km/s) is similar to those of the UV
low-ionization absorption lines. These facts suggest that the H alpha and the
low-ionization metal absorption lines are produced by the same low-ionization
gas which has a substantial amount of neutral gas. The column density of the
neutral hydrogen is estimated to be ~ 10^18 cm^-2 by assuming a gas temperature
of 10,000 K from the analysis of the curve of growth. The continuum spectrum is
reproduced by a reddened (E(B-V) ~ 0.15 mag for the SMC-like reddening law)
composite quasar spectrum. Furthermore, the UV spectrum of SDSS
J083942.11+380526.3 shows a remarkable similarity to that of NGC 4151 in its
low state, suggesting the physical condition of the absorber in SDSS
J083942.11+380526.3 is similar to that of NGC 4151 in the low state. As
proposed for NGC 4151, SDSS J083942.11+380526.3 may be also seen through the
close direction of the surface of the obscuring torus.


title:
Constraints on a scale invariant power spectrum from superinflation in
  LQC

abstract:
  The computation of the spectrum of primordial perturbations, generated by a
scalar field during the super-inflationary phase of Loop Quantum Cosmology, is
revisited. The calculation is performed for two different cases. The first
considers the dynamics of a massless field and it is found that scale
invariance can only be achieved under a severe fine tuning. The second assumes
that the field evolves with a constant ratio between kinetic and potential
energy, i.e. in a scaling solution. In this case, near scale invariance is a
generic feature of the theory if the field rolls in a steep self interaction
potential.


title: A statistical analysis of a Galactic all sky survey at 1.4 GHz

abstract:
  Radio surveys at frequencies of about 1 GHz allow to map the synchrotron
emission in a frequency range where (except for very low Galactic latitudes or
towards localized regions) it dominates over the other radio components. New
all sky total intensity and polarization data at 1.4 GHz have been recently
collected. We focus on the Galactic radio emission correlation properties
described in terms of angular power spectrum (APS). We present for the first
time the APS, in both total intensity and polarization modes, for some
representative Galactic cuts and suitable APS power law parametrizations.


title:
Constraints on Physical Properties of z~6 Galaxies Using Cosmological
  Hydrodynamic Simulations

abstract:
  We conduct a detailed comparison of broad-band spectral energy distributions
of six z >= 5.5 galaxies against galaxies drawn from cosmological hydrodynamic
simulations. We employ a new tool called SPOC, which constrains the physical
properties of observed galaxies through a Bayesian likelihood comparison with
model galaxies. For five out of six observed z>=5.5 objects, our simulated
galaxies match the observations at least as well as simple star formation
histories such as tau-models, with similar favored values obtained for the
intrinsic physical parameters such as stellar mass and star formation rate, but
with substantially smaller uncertainties. Our results are broadly insensitive
to simulation choices for galactic outflows and dust reddening. Hence the
existence of early galaxies as observed is broadly consistent with current
hierarchical structure formation models. However, one of the six objects has
photometry that is best fit by a bursty SFH unlike anything produced in our
simulations, driven primarily by a high K-band flux. These findings illustrate
how SPOC provides a robust tool for optimally utilizing hydrodynamic
simulations (or any model that predicts galaxy SFHs) to constrain the physical
properties of individual galaxies having only photometric data, as well as
identify objects that challenge current models. (abridged)


title:
Mass Profiles of Galaxy Clusters from the Projected Phase-space
  Distribution of Cluster Members

abstract:
  I review our current knowledge of the mass distribution in clusters, as
obtained from the analysis of the projected phase-space distribution of cluster
galaxies. I discuss the methods of analysis, their relative advantages and
disadvantages, and their reliabilities. I summarize the most recent and
important results on the mass distributions of galaxy systems, from nearby to
medium-distant systems, and from groups to clusters. In particular I consider
how well different proposed models fit the observed cluster mass distribution,
and which are the relative distributions of galaxies, baryons, and dark or
total mass in clusters. I also discuss the current observational evidence for
mass accretion onto galaxy systems, coming mostly from the analysis of the
velocity anisotropy profiles.


title:
The traveling wave MRI in cylindrical Taylor-Couette flow: comparing
  wavelengths and speeds in theory and experiment

abstract:
  We study experimentally the flow of a liquid metal confined between
differentially rotating cylinders, in the presence of externally imposed axial
and azimuthal magnetic fields. For increasingly large azimuthal fields a
wave-like disturbance arises, traveling along the axis of the cylinders. The
wavelengths and speeds of these structures, as well as the field strengths and
rotation rates at which they arise, are broadly consistent with theoretical
predictions of such a traveling wave magnetorotational instability.


title:
Dark matter annihilation from intermediate-mass black holes:
  Contribution to the extragalactic gamma-ray background

abstract:
  We investigate contributions to the extragalactic gamma-ray background (EGB)
due to neutralino dark matter (DM) pair-annihilation into photons, from DM
density enhancements (minispikes) surrounding intermediate-mass black holes
(IMBHs). We focus on two IMBH formation scenarios; our conservative scenario
where IMBHs are remnants of Population-III stars, and our optimistic scenario
here IMBHs are formed in protogalactic disks. In both scenarios, their
formation in pregalactic halos at high redshift lead to the formation of
minispikes that are bright sources of gamma-ray photons. Taking into account
minispike depletion processes, we only sum contributions from a cosmological
distribution of IMBHs with maintained minispikes. Our conservative scenario (BH
mass 10^2 M_sun with a r^{-3/2} minispike) predicts gamma-ray fluxes that are
an order larger than the equivalent flux, using the same DM parameters (mass
100 GeV and annihilation cross-section 3 \times 10^{-26} cm^3 s^{-1}, from the
host halo without IMBH minispikes. Our optimistic scenario (BH mass 10^5 M_sun
with a r^{-7/3} minispike) predicts fluxes that are three orders larger, that
can reach current EGB observations taken by EGRET (DM parameters as above).
This fact may serve interesting consequences for constraining DM parameters and
elucidating the true nature of IMBHs. Additionally, we determine the spectra of
DM annihilation into monochromatic gamma-rays, and show that its flux can be
within observational range of GLAST, providing a potential `smoking-gun'
signature of DM.


title:
Detection regimes of the cosmological gravitational wave background from
  astrophysical sources

abstract:
  Key targets for gravitational wave (GW) observatories, such as LIGO and the
next generation interferometric detector, Advanced LIGO, include core-collapse
of massive stars and the final stage of coalescence of compact stellar
remnants. The combined GW signal from such events occurring throughout the
Universe will produce an astrophysical GW background (AGB), one that is
fundamentally different from the GW background by very early Universe
processes. One can classify contributions to the AGB for different classes of
sources based on the strength of the GW emissions from the individual sources,
their peak emission frequency, emission duration and their event rate density
distribution. This article provides an overview of the detectability regimes of
the AGB in the context of current and planned gravitational wave observatories.
We show that there are two important AGB signal detection regimes, which we
define as `continuous' and `popcorn noise'. We describe how the `popcorn noise'
AGB regime evolves with observation time and we discuss how this feature
distinguishes it from the GW background produced from very early Universe
processes.


title: Production mechanisms of multiple primaries for Cosmic Rays Showers

abstract:
  We investigate the physical mechanism of the GZ-effect that could explain the
production of multiple primaries from an event initiated outside the Earth's
atmosphere. In this case, there would correspondingly be multiple extensive air
showers in temporal coincidence at ground, even for detectors separated by many
kilometers, and also showers initiated by primaries of different energies could
consequently have a common source. We analyse the perspectives and limits of
some models and discuss the experimental counterparts.


title:
Thermal evolution of rotating strange stars in color superconductivity
  phase

abstract:
  Under the combination effect of the recommencement heating due to spin-down
of strange stars and the heat perseveration due to weak conduct heat of the
crust, the Cooper pair breaking and formation(PBF) in color superconduction
quark matter arises. We investigated the cooling of the strange stars with a
crust in color superconductivity phase including both decomfinement heating and
PBF process. We find that deconfinement heating can delay the thermal evolution
of strange stars and the PBF process suppresses the early temperature rise of
the stars. The cooling strange stars behave within the brightness constraint of
young compact objects when the color superconductivity gap is small enough.


title:
Study of the spring and autumn daemon-flux maxima at the Baksan Neutrino
  Observatory

abstract:
  Detection of daemons in low-background conditions in September 2005 and March
2006 has provided evidence for the expected to occur at that times maxima in
the flux of daemons with V ~ 10-15 km s-1, which hit the Earth from near-Earth,
almost circular heliocentric orbits. The ability of some FEU-167-1 PM tubes
with a thicker inner Al coating to detect directly daemon passage through them
has also been demonstrated, an effect increasing ~100-fold the detector
efficiency. As a result, the daemon flux recorded at the maxima was increased
from ~10-9 to ~10-7 cm-2 s-1. The intensity and direction of the flux during
maxima depend on the time of day and latitude of observations (therefore,
synchronous measurements in the Northern and Southern Earth's hemispheres are
desirable). All the experimental results obtained either support the
conclusions following from the daemon paradigm or find a simple interpretation
within it.


