The Planetary Nebulae Luminosity Function and distances to Virgo, Hydra I and Coma clusters

The luminosity function of planetary nebulae populations in galaxies within 10-15 Mpc distance has a cut-off at bright magnitudes and a functional form that is observed to be invariant in different galaxy morphological types. Thus it is used as a secondary distance indicator in both early and late-type galaxies. Recent deep surveys of planetary nebulae populations in brightest cluster galaxies (BCGs) seem to indicate that their luminosity functions deviate from those observed in the nearby galaxies. We discuss the evidence for such deviations in Virgo, and indicate which physical mechanisms may alter the evolution of a planetary nebula envelope and its central star in the halo of BCGs. We then discuss preliminary results for distances for the Virgo, Hydra I and Coma clusters based on the observed planetary nebulae luminosity functions.Comment: 5 pages, one figure. To appear on the Proceedings of the IAU Symp. 289 "Advancing the physics of cosmic distances

Presence and rehabilitation: toward second-generation virtual reality applications in neuropsychology

Virtual Reality (VR) offers a blend of attractive attributes for rehabilitation. The most exploited is its ability to create a 3D simulation of reality that can be explored by patients under the supervision of a therapist. In fact, VR can be defined as an advanced communication interface based on interactive 3D visualization, able to collect and integrate different inputs and data sets in a single real-like experience. However, "treatment is not just fixing what is broken; it is nurturing what is best" (Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi). For rehabilitators, this statement supports the growing interest in the influence of positive psychological state on objective health care outcomes. This paper introduces a bio-cultural theory of presence linking the state of optimal experience defined as "flow" to a virtual reality experience. This suggests the possibility of using VR for a new breed of rehabilitative applications focused on a strategy defined as transformation of flow. In this view, VR can be used to trigger a broad empowerment process within the flow experience induced by a high sense of presence. The link between its experiential and simulative capabilities may transform VR into the ultimate rehabilitative device. Nevertheless, further research is required to explore more in depth the link between cognitive processes, motor activities, presence and flow

Selection-Based Learning: The Coevolution Of Internal And External Selection In High-Velocity Environments

To understand the effects of selection on firm-level learning, this study synthesizes two contrasting views of evolution. Internal selection theorists view managers in multiproduct firms as the primary agents of evolutionary change because they decide whether individual products and technologies are retained or eliminated. In contrast, external selection theorists contend that the environment drives evolution because it determines whether entire firms live or die. Though these theories differ, they describe tightly interwoven processes. In assessing the coevolution of internal and external selection among personal computer manufacturers across a 20-year period, we found that (1) firms learned cumulatively and adaptively from internal and partial external selection, the latter occurring when the environment killed part but not all of a firm; (2) internal and partial external selection coevolved, as each affected the other's future rate and the odds of firm failure; (3) partial external selection had a greater effect on future outcomes than internal selection; and (4) the lessons gleaned from prior selection were reflected in a firm's ability to develop new products, making that an important mediator between past and future selection events.Managemen

Dynamical Interactions Make Hot Jupiters in Open Star Clusters

Explaining the origin and evolution of exoplanetary "hot Jupiters" remains a significant challenge. One possible mechanism for their production is planet-planet interactions, which produces hot Jupiters from planets born far from their host stars but near their dynamical stability limits. In the much more likely case of planets born far from their dynamical stability limits, can hot Jupiters can be formed in star clusters? Our N-body simulations of planetary systems inside star clusters answer this question in the affirmative, and show that hot Jupiter formation is not a rare event. We detail three case studies of the dynamics-induced births of hot Jupiters on highly eccentric orbits that can only occur inside star clusters. The hot Jupiters' orbits bear remarkable similarities to those of some of the most extreme exoplanets known: HAT-P-32 b, HAT-P-2 b, HD 80606 b and GJ 876 d. If stellar perturbations formed these hot Jupiters then our simulations predict that these very hot, inner planets are often accompanied by much more distant gas giants in highly eccentric orbits.Comment: 18 pages, 4 figure

Blue Stragglers in Low-Luminosity Star Clusters

We examine the blue straggler populations of 13 low-luminosity (M_V_t >~ -6) globular clusters and 2 old open clusters. These clusters test blue straggler formation in environments intermediate between higher luminosity (and usually higher density) clusters and the Galactic field. The anti-correlation between the relative frequency of blue stragglers (F_BSS = N_BSS / N_HB) and cluster luminosity continues to the lowest luminosity clusters, which have frequencies meeting or exceeding that of field stars. In addition we find that the anti-correlation between straggler frequency and central density disappears for clusters with density less than about 300 L_V,sun pc^-3, although this appears to be an artifact of the correlation between cluster luminosity and central density. We argue on observational (wide, eccentric binaries containing blue stragglers in M67, and the existence of very bright stragglers in most of the clusters in our sample) and theoretical grounds that stellar collisions still produce a significant fraction of the blue stragglers in low luminosity star clusters due to the long-term survival of wide binaries.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures, accepted to ApJ Letter