Infrared Observations of Hot Gas and Cold Ice toward the Low Mass Protostar Elias 29

We have obtained the full 1-200 um spectrum of the low luminosity (36 Lsun) Class I protostar Elias 29 in the Rho Ophiuchi molecular cloud. It provides a unique opportunity to study the origin and evolution of interstellar ice and the interrelationship of interstellar ice and hot core gases around low mass protostars. We see abundant hot CO and H2O gas, as well as the absorption bands of CO, CO2, H2O and ``6.85 um'' ices. We compare the abundances and physical conditions of the gas and ices toward Elias 29 with the conditions around several well studied luminous, high mass protostars. The high gas temperature and gas/solid ratios resemble those of relatively evolved high mass objects (e.g. GL 2591). However, none of the ice band profiles shows evidence for significant thermal processing, and in this respect Elias 29 resembles the least evolved luminous protostars, such as NGC 7538 : IRS9. Thus we conclude that the heating of the envelope of the low mass object Elias 29 is qualitatively different from that of high mass protostars. This is possibly related to a different density gradient of the envelope or shielding of the ices in a circumstellar disk. This result is important for our understanding of the evolution of interstellar ices, and their relation to cometary ices.Comment: 18 pages and 14 figures, accepted for publication in A&

Herschel evidence for disk flattening or gas depletion in transitional disks

Transitional disks are protoplanetary disks characterized by reduced near- and mid-infrared emission with respect to full disks. This characteristic spectral energy distribution indicates the presence of an optically thin inner cavity within the dust disk believed to mark the disappearance of the primordial massive disk. We present new Herschel Space Observatory PACS spectra of [OI] 63 micron for 21 transitional disks. Our survey complements the larger Herschel GASPS program "Gas in Protoplanetary Systems" (Dent et al. 2013) by quadrupling the number of transitional disks observed with PACS at this wavelength. [