title: The Age-Metallicity Relation of the SMC

abstract:
  The Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) is the only dwarf galaxy in the Local Group
known to have formed and preserved populous star clusters continuously over the
past 12 Gyr. These clusters provide a unique, closely spaced set of single-age,
single-metallicity tracers for a detailed study of the SMC's age-metallicity
relation. Spectroscopic metallicity measurements, however, exist only for 6 of
its clusters. Here we present metallicities for 7 additional SMC clusters based
on Ca II triplet observations. The total sample comprises clusters spanning an
age range of 12 Gyr. Complemented by age estimates from literature these
objects provide us with a well-sampled, well-defined age-metallicity relation.
We compare our first results with the chemical evolution history of the SMC in
terms of a simple closed box model. We find that the general trend is well
reproduced by this model.


title: New symmetries in microphysics, new stable forms of matter around us

abstract:
  Extension of particle symmetry implies new conserved charges and the lightest
particles, possessing such charges, should be stable. Created in early
Universe, stable charged heavy leptons and quarks can exist and, hidden in
elusive atoms bound by Coulomb attraction, can play the role of dark matter.
The problem of this scenario is that in the expanding Universe it is not
possible to recombine all the charged particles into elusive "atoms", and
positively charged particles, which escape such recombination, bind with
electrons in atoms of anomalous isotopes with pregalactic abundance, generally
exceeding terrestrial upper limits. Realistic scenarios of composite dark
matter, avoiding this problem of anomalous isotope over-production, inevitably
predict the existence of primordial "atoms", in which primordial helium traps
all the free negatively charged heavy constituents with charge -2. Study of the
possibility for such primordial heavy alpha-particle with compensated charge to
exist as well as the search for the stable charged constituents in cosmic rays
and accelerators provide crucial test for the new forms of stable matter.


title: Enhanced polarization of CMB from thermal gravitational waves

abstract:
  If inflation was preceded by a radiation era then at the time of inflation
there will exist a decoupled thermal distribution of gravitons. Gravitational
waves generated during inflation will be amplified by the process of stimulated
emission into the existing thermal distribution of gravitons. Consequently the
usual zero temperature scale invariant tensor spectrum is modified by a
temperature dependent factor. This thermal correction factor amplify the
$B$-mode polarization of the CMB by an order of magnitude at large angles,
which may now be in the range of observability of WMAP.


title:
On the Signatures of Gravitational Redshift: The Onset of Relativistic
  Emission Lines

abstract:
  Aims. We quantify the effect of gravitational redshift on emission lines to
explore the transition region from the Newtonian to the Einsteinian regime.
With the emitting region closer to the Kerr black hole, lines are successively
subjected to a stronger gravitationally induced shift and distortion. Simulated
lines are compared to broad, optical emission lines observed in Mrk 110.
Methods. We simulate relativistic emission line profiles by using Kerr ray
tracing techniques. Emitting regions are assumed to be thin equatorial rings in
stationary Keplerian rotation. The emission lines are characterised by a
generalized Doppler factor or redshift associated with the line core. Results.
With decreasing distance from the black hole, the gravitational redshift starts
to smoothly deviate from the Newtonian Doppler factor: Shifts of the line cores
reveal an effect at levels of 0.0015 to 60% at gravitational radii ranging from
10^{5} to 2. This corresponds to fully relativistic Doppler factors of 0.999985
to 0.4048. The intrinsic line shape distortion by strong gravity i.e. very
asymmetric lines occur at radii smaller than roughly ten gravitational radii.
Conclusions. Due to the asymptotical flatness of black hole space-time, GR
effects are ubiquitous and their onset can be tested observationally with
sufficient spectral resolution. With a resolving power of ~100000, yielding a
resolution of ~0.1 Angstroems for optical and near-infrared broad emission
lines like H\beta, HeII and Pa\alpha, the gravitational redshift can be probed
out to approximately 75000 gravitational radii. [abridged]


title: Bulk viscosity of Mixed nucleon-hyperon-quark Matter in Neutron stars

abstract:
  We calculate the coefficient of bulk viscosity by considering the
non-leptonic weak interactions in the cores of hybrid stars with both hyperons
and quarks. We first determine the dependence of the production rate of
neutrons on the reaction rate of quarks in the non-leptonic processes, that is
$\Gamma_{n}=K_{s}\Gamma_{s}+\Gamma_{\Lambda}+2\Gamma_{\Sigma^{-}}$. The
conversion rate, $K_{s}$ in our scenario is a complicated function of baryon
number density. We also consider medium effect of quark matter on bulk
viscosity. Using these results, we estimate the limiting rotation of the hybrid
stars, which may suppress the r-mode instability more effectively. Hybrid stars
should be the candidates for the extremely rapid rotators .


title:
Calcium II Triplet Spectroscopy of LMC Red Giants. I. Abundances and
  Velocities for a Sample of Populous Clusters

abstract:
  Abridged Abstract -
  Utilizing the FORS2 instrument on the VLT, we have obtained near infrared
spectra for more than 200 stars in 28 populous LMC clusters. This cluster
sample spans a large range of ages (~ 1-13 Gyr) and metallicities (-0.3 >
[Fe/H] > -2.0) and has good areal coverage of the LMC disk. The strong
absorption lines of the Calcium II triplet are used to derive cluster radial
velocities and abundances. We determine mean cluster velocities to typically
1.6 km/s and mean metallicities to 0.04 dex (random error). For eight of these
clusters, we report the first spectroscopically determined metallicities based
on individual cluster stars, and six of these eight have no published radial
velocity measurements.
  (continued in paper)


title: Tracing the Dynamical History of the Globular Cluster 47 Tucanae

abstract:
  We use two stellar populations in the globular cluster 47 Tucanae to trace
its dynamical history: blue stragglers and low mass main sequence stars. We
assumed that the blue stragglers were formed through stellar collisions in all
regions of the cluster. We find that in the core of the cluster, models of
collisional blue stragglers agree well with the observations as long as blue
stragglers are still continuing to form and the mass function in the cluster is
extremely biased towards massive stars (x=-8 where a Salpeter mass function has
x=+1.35). We show that such an extreme mass function is supported by direct
measurements of the luminosity function of main sequence stars in the centre of
the cluster. In the middle region of our dataset (25'' to 130'' from the
cluster centre), blue straggler formation seems to have stopped about half a
Gyr ago. In the outskirts of the cluster, our models are least successful at
reproducing the blue straggler data. Taken at face value, they indicate that
blue straggler formation has been insignificant over the past billion years,
and that a Salpeter mass function applies. However, it is more likely that the
dominant formation mechanism in this part of the cluster is not the collisional
one, and that our models are not appropriate for this region of the cluster. We
conclude that blue stragglers can be used as tracers of dynamics in globular
clusters, despite our incomplete understanding of how and where they were
formed.


title:
Deep GEMINI GMOS-IFU spectroscopy of BAL QSOs: I. Decoupling the BAL,
  QSO, starburst, NLR, supergiant bubbles and galactic wind in Mrk 231

abstract:
  In this work we present the first results of a study of BAL QSOs (at low and
high redshift), based on very deep Gemini GMOS integral field spectroscopy. In
particular, the results obtained for the nearest BAL IR QSO Mrk 231 are
presented. Very deep three-dimensional spectra and maps clearly show that the
BAL systems I and II are extended (reaching 1.4-1.6" = 1.2-1.3 kpc, from the
nucleus) and clearly elongated at the position angle close to the radio jet PA.
Which suggest that the BAL systems I and II are both associated with the radio
jet, and supporting the bipolar jet-wind model for some BALs. For the nuclear
region of Mrk 231, the QSO and host-galaxy components were modelled, using a
new technique of decoupling 3D spectra. From this study, the following main
results were found: (i) in the pure host galaxy spectrum an extreme nuclear
starburst component was clearly observed, mainly as a very strong increase in
the flux, at the blue wavelengths; (ii) the BAL system I is observed in the
spectrum of the host galaxy; (iii) in the clean/pure QSO emission spectrum,
only broad lines were detected. 3D GMOS individual spectra (specially in the IR
Ca II triplet) and maps confirm the presence of an extreme and young nuclear
starburst (8 < age < 15 Myr), which was detected mainly in a ring or toroid
with a radius r = 0.3" = 200 pc, around the very nucleus. The physical
properties of the four expanding nuclear bubbles were analysed, using the GMOS
3D spectra and maps. These results suggest that an important part of the
nuclear NLR is generated by the OF process and the associated low velocity
ionizing shocks.


title: Gamma Ray Burst Constraints on Ultraviolet Lorentz Invariance Violation

abstract:
  We present a unified general formalism for ultraviolet Lorentz invariance
violation (LV) testing through electromagnetic wave propagation, based on both
dispersion and rotation measure data. This allows for a direct comparison of
the efficacy of different data to constrain LV. As an example we study the
signature of LV on the rotation of the polarization plane of $\gamma$-rays from
gamma ray bursts in a LV model. Here $\gamma$-ray polarization data can provide
a strong constraint on LV, 13 orders of magnitude more restrictive than a
potential constraint from the rotation of the cosmic microwave background
polarization proposed by Gamboa, L\'{o}pez-Sarri\'{o}n, and Polychronakos
(2006).


title:
ULTRACAM observations of SDSS J170213.26+322954.1 - an eclipsing
  cataclysmic variable in the period gap

abstract:
  We present high-speed, three-colour photometry of the eclipsing cataclysmic
variable SDSS J170213.26+322954.1 (hereafter SDSS J1702+3229). This system has
an orbital period of 2.4 hours, placing it within the ``period gap'' for
cataclysmic variables. We determine the system parameters via a parameterized
model of the eclipse fitted to the observed light curve by chi-squared
minimization. We obtain a mass ratio of q = 0.215 +/- 0.015 and an orbital
inclination i = 82.4 +- 0.4 degrees. The primary mass is M_w = 0.94 +/- 0.01
Msun. The secondary mass and radius are found to be Mr = 0.20 +/- 0.01 Msun and
Rr = 0.243 +/- 0.013 Rsun respectively. We find a distance to the system of 440
+/- 30 pc, and an effective temperature for the secondary star of 3800 +/- 100
K (corresponding to a spectral type of M0 +/- 0.5V). Both the distance and
effective temperature are consistent with previous values derived via
spectroscopy of the red star.
  The secondary star is significantly less massive than expected for the
orbital period, and significantly warmer than expected for its mass. This can
be explained if the secondary star is significantly evolved: the mass and
effective temperature are consistent with a secondary star that began mass
transfer with a greatly reduced central hydrogen fraction. The nature of the
secondary star in SDSS J1702+3229 supports predictions that CVs with evolved
secondary stars might be found accreting within the period gap.


title:
Evidences on secular dynamical evolution of detached active binary
  orbits and contact binary formation

abstract:
  Evidence of secular dynamical evolution for detached active binary orbits are
presented. First order decreasing rates of orbital angular momentum (OAM),
systemic mass ($M=M_{1}+M_{2}$) and orbital period of detached active binaries
have been determined as $\dot J/J = -3.48 \times 10^{-10}$yr$^{-1}$, $\dot M/M
= -1.30 \times 10^{-10}$yr$^{-1}$ and $\dot P/P = -3.96\times
10^{-10}$yr$^{-1}$ from the kinematical ages of 62 field detached systems. The
ratio of $d \log J/ d \log M = 2.68$ implies that either there are mechanisms
which amplify AM loss $\delta=2.68$ times with respect to isotropic AM loss of
hypothetical isotropic winds or there exist external causes contributing AM
loss in order to produce this mean rate of decrease for orbital periods.
Various decreasing rates of OAM ($d \log J / dt$) and systemic mass ($d \log M/
dt$) determine various speeds of dynamical evolutions towards a contact
configuration. According to average dynamical evolution with $\delta = 2.68$,
the fraction of 11, 23 and 39 per cent of current detached sample is expected
to be contact system within 2, 4 and 6 Gyr respectively.


title: The Radio/Optical Catalog of the SSA13 Field

abstract:
  We present a 1.4-GHz catalog of 810 radio sources (560 sources in the
complete sample) with 1.8" resolution found within a 17' radius in the SSA13
field (RA=13h12m,DEC=42d38'). The radio image from the VLA has an rms noise
level of 4.82 microJy/beam at the field center, and Subaru optical images in
r-band (6300A) and z-band (9200A) have a three-sigma detection magnitude of
26.1 and 24.9, respectively. 88% of the radio sources are identified with an
optical counterpart, and there is significantly more reddening for objects
fainter than 24-mag. The radio and optical parameters are tabulated, and source
morphologies are displayed by radio contours overlaying optical false-color
images. The radio structures show a wealth of complexity and these are
classified into a small number of categories. About one-third of the radio
sources are larger than 1.2" and their orientation is often similar to that of
the associated galaxy or binary-galaxy system. The density of sources in the
SSA13 field above 75 microJy is 0.40 per square arcmin, with a slope of -2.43
in the differential counts. The radio spectral index may steepen for sources
below 75 microJy. We estimate that at most 40% of the microJansky radio sources
are dominated by AGN processes.


title:
Nonlinear Period-Luminosity Relation for the Large Magellanic Cloud
  Cepheids: Myths and Truths

abstract:
  In this paper, we discuss and examine various issues concerning the recent
findings that suggested the observed period-luminosity (P-L) relation for the
Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) Cepheids is nonlinear. These include (1)
visualizing the nonlinear P-L relation; (2) long period Cepheids and sample
selection; (3) outlier removal; (4) issues of extinction; (5) nonlinearity of
the period-color (P-C) relation; (6) nonlinear P-L relations in different
pass-bands; and (7) universality of the P-L relation. Our results imply that a
statistical test is needed to detect the nonlinear PL relation. We then show
that sample selection, number of long period Cepheids in the sample, outlier
removal and extinction errors are unlikely to be responsible for the detection
of the nonlinear P-L relation. We also argue for the existence of a nonlinear
P-L relation from the perspective of the nonlinear P-C relation and the
non-universality of the P-L relation. Combining the evidence and discussion
from these aspects, we find that there is a strong indication that the observed
LMC P-L relation is indeed nonlinear in the optical bands (however the K-band
LMC P-L relation is apparently linear). This could be due to the internal
physical reasons or the external hidden/additional factors. Compared to the
non-linear P-L relation, the systematic error in distance scale introduced from
using the (incorrect) linear P-L relation is at most at a few per cent level.
While this is small compared to other systematic errors, it will be important
in future efforts to produce a Cepheid distance scale accurate to one per cent
in order to remove degeneracies presented in CMB results.


title: Age constraints on the cosmic equation of state

abstract:
  Dark energy is the invisible fuel that seems to drive the current
acceleration of the Universe. Its presence, which is inferred from an
impressive convergence of high-quality observational results along with some
sucessful theoretical predictions, is also supported by the current estimates
of the age of the Universe from dating of local and high-$z$ objects. In this
work we study observational constraints on the dark energy equation of state
($w$) from lookback time measurements of high-$z$ galaxies, as recently
published by the Gemini Deep Deep Survey (GDDS). In order to build up our
lookback time sample from these observations we use 8 high-$z$ galaxies in the
redshift interval $1.3 \leq z \leq 2.2$ and assume the total expanding age of
the Universe to be $t_{0}^{obs} = 13.6^{+0.4}_{-0.3}$ Gyr, as obtained from
current cosmic microwave background data. We show that these age measurements
are compatible with values of $w$ close to -1, although there is still space
for quintessence ($w > -1$) and phantom ($w < -1$) behaviors. In order to break
possible degeneracies in the $\Omega_{\rm{m}} - w$ plane, we also discuss the
bounds on this parametric space when GDDS lookback time measurements are
combined with the most recent SNe Ia, CMB and LSS data.


title: Simulations of Baryon Oscillations

abstract:
  The coupling of photons and baryons by Thomson scattering in the early
universe imprints features in both the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) and
matter power spectra. The former have been used to constrain a host of
cosmological parameters, the latter have the potential to strongly constrain
the expansion history of the universe and dark energy. Key to this program is
the means to localize the primordial features in observations of galaxy spectra
which necessarily involve galaxy bias, non-linear evolution and redshift space
distortions. We present calculations, based on mock catalogs produced from
high-resolution N-body simulations, which show the range of behaviors we might
expect of galaxies in the real universe. We investigate physically motivated
fitting forms which include the effects of non-linearity, galaxy bias and
redshift space distortions and discuss methods for analysis of upcoming data.
In agreement with earlier work, we find that a survey of several Gpc^3 would
constrain the sound horizon at z~1 to about 1%.


title:
Shear Recovery Accuracy in Weak Lensing Analysis with Elliptical
  Gauss-Laguerre Method

abstract:
  We implement the Elliptical Gauss-Laguerre (EGL) galaxy-shape measurement
method proposed by Bernstein & Jarvis (2002) and quantify the shear recovery
accuracy in weak lensing analysis. This method uses a deconvolution fitting
scheme to remove the effects of the point-spread function (PSF). The test
simulates >10^7 noisy galaxy images convolved with anisotropic PSFs, and
attempts to recover an input shear. The tests are designed to be immune to
shape noise, selection biases, and crowding. The systematic error in shear
recovery is divided into two classes, calibration (multiplicative) and
additive, with the latter arising from PSF anisotropy. At S/N > 50, the
deconvolution method measures the galaxy shape and input shear to ~ 1%
multiplicative accuracy, and suppresses > 99% of the PSF anisotropy. These
systematic errors increase to ~ 4% for the worst conditions, with poorly
resolved galaxies at S/N ~ 20. The EGL weak lensing analysis has the best
demonstrated accuracy to date, sufficient for the next generation of weak
lensing surveys.


title:
A Structured Leptonic Jet Model of the "Orphan" TeV Gamma-Ray Flares in
  TeV Blazars

abstract:
  The emission spectra of TeV blazars extend up to tens of TeV and the emission
mechanism of the TeV $\gamma$-rays is explained by synchrotron self-Compton
scattering in leptonic models. In these models the time variabilities of X-rays
and TeV $\gamma$-rays are correlated. However, recent observations of 1ES
1959+650 and Mrk 421 have found the ``orphan'' TeV $\gamma$-ray flares, i.e.,
TeV $\gamma$-ray flares without simultaneous X-ray flares. In this paper we
propose a model for the ``orphan'' TeV $\gamma$-ray flares, employing an
inhomogeneous leptonic jet model. After a primary flare that accompanies
flare-up both in X-rays and TeV $\gamma$-rays, radiation propagates in various
directions in the comoving frame of the jet. When a dense region in the jet
receives the radiation, X-rays are scattered by relativistic
electrons/positrons to become TeV $\gamma$-rays. These $\gamma$-ray photons are
observed as an ``orphan'' TeV $\gamma$-ray flare. The observed delay time
between the primary and ``orphan'' flares is about two weeks and this is
accounted for in our model for parameters such as $\Gamma = 20$, $d = 4 \times
10^{17}$cm, $\alpha = 3$, and $\eta = 1$, where $\Gamma$ is the bulk Lorentz
factor of the jet, $d$ is the distance between the central black hole and the
primary flare site, $\alpha/\Gamma$ is the angle between the jet axis and the
direction of the motion of the dense region that scatters incoming X-rays
produced by the primary flare, and $\eta/\Gamma$ is the angle between the jet
axis and the line of sight.


title: Cheng-Weyl Vector Field and its Cosmological Application

abstract:
  Weyl's idea on scale invariance was resurrected by Cheng in 1988. The
requirement of local scale invariance leads to a completely new vector field,
which we call the ``Cheng-Weyl vector field''. The Cheng-Weyl vector field
couples only to a scalar field and the gravitational field naturally. It does
not interact with other known matters in the standard model of particle
physics. In the present work, the (generalized) Cheng-Weyl vector field coupled
with the scalar field and its cosmological application are investigated. A
mixture of the scalar field and a so-called ``cosmic triad'' of three mutually
orthogonal Cheng-Weyl vector fields is regarded as the dark energy in the
universe. The cosmological evolution of this ``mixed'' dark energy model is
studied. We find that the effective equation-of-state parameter of the dark
energy can cross the phantom divide $w_{de}=-1$ in some cases; the first and
second cosmological coincidence problems can be alleviated at the same time in
this model.


title:
Constraining the CDM spectrum normalization in flat dark energy
  cosmologies

abstract:
  We study the relation between the rms mass fluctuations on 8$h^{-1}$Mpc
scales and $\Omega_{\rm m}$ using the recent clustering results of XMM-{\it
Newton} soft (0.5-2 keV) X-ray sources, which have a median redshift of $z\sim
1.2$. The relation can be represented in the form $\sigma_{8}=0.34 (\pm 0.01)
\Omega_{\rm m}^{-\gamma}$ where $\gamma\equiv \gamma(\Omega_{\rm m},w)$ and it
is valid for all $w<-1/3$ models. By combining the X-ray clustering and SNIa
data we find that the model which best reproduces the observational data is
that with: $\Omega_{\rm m}\simeq 0.26$, $w\simeq -0.90$ and $\sigma_{8}\simeq
0.73$, which is in excellent agreement with the recent 3-year Wilkinson
Microwave Anisotropy Probe results.


title: Surveying the dark side

abstract:
  We examine the prospects for the next generation of surveys aimed at
elucidating the nature of dark energy. We review the methods that can be used
to determine the redshift evolution of the dark energy equation of state
parameter w, highlighting their respective strengths and potential weaknesses.
All of the attractive methods require surveys covering more than 5-10,000
square degrees of the sky. We examine the accuracy that each method is likely
to deliver within a decade, and discuss the difficulties arising from
systematic uncertainties associated with the techniques.
  We conclude that the proposed photometric and redshift surveys have the
potential of delivering measurements of w with percent accuracy at several
redshifts out to z ~ 3 . Of particular interest will be the combination of weak
lensing and baryonic acoustic oscillations measurements. This exquisite
precision is likely to have a fundamental impact on our understanding of the
nature of dark energy, providing the necessary guidance for its theoretical
explanation.


title: TES imaging array technology for CLOVER

abstract:
  CLOVER is an experiment which aims to detect the signature of gravitational
waves from inflation by measuring the B-mode polarization of the cosmic
microwave background. CLOVER consists of three telescopes operating at 97, 150,
and 220 GHz. The 97-GHz telescope has 160 horns in its focal plane while the
150 and 220-GHz telescopes have 256 horns each. The horns are arranged in a
hexagonal array and feed a polarimeter which uses finline-coupled TES
bolometers as detectors. To detect the two polarizations the 97-GHz telescope
has 320 detectors while the 150 and 220-GHz telescopes have 512 detectors each.
To achieve the required NEPs the detectors are cooled to 100 mK for the 97 and
150-GHz polarimeters and 230 mK for the 220-GHz polarimeter. Each detector is
fabricated as a single chip to guarantee fully functioning focal planes. The
detectors are contained in linear modules made of copper which form split-block
waveguides. The detector modules contain 16 or 20 detectors each for
compatibility with the hexagonal arrays of horns in the telescopes' focal
planes. Each detector module contains a time-division SQUID multiplexer to read
out the detectors. Further amplification of the multiplexed signals is provided
by SQUID series arrays. The first prototype detectors for CLOVER operate with a
bath temperature of 230 mK and are used to validate the detector design as well
as the polarimeter technology. We describe the design of the CLOVER detectors,
detector blocks, and readout, and give an update on the detector development.


title:
CXOU J121538.2+361921 in the galaxy NGC 4214: a double neutron star in
  the making?

abstract:
  CXOU J121538.2+361921 is the brightest X-ray source in the galaxy NGC 4214,
with an X-ray luminosity of up to 0.7 x 10^39 erg/s. The observed periodicity
of 3.62 hr is interpreted as the orbital period of the system. It has been
suggested that the system is a low-mass helium star with a lower-mass compact
companion. If this idea is correct, then CXOU J121538.2+361921 will evolve into
a double neutron star, a binary consisting of a radio pulsar and another
neutron star. In this study we investigate further this possibility. We find
that the X-ray luminosity is consistent with super-Eddington accretion in a
helium star-neutron star binary. The binary is in a state of mass transfer
phase which is initiated when the helium-star donor is on the helium shell
burning stage. A donor star with a current mass in the range of around 2.2 -
3.6 Msun is required to explain the observed orbital period. Helium stars in
this mass range are massive enough to collapse in a supernova explosion, making
CXOU J121538.2+361921 the immediate progenitor of a double neutron star.


title: Effects of early dark energy on strong cluster lensing

abstract:
  We use the semi-analytic method developed by Fedeli et al. for computing
strong-lensing optical depths to study the statistics of gravitational arcs in
four dark-energy cosmologies. Specifically, we focus on models with early dark
energy and compare them to more conventional models. Merger trees are
constructed for the cluster population because strong cluster lensing is
amplified by factors of two to three during mergers. We find that the optical
depth for gravitational arcs in the early dark-energy models is increased by up
to a factor of about 3 compared to the other models because of the modified
dynamics of cluster formation. In particular, the probability for gravitational
arcs in high-redshift clusters is considerably increased, which may offer an
explanation for the unexpectedly high lensing efficiency of distant clusters.


title: Chaos in a 3-body Self-Gravitating Cosmological Spacetime

abstract:
  We investigate the equal-mass 3-body system in general relativistic lineal
gravity in the presence of a cosmological constant $\Lambda$. The cosmological
vacuum energy introduces features that do not have a non-relativistic
counterpart, inducing a competing expansion/contraction of spacetime that
competes with the gravitational self-attraction of the bodies. We derive a
canonical expression for the Hamiltonian of the system and discuss the
numerical solution of the resulting equations of motion. As for the system with
$\Lambda=0$, we find that the structure of the phase space yields a rich
variety of interesting dynamics that can be divided into three distinct
regions: annulus, pretzel, and chaotic; the first two being regions of
quasi-periodicity while the latter is a region of chaos. However unlike the
$\Lambda=0$ case, we find that a negative cosmological constant considerably
diminishes the amount of chaos in the system, even beyond that of the
$\Lambda=0$ non-relativistic system. By contrast, a positive cosmological
constant considerably enhances the amount of chaos, typically leading to KAM
breakdown.


title: Orbital Period of the Dwarf Nova RXS J053234.9+624755

abstract:
  We report spectroscopy of the newly discovered SU Ursae Majoris dwarf nova
identified with the x-ray source RXS J053234.9+624755. Radial velocities of the
H-alpha emission line in the quiescent state give an orbital period of
0.05620(4) d (80.93 min), which is among the shortest for SU UMa stars with
determined periods. We also report UBVI magnitudes of the quiescent dwarf nova
and surrounding stars. Using a previous measurement of the superhump period, we
find the fractional superhump excess epsilon to be 0.016(4), which is not
atypical of dwarf novae in this period range.


title: Sub-milliarcsecond Imaging of SgrA* and M87

abstract:
  We present and discuss new result from mm-VLBI observations of M87 and SgrA*,
using the Global mm-VLBI array (GMVA). New 3mm-VLBI images of the inner jet of
M87 are presented, showing details with a spatial resolution down to 15
Schwarzschild radii. This resolution corresponds to a similar spatial
resolution (in terms of R_s) obtained for Sgr A*. We discuss existing and new
size determinations for this source provided by mm-VLBI at wavelengths of 3, 2,
and 1.4 mm. With respect to the morphological difference between Sgr A* and M87
(the latter exhibits a long jet), a comparison of the sub-milliarcsecond
structures seen with mm-VLBI may lead to a better understanding of the
astro-physical processes acting in the vicinity of super-massive black holes.


title:
Detecting dark matter WIMPs in the Draco dwarf: a multi-wavelength
  perspective

abstract:
  We explore the possible signatures of dark matter (DM) pair annihilations in
the nearby dwarf spheroidal galaxy Draco. After investigating the mass models
for Draco in the light of available observational data, we carefully model the
DM density profile, taking advantage of numerical simulations of hierarchical
structure formation. We then analyze the gamma-ray and electron/positron yield
expected for weakly interacting DM particle (WIMP) models, including an
accurate treatment of the propagation of the charged particle species. We show
that unlike in larger DM structures - such as galaxy clusters - spatial
diffusion plays here an important role. While Draco would appear as a
point-like gamma-ray source, synchrotron emission from electrons and positrons
produced by WIMP annihilations features a spatially extended structure.
Depending upon the cosmic ray propagation setup and the size of the magnetic
fields, the search for a diffuse radio emission from Draco can be a more
sensitive indirect DM search probe than gamma rays. Finally, we show that
available data are consistent with the presence of a black hole at the center
of Draco: if this is indeed the case, very significant enhancements of the
rates for gamma rays and other emissions related to DM annihilations are
expected.


title:
The oxygen abundance calibrations and N/O abundance ratios of ~40,000
  SDSS star-forming galaxies

abstract:
  Using a large sample of 38,478 star-forming galaxies selected from the Second
Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey database (SDSS-DR2), we derive
analytical calibrations for oxygen abundances from several
metallicity-sensitive emission-line ratios: [N II]/H_alpha, [O III]/[N II], [N
II]/[O II], [N II]/[S II], [S II]/H_alpha, and [O III]/H_beta. This consistent
set of strong-line oxygen abundance calibrations will be useful for future
abundance studies. Among these calibrations, [N II]/[O II] is the best for
metal-rich galaxies due to its independence on ionization parameter and low
scatter. Dust extinction must be considered properly at first. These
calibrations are more suitable for metal-rich galaxies (8.4<12+log(O/H)<9.3),
and for the nuclear regions of galaxies. The observed relations are consistent
with those expected from the photoionization models of Kewley & Dopita (2002).
However, most of the observational data spread in a range of ionization
parameter q from 1*10^7 to 8*10^7 cm s^{-1}, corresponding to logU= -3.5 to
-2.5, narrower than that suggested by the models. We also estimate the (N/O)
abundance ratios of this large sample of galaxies, and these are consistent
with the combination of a "primary" and a dominant "secondary" components of
nitrogen.


title:
The VIMOS-VLT Deep Survey. Color bimodality and the mix of galaxy
  populations up to z~2

abstract:
  In this paper we discuss the mix of star-forming and passive galaxies up to
z~2, based on the first epoch VIMOS-VLT Deep Survey (VVDS) data.In agreement
with previous works we find that the galaxy rest-frame color distribution
follows a bimodal distribution at z<=1, and we establish that this bimodality
holds up to z~2. The details of the rest-frame color distribution depend
however on redshift and on galaxy luminosity: faint galaxies are bluer than the
luminous ones over the whole redshift range of our data, and galaxies become
bluer as redshift increases. This blueing trend does not depend, to a first
approximation, on galaxy luminosity. Using our spectroscopic dataset we can
also separate galaxies based on a star-formation, estimated combining the
equivalent width of the [OII] emission line and the strength of the Dn(4000)
break. The comparison between this spectral classification and the rest-frame
colors shows that about 35-40 % of the red objects are star forming galaxies.
Hence we conclude that the red sequence cannot be used to effectively isolate a
sample of purely passively evolving objects within a cosmological survey. We
also find that the color-magnitude relations derived for the color and for the
spectroscopically selected early-type galaxies have remarkably similar
properties, with the contaminating star-forming galaxies within the red
sequence objects introducing no significant offset in the rest frame colors.
Therefore the average color of the red objects does not appear to be a very
sensitive indicator for measuring the evolution of the early-type galaxy
population.Finally, we use the multi-band VVDS photometric data and SED fitting
to derive multi-color galaxy types, which have a slightly higher efficiency
than rest-frame color in isolating the passive, non star-forming galaxies
within the VVDS sample.


title: A No-Truncation Approach to Cosmic Microwave Background Anisotropies

abstract:
  We offer a method of calculating the source term in the line-of-sight
integral for cosmic microwave background anisotropies without using a truncated
partial-wave expansion in the Boltzmann hierarchy.


title:
Towards the Event Horizon - High Resolution VLBI Imaging of Nuclei of
  Active Galaxies

abstract:
  We report on new developments in VLBI, with emphasis on experiments performed
at the highest frequencies possible to date (so called mm-VLBI). We have
observed the nucleus of M 87 (Virgo A) with global VLBI at 3 mm. We show a new
image of the inner-most jet region with an angular resolution of approx. 300 x
60 micro-arcseconds. In terms of Schwarzschild radii, this leads to an upper
limit of the jet base of approx. 100 x 20 Schwarzschild radii. We also report
on two VLBI pilot-experiments, which demonstrate the technical feasibility of
global VLBI at 150 and 230 GHz (2 mm and 1.3 mm). The experiments lead to upper
limits to the size of the unresolved AGN-cores in the 25 - 30 micro-arcsecond
range. The participation of new and near-future mm-telescopes (like APEX,
CARMA, SMA, LMT, ALMA, etc.) in global mm-VLBI will provide the necessary
sensitivity for the imaging of black holes and their immediate environment.


title: SN 2004aw: Confirming Diversity of Type Ic Supernovae

abstract:
  Optical and near-infrared observations of the Type Ic supernova (SN) 2004aw
are presented, obtained from day -3 to day +413 with respect to the B-band
maximum. The photometric evolution is characterised by a comparatively slow
post-maximum decline of the light curves. The peaks in redder bands are
significantly delayed relative to the bluer bands, the I-band maximum occurring
8.4 days later than that in B. With an absolute peak magnitude of -18.02 in the
V band the SN can be considered fairly bright, but not exceptional. This also
holds for the U through I bolometric light curve, where SN 2004aw has a
position intermediate between SNe 2002ap and 1998bw. Spectroscopically SN
2004aw provides a link between a normal Type Ic supernova like SN 1994I and the
group of broad-lined SNe Ic. The spectral evolution is rather slow, with a
spectrum at day +64 being still predominantly photospheric. The shape of the
nebular [O I] 6300,6364 line indicates a highly aspherical explosion. Helium
cannot be unambiguously identified in the spectra, even in the near-infrared.
Using an analytical description of the light curve peak we find that the total
mass of the ejecta in SN 2004aw is 3.5-8.0 M_Sun, significantly larger than in
SN 1994I, although not as large as in SN 1998bw. The same model suggests that
about 0.3 M_Sun of {56}Ni has been synthesised in the explosion. No connection
to a GRB can be firmly established.


title:
The Citation Impact of Digital Preprint Archives for Solar Physics
  Papers

abstract:
  Papers that are posted to a digital preprint archive are typically cited
twice as often as papers that are not posted. This has been demonstrated for
papers published in a wide variety of journals, and in many different subfields
of astronomy. Most astronomers now use the arXiv.org server (astro-ph) to
distribute preprints, but the solar physics community has an independent
archive hosted at Montana State University. For several samples of solar
physics papers published in 2003, I quantify the boost in citation rates for
preprints posted to each of these servers. I show that papers on the MSU
archive typically have citation rates 1.7 times higher than the average of
similar papers that are not posted as preprints, while those posted to astro-ph
get 2.6 times the average. A comparable boost is found for papers published in
conference proceedings, suggesting that the higher citation rates are not the
result of self-selection of above-average papers.


title: Cluster Core Dynamics at the Galactic Center

abstract:
  We present results of N-body simulations aimed at understanding the dynamics
of young stars near the Galactic center. Specifically, we model the inspiral of
a cluster core containing an intermediate mass black hole and $N \sim 50$
cluster stars in the gravitational potential of a supermassive black hole. We
first study the elliptic three-body problem to isolate issues of tidal
stripping and subsequent scattering, followed by full N-body simulations to
treat the internal dynamics consistently. We find that our simulations
reproduce several dynamical features of the observed population. These include
the observed inner edge of the claimed clockwise disk, as well as the thickness
of said disk. We find that high density clumps, such as that claimed for
IRS13E, also result generically from our simulations. However, not all features
of the observations are reproduced. In particular, the surface density profile
of the simulated disk scales as $\Sigma \propto r^{-0.75}$, which is
considerably shallower than that observed. Further, at no point is any
significant counter-rotating population formed.


title:
Exploring the Central Compact Object in the RX J0852.0-4622 Supernova
  Remnant with XMM-Newton

abstract:
  The properties of the presumably young galactic supernova remnant (SNR) RX
J0852.0-4622, discovered by ROSAT, are still uncertain. The data concerning the
distance to the SNR, its age, and the presence of a compact remnant remain
controversial. We report the results of several XMM-Newton observations of CXOU
J085201.4-461753, the central compact source in RX J0852.0-4622. The currently
prefered interpretation of CXOU J085201.4-461753 being a neutron star is in
line with our analysis. The Chandra candidate pulsation periods are not
confirmed; actually no period was found down to a 3-sigma upper limit for any
pulsed fraction. The spectrum of CXOU J085201.4-461753 is best described by
either a two blackbody spectrum or a single blackbody spectrum with a high
energy power law tail. The two blackbody temperatures of 4 MK and 6.6 MK along
with the small size of the emitting regions with radii of 0.36 and 0.06 km
invalidate the interpretation that the thermal radiation is cooling emission
from the entire neutron star surface. The double blackbody model suggests
emission from the neutron star's hot polar regions. No X-ray lines, including
the emission feature previously claimed to be present in Chandra data, were
found.


title: Guaranteed and Prospective Galactic TeV Neutrino Sources

abstract:
  Recent observations, particularly from the HESS Collaboration, have revealed
rich Galactic populations of TeV gamma-ray sources, including a collection
unseen in other wavelengths. Many of these gamma-ray spectra are well measured
up to ~10 TeV, where low statistics make observations by air Cerenkov
telescopes difficult. To understand these mysterious sources, especially at
much higher energies--where a cutoff should eventually appear--new techniques
are needed. We point out the following: (1) For a number of sources, it is very
likely that pions, and hence TeV neutrinos, are produced; (2) As a general
point, neutrinos should be a better probe of the highest energies than gamma
rays, due to increasing detector efficiency; and (3) For several specific
sources, the detection prospects for km^3 neutrino telescopes are very good,
about 1-10 events/year, with low atmospheric neutrino background rates above
reasonable energy thresholds. Such signal rates, as small as they may seem,
will allow neutrino telescopes to powerfully discriminate between models for
the Galactic TeV sources, with important consequences for our understanding of
cosmic-ray production.


title: Mid-Infrared Emission from Dust around Quiescent Low-Mass X-ray Binaries

abstract:
  We report the discovery of excess 4.5 and 8 micron emission from three
quiescent black hole low-mass X-ray binaries, A 0620-00, GS 2023+338, and XTE
J1118+480. The mid-infrared emission from GS 2023+338 probably originates in
the accretion disk. However, the excess emission from A 0620-00 and XTE
J1118+480 is brighter and peaks at longer wavelengths, and so probably
originates from circumbinary dust that is heated by the light of the secondary
star. We find that the inner edge of the dust distribution lies near 1.7 times
the binary separation, which is the minimum radius at which a circumbinary disk
would be stable against tidal disruption. The excess infrared emission is not
detected at 24 micron, which implies that the dust does not extend beyond about
3 times the binary separation. The total masses of circumbinary material are
between 10^22 and 10^24 g. The material could be the remains of fall-back disks
produced in supernovae, or material from the companions injected into
circumbinary orbits during mass transfer.


title:
Goodness-of-Fit Tests DIFF1 and DIFF2 for Locally-Normalized Supernova
  Spectra

abstract:
  Two quantitative tests DIFF1 and DIFF2 for measuring goodness-of-fit between
two locally-normalized supernova spectra are presented. Locally-normalized
spectra are obtained by dividing a spectrum by the same spectrum smoothed over
a wavelength interval relatively large compared to line features, but
relatively small compared to continuum features. DIFF1 essentially measures the
mean relative difference between the line patterns of locally-normalized
spectra and DIFF2 is DIFF1 minimized by a relative logarithmic wavelength shift
between the spectra: the shift is effectively an artificial relative Doppler
shift. Both DIFF1 and DIFF2 measure the physical similarity of line formation,
and thus of supernovae. DIFF1 puts more weight on overall physical similarity
of the supernovae than DIFF2 because the DIFF2 shift compensates somewhat for
some physical distinction in the supernovae. Both tests are useful in ordering
supernovae into empirical groupings for further analysis. We present some
examples of locally-normalized spectra for Type IIb supernova SN 1993J with
some analysis of these spectra. The UV parts of two of the SN 1993J spectra are
HST spectra that have not been published before. We also give an example of
fitted locally-normalized spectra and, as an example of the utility of DIFF1
and DIFF2, some preliminary statistical results for hydrogen-deficient
core-collapse (HDCC) supernova spectra. This paper makes use of and refers to
material to found at the first author's online supernova spectrum database
SUSPEND (SUpernovae Spectra PENDing further analysis: see
http://www.nhn.ou.edu/~jeffery/astro/sne/spectra/spectra.html)


title: A Reverberation-Based Mass for the Central Black Hole in NGC 4151

abstract:
  We have undertaken a new ground-based monitoring campaign to improve the
estimates of the mass of the central black hole in NGC 4151. We measure the lag
time of the broad H beta line response compared to the optical continuum at
5100 A and find a lag of 6.6 (+1.1/-0.8) days. We combine our data with the
recent reanalysis of UV emission lines by Metzroth et al. to calculate a
weighted mean of the black hole mass, M_BH = 4.57 (+0.57/-0.47) x 10^7 M_sun.
The absolute calibration of the black hole mass is based on normalization of
the AGN black hole mass - stellar velocity dispersion (M_BH - sigma_*)
relationship to that of quiescent galaxies by Onken et al. The scatter in the
M_BH - sigma_* relationship suggests that reverberation-mapping based mass
measurements are typically uncertain by a factor of 3-4.


title: Cosmology of neutrinos and extra light particles after WMAP3

abstract:
  We study how present data probe standard and non-standard properties of
neutrinos and the possible existence of new light particles, freely-streaming
or interacting, among themselves or with neutrinos. Our results include: sum
m_nu < 0.40 eV at 99.9% C.L.; that extra massless particles have abundance
Delta N_nu = 2 pm 1 if freely-streaming and Delta N_nu = 0 pm 1.3 if
interacting; that 3 interacting neutrinos are disfavored at about 4 sigma. We
investigate the robustness of our results by fitting to different sub-sets of
data. We developed our own cosmological computational tools, somewhat different
from the standard ones.


title:
Rapid Evolution in the Most Luminous Galaxies During the First 900
  Million Years

abstract:
  The first 900 million years (Myr) to redshift z~6 (the first seven per cent
of the age of the Universe) remains largely unexplored for the formation of
galaxies. Large samples of galaxies have been found at z~6, but detections at
earlier times are uncertain and unreliable. It is not at all clear how galaxies
built up from the first stars when the Universe was ~300 Myr old (z~12-15) to
z~6, just 600 Myr later. Here we report the results of a search for galaxies at
z~7-8, about 700 Myr after the Big Bang, using the deepest near-infrared and
optical images ever taken. Under conservative selection criteria we find only
one candidate galaxy at z~7-8, where ten would be expected if there were no
evolution in the galaxy population between z~7-8 and z~6. Using less
conservative criteria, there are four candidates, where 17 would be expected
with no evolution. This demonstrates that very luminous galaxies are quite rare
700 Myr after the Big Bang. The simplest explanation is that the Universe is
just too young to have built up many luminous galaxies at z~7-8 by the
hierarchical merging of small galaxies.


title: NGC 3310 and Its Tidal Debris: Remnants of Galaxy Evolution

abstract:
  NGC 3310 is a local galaxy with an intense, ongoing starburst thought to
result from a merger with a companion galaxy. It has several known tidal
features in the northwest and southern regions around the main galactic disc,
as well as a closed, tidal loop emerging from the eastern side of the disc and
rejoining in the north. This loop appears to be distinct from the rest of the
shells surrounding NGC3310 and is the first of its kind to be detected in a
starburst galaxy. In this work, we present UBVR photometry to faint surface
brightness levels of this debris network, and we explore various strategies for
modelling NGC 3310's disc and subtracting its contribution from each region of
debris. We then compare these photometric results with the GALEV spectral
synthesis models, and find possible material from the intruder galaxy,
suggesting that the recent accretion of several small galaxies is driving the
evolution of NGC 3310.


title:
Observing Cold Gas in Submillimeter Galaxies: Detection of CO(1-0)
  Emission in SMM J13120+4242 with the Green Bank Telescope

abstract:
  We report the first detection of CO(1-0) emission from a
submillimeter-selected galaxy, using the Green Bank Telescope. We identify the
line in the spectrum of SMM J13120+4242 as a broad emission feature at z=3.408,
with Delta(V_FWHM)=1040 +/- 190 km/s. If the observed CO(1-0) line profile
arises from a single object and not several merging objects, then the
CO(4-3)/CO(1-0) brightness temperature ratio of ~0.26 suggests n(H_2) > 3-10 x
10^2 cm^-3 and the presence of sub-thermally excited gas. The integrated line
flux implies a cold molecular gas mass M(H_2)=1.6 x 10^11 M_sun, comparable to
the dynamical mass estimate and 4 times larger than the H_2 mass predicted from
the CO(4-3) line assuming a brightness temperature ratio of 1.0. While our
observations confirm that this submillimeter galaxy is massive and gas-rich,
they also suggest that extrapolating gas masses from J_upper >= 3 transitions
of CO leads to considerable uncertainties. We also report an upper limit to the
mass of cold molecular gas in a second submillimeter galaxy, SMM J09431+4700,
of M(H_2)< 4 x 10^10 M_sun.


title: V838 Mon and M31-RV: The Stellar Populations Angle

abstract:
  Insight into the origin of unusual events like the eruption of V838 Mon can
be obtained from studies of the stellar populations from which they arise. V838
Mon lies in an intriguing region of the Galaxy, toward the warped outer edge of
the disk, with significant contributions from the Galactic thick disk and the
recently discovered Monoceros tidal stream. The initial distance measures
placed V838 Mon in a jumbled region of the Galaxy but the recent shorter
distances make it highly likely that V838 Mon was a thin disk star -- likely in
a spiral arm -- consistent with the recent detection of a young cluster in the
vicinity. We compare V838 Mon to M31-RV, a red variable that erupted in the
bulge of M31 in 1988 and had a peak luminosity and spectral evolution very
similar to V838 Mon. Archival HST images show no nebulosity or unusual stars at
M31-RV's projected location. Moreover, the only stellar population in the field
is a canonic old bulge population. This indicates that whatever the origin of
the red novae, the mechanism is likely independent of age and progenitor mass.
In particular, the B3V star seen in V838 Mon it not a necessary part of the
eruption mechanism.


title: RR Lyrae Stars in the Bootes dSph

abstract:
  We present a catalog of 15 RR Lyrae variable stars in the recently discovered
Bootes galaxy -- the most metal-poor simple stellar population with measured RR
Lyrae stars. The pulsational properties of the RR Lyrae conform closely to
period-abundance trends extrapolated from more metal-rich populations and we
estimate the distance of Bootes to be (m-M)_0=18.96+-0.12. The average period
(0.69 days), the ratio of type c to type ab pulsators (0.53) and the RRab
period shift (-0.07) indicate an Oosterhoff II classification for Bootes, a
marked contrast to the other dSph galaxies, which are Oosterhoff intermediate.
This supports the contention that the Oosterhoff dichotomy is a continuum --
that RR Lyrae properties, to first order, vary smoothly with abundance. The
dSph galaxies are not distinct from the Galactic globular clusters, but bridge
the Oosterhoff gap. The absence of any anomalous Cepheids in Bootes could
indicate the lack of an intermediate age population.


title: The Dwarf Satellites of M31 and the Galaxy

abstract:
  The satellite systems of M31 and the Galaxy are compared. It is noted that
all five of the suspected stripped dSph cores of M31 companions are located
within a projected distance of 40 kpc of from the nucleus of this galaxy,
whereas the normal dSph companions to this object have distances > 40 kpc from
the center of M31. All companions within 200 kpc < D(M31) < 600 kpc are
late-type objects. The companions to the Galaxy appear to exhibit different
systematics with the irregular LMC and SMC being located at small R_{gc}. It is
speculated that this difference might be accounted for by assuming that the
Magellanic Clouds are interlopers that were originally formed in the outer
reaches of the Local Group. The radial distribution of the total sample of 40
companions of M31 and the Galaxy, which is shown in Figure 1, may hint at the
possibility that these objects contain distinct populations of core (R < 25
kpc) and halo (R > 25 kpc) satellites.)


title: Quasars at z=6: the survival of the fittest

abstract:
  The Sloan Digital Sky survey detected luminous quasars at very high redshift,
z>6. Follow-up observations indicated that at least some of these quasars are
powered by supermassive black holes (SMBHs) with masses in excess of billion
solar masses. SMBHs, therefore, seem to have already existed when the Universe
was less than 1 Gyr old, and the bulk of galaxy formation still has to take
place. We investigate in this paper to which extent accretion and dynamical
processes influence the early growth of SMBHs. We assess the impact of (i)
black hole mergers, (ii) the influence of the merging efficiency and (iii) the
negative contribution due to dynamical effects which can kick black holes out
of their host halos (gravitational recoil). We find that if accretion is always
limited by the Eddington rate via a thin disc, the maximum radiative efficiency
allowed to reproduce the LF at z=6 is of order 12%, when the adverse effect of
the gravitational recoil is taken into consideration. Dynamical effects cannot
be neglected in studies of high-redshift SMBHs. If black holes can accrete at
super-critical rate during an early phase, reproducing the observed SMBH mass
values is not an issue, even in the case that the recoil velocity is in the
upper limits range, as the mass ratios of merging binaries are skewed towards
low values, where the gravitational recoil effect is very mild. We propose that
SMBH growth at early times is very selective, and efficient only for black
holes hosted in high density peak halos.


title:
Studies of systematic uncertainties in the estimation of the monocular
  aperture of the HiRes experiment

abstract:
  We have studied several sources of systematic uncertainty in calculating the
aperture of the High Resolution Fly's Eye experiment (HiRes) in monocular mode,
primarily as they affect the HiRes-II site. The energy dependent aperture is
determined with detailed Monte Carlo simulations of the air showers and the
detector response. We have studied the effects of changes to the input energy
spectrum and composition used in the simulation. A realistic shape of the input
spectrum is used in our analysis in order to avoid biases in the aperture
estimate due to the limited detector resolution. We have examined the effect of
exchanging our input spectrum with a simple E^{-3} power law in the "ankle"
region. Uncertainties in the input composition are shown to be significant for
energies below about 10^{18} eV for data from the HiRes-II detector. Another
source of uncertainties is the choice of the hadronic interaction model in the
air shower generator. We compare the aperture estimate for two different
models: QGSJet01 and SIBYLL 2.1. We also describe the implications of employing
an atmospheric database with hourly measurements of the aerosol component,
instead of using an average as has been used in our previously published
measurements of the monocular spectra.


title:
High Mass Star Formation. III. The Functional Form of the Submillimeter
  Clump Mass Function

abstract:
  We investigate the mass function of cold, dusty clumps in 11 low- and
high-mass star-forming regions. Using a homogeneous fitting technique, we
analyze the shape of each region's clump mass function and examine the
commonalities among them. We find that the submillimeter continuum clump mass
function in low-mass star-forming regions is typically best fit by a lognormal
distribution, while that in high-mass star-forming regions is better fit by a
double power law. A single power law clump mass distribution is ruled out in
all cases. Fitting all of the regions with a double power law, we find the mean
power law exponent at the high-mass end of each mass function is alpha_high =
-2.4+/-0.1, consistent with the Salpeter result of alpha = -2.35. We find no
region-to-region trend in alpha_high with the mass scale of the clumps in a
given region, as characterized by their median mass. Similarly, non
non-parametric tests show that the shape of the clump mass function does not
change much from region to region, despite the obvious changes in the intrinsic
mass scale. This result is consistent with the hypothesis that the clump mass
distribution is determined by a highly stochastic process, such as turbulent
fragmentation. It may also suggest that the data reduction and analysis
techniques strongly affect the shape of the derived mass function.


title:
An Example of the Quasiperiodic Solution of the Restricted Three Body
  Problem at 2:1 Resonance

abstract:
  The 2:1 mean motion resonance orbit was integrated at the restricted planar
3-body problem in absolute frame. Orbit of Jupiter was assumed circular.
Initial Jupiter longitude was assumed zero. The Runge-Kutta method was used.
The start of first series of integration was from conjunction point at zero
inclination and fixed eccentricity e=0.4 and different pericenter longitudes.
  The orbit with encounter at apocenter shows fast clockwise rotation. The
orbit with encounter at pericenter rotated counterclockwise. It means, that
periodic orbit exist between two investigated ones. It was found, that two
orbits with e=0.4, initial perihelion longitude close to 100o has not apsidal
line rotation; however it has significant semimajor axis variations. The
orbital elements show a very regular behavior on time interval about 3000
years. Due to Laplace theorem, at low perturbation, semimajor axis has only
small short periodic oscillations. It means, that motion may be exactly
periodic. The cases of another initial eccentricity are considered at range
from circular orbit to intersecting orbit. The dependence pericenter longitude
of quasi-periodic orbits on eccentricity was found. The orbits with e large 0.5
have catastrophic close encounters with Jupiter and may be periodic only at
special value of eccentricity. The additional series of integrations, at small
shift from exact mean motion commensurability, was done.


title:
Dynamical Stability of Cusps and Cores: Implication to the Centers of
  Galaxies and Cluster of Galaxies

abstract:
  We study the stability of a spherically symmetric density profile. We analyze
the case of a collisionless system with a power-law profile given by rho propto
r^-alpha, in the Newtonian regime using the Jeans equation. The Jeans equation
is mathematically identical to the equation of hydrostatic equilibrium as long
as p_J = rho sigma^2 is regarded as the pressure counterpart for ordinary gas,
where sigma is the local velocity dispersion. Since a self-gravitating
collisionless system is at best metastable, if it is treated statistical
mechanically, the dynamical equilibrium described by the Jeans equation will
have a shorter life time than the thermodynamically stable equilibrium for
ordinary gas. Here we take a heuristic approach, using the pressure
counterpart, p_J. From the requirement that p_J > 0 or the normalcy of the
formal EOS, p_J = p_J(rho) obtained by eliminating r, we find the following
heuristic stability criterion. For 0 < alpha < 1, p_J < 0, the density profile
is unstable. We interpret this profile to be a transient one evolving toward a
flat-top profile, which seems to be the final product with absolute stability.
For 1<alpha <3, the profile is dynamically stable. It is an interesting
coincidence that dark matter halo profiles obtained by cosmological N-body
simulations, fall into this category. For 3<alpha, p_J<0. We suspect that such
a steep profile is in the process of collapsing toward r=0.


title:
The effect of FIR emission from SDSS galaxies on the SFD Galactic
  extinction map

abstract:
  We compare the most successful and widely used map of Galactic dust
extinction, provided by Schlegel, Finkbeiner & Davis (1998; hereafter SFD), to
the galaxy number counts in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS)
photometric/spectroscopic DR4 sample. We divide the SDSS survey area into 69
disjoint subregions according to the dust extinction provided by SFD and
compare the surface number density of galaxies in each subregion. As expected,
the galaxy surface number density decreases with increasing extinction but only
for SFD extinction values above about 0.1 to 0.2 magnitudes (depending on the
band). At lower values of the SFD extinction, we find that the sky surface
density of galaxies increases with increasing extinction, precisely the
opposite of the effect expected from Galactic dust. We suggest that the far
infrared (FIR) brightness of the sky in regions of true low dust extinction is
significantly ``contaminated'' by the FIR emission from background galaxies. We
show that such an explanation is both qualitatively and quantitatively
consistent with the available data. Based on this interpretation we conclude
that systematic errors in the SFD extinction map due to extragalactic FIR
emission are quite small, of order hundredths of a magnitude, but nevertheless
statistically detectable. (Abridged)


title: Confirming the high velocity outflow in PG 1211+143

abstract:
  An XMM-Newton observation of the bright QSO PG1211+143 was previously
reported to show evidence for a massive, energetic outflow, with an outflow
velocity of v~0.1c based on the identification of blue-shifted absorption lines
detected in both EPIC and RGS spectra. Subsequently, an order-of-magnitude
lower velocity has been claimed from an ion-by-ion model fit to the RGS data.
We show here, in a re-analysis of the higher signal-to-noise EPIC data, that
the high velocity is confirmed, with the resolution of additional absorption
lines yielding a revised outflow velocity in the range ~0.13-0.15c.
Confirmation of a massive and energetic outflow in a non-BAL AGN has important
implications for metal enrichment of the IGM and for the feedback mechanism
implied by the correlation of black hole and galactic bulge masses. We note the
near-Eddington luminosity of PG1211+143 may be the critical factor in driving
such an energetic outflow, a situation likely to be common in AGN at higher
redshift.


title: Indirect dark matter search with AMS-02

abstract:
  The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS), to be installed on the International
Space Station, will provide data on cosmic radiations in the energy range from
0.5 GeV to 3 TeV. The main physics goals are the anti-matter and the dark
matter searches. Observations and cosmology indicate that the Universe may
include a large amount of unknown Dark Matter. It should be composed of non
baryonic Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMP). In R-parity conserving
models a good WIMP candidate is the lightest SUSY particle. AMS offers a unique
opportunity to study simultaneously SUSY dark matter in three decay channels
resulting from the neutralino annihilation: e+, antiproton and gamma. Either in
the SUSY frame and in alternative scenarios (like extra-dimensions) the
expected flux sensitivities as a function of energy in 3 year exposure for the
e+/e- ratio, gamma and antiproton yields are presented.


title: Neutrino masses and cosmic radiation density: Combined analysis

abstract:
  We determine the range of neutrino masses and cosmic radiation content
allowed by the most recent CMB and large-scale structure data. In contrast to
other recent works, we vary these parameters simultaneously and provide
likelihood contours in the two-dimensional parameter space of N_eff}, the usual
effective number of neutrino species measuring the radiation density, and \sum
m_nu. The allowed range of \sum m_nu and N_eff has shrunk significantly
compared to previous studies. The previous degeneracy between these parameters
has disappeared, largely thanks to the baryon acoustic oscillation data. The
likelihood contours differ significantly if \sum m_nu resides in a single
species instead of the standard case of being equally distributed among all
flavors. For \sum m_nu=0 we find 2.7 < N_eff < 4.6 at 95% CL while \sum m_nu <
0.62 eV at 95% CL for the standard radiation content.


title:
Dependence of radio halo properties on star formation activity and
  galaxy mass

abstract:
  We investigate the relation between the existence and size of radio halos,
which are believed to be created by star formation (SF) related energy input
into the interstellar medium, and other galaxy properties, most importantly
star formation activity and galaxy mass. Based on radio continuum and H-alpha
observations of a sample of seven late-type spiral galaxies we find a direct,
linear correlation of the radial extent of gaseous halos on the size of the
actively star-forming parts of the galaxy disks. Data of a larger sample of 22
galaxies indicate that the threshold energy input rate into the disk ISM per
unit surface area for the creation of a gaseous halo depends on the mass
surface density of the galaxy, in the sense that a higher threshold must be
surpassed for galaxies with a higher surface density. Because of the good
prediction of the existence of a radio halo from these two parameters, we
conclude that they are important, albeit not the only contributors. The
compactness of the SF-related energy input is also found to be a relevant
factor. Galaxies with relatively compact SF distributions are more likely to
have gaseous halos than others with more widespread SF activity. These results
quantify the so-called "break-out" condition for matter to escape from galaxy
disks, as used in all current models of the interstellar medium and first
defined by Norman and Ikeuchi (1989).


title: Optical and Infrared Diagnostics of SDSS galaxies in the SWIRE Survey

abstract:
  We present the rest-frame optical and infrared colours of a complete sample
of 1114 z<0.3 galaxies from the Spitzer Wide-area InfraRed Extragalactic Legacy
Survey (SWIRE) and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). We discuss the optical
and infrared colours of our sample and analyse in detail the contribution of
dusty star-forming galaxies and AGN to optically selected red sequence
galaxies.
  We propose that the optical (g-r) colour and infrared log(L_{24}/L_{3.6})
colour of galaxies in our sample are determined primarily by a bulge-to-disk
ratio. The (g-r) colour is found to be sensitive to the bulge-to-disk ratio for
disk-dominated galaxies, whereas the log(L_{24}/L_{3.6}) colour is more
sensitive for bulge-dominated systems.
  We identify ~18% (195 sources) of our sample as having red optical colours
and infrared excess. Typically, the infrared luminosities of these galaxies are
found to be at the high end of star-forming galaxies with blue optical colours.
Using emission line diagnostic diagrams, 78 are found to have an AGN
contribution, and 117 are identified as star-forming systems. The red (g-r)
colour of the star-forming galaxies could be explained by extinction. However,
their high optical luminosities cannot. We conclude that they have a
significant bulge component.
  The number densities of optically red star-forming galaxies are found to
correspond to ~13% of the total number density of our sample. In addition,
these systems contribute ~13% of the total optical luminosity density, and 28%
of the total infrared luminosity density of our SWIRE/SDSS sample. These
objects may reduce the need for "dry-mergers".


title:
High Energy Neutrinos and Cosmic-Rays from Low-Luminosity Gamma-Ray
  Bursts?

abstract:
  The recently discovered gamma-ray burst (GRB) GRB 060218/SN 2006aj is
classified as an X-ray Flash with very long duration driven possibly by a
neutron star. Since GRB 060218 is very near about 140 Mpc and very dim,
one-year observation by Swift suggests that the rate of GRB 060218-like events
might be very high so that such low luminosity GRBs (LL-GRBs) might form a
different population from the cosmological high luminosity GRBs (HL-GRBs). We
found that the high energy neutrino background from LL-GRBs could be comparable
with that from HL-GRBs. If each neutrino event is detected by IceCube, later
optical-infrared follow-up observations such as by Subaru and HST have
possibilities to identify a Type Ibc supernova associated with LL-GRBs, even if
gamma- and X-rays are not observed by Swift. This is in a sense a new window
from neutrino astronomy, which might enable us to confirm the existence of
LL-GRBs and to obtain information about their rate and origin. We also argue
LL-GRBs as high energy gamma-ray and cosmic-ray sources.


title: Ekman layer damping of r-modes revisited

abstract:
  We investigate the damping of neutron star r-modes due to the presence of a
viscous boundary (Ekman) layer at the interface between the crust and the core.
Our study is motivated by the possibility that the gravitational-wave driven
instability of the inertial r-modes may become active in rapidly spinning
neutron stars, eg. in low-mass X-ray binaries, and the fact that a viscous
Ekman layer at the core-crust interface provides an efficient damping mechanism
for these oscillations. We review various approaches to the problem and carry
out an analytic calculation of the effects due to the Ekman layer for a rigid
crust. Our analytic estimates support previous numerical results, and provide
further insight into the intricacies of the problem. We add to previous work by
discussing the effect that compressibility and composition stratification have
on the boundary layer damping. We show that, while stratification is
unimportant for the r-mode problem, composition suppresses the damping rate by
about a factor of two (depending on the detailed equation of state).


title:
The superflares of soft Gamma-ray repeatres: giant quakes in solid quark
  stars?

abstract:
  Three times of supergiant flares from soft $\gamma$-ray repeatres are
observed, with typical released energy of $\sim 10^{44-47}$ erg. A conventional
model (i.e., the magnetar model) for such events is catastrophic
magnetism-powered instability through magnetohydrodynamic process, in which a
significant part of short-hard $\gamma$-ray bursts could also be the results of
magnetars. Based on various observational features (e.g., precession, glitch,
thermal photon emission) and the underlying theory of strong interaction
(quantum chromodynamics, QCD), it could not be ruled out yet that pulsar-like
stars might be actually solid quark stars. Strain energy develops during a
solid star's life, and starquakes could occur when stellar stresses reach a
critical value, with huge energy released. An alternative model for supergiant
flares of soft $\gamma$-ray repeatres is presented, in which energy release
during a star quake of solid quark stars is calculated. Numerical results for
spherically asymmetric solid stars show that the released gravitational energy
during a giant quake could be as high as $10^{48}$ erg if the tangential
pressure is slightly higher than the radial one. Difficulties in magnetar
models may be overcome if AXPs/SGRs are accreting solid quark stars with mass
$\sim (1-2)M_\odot$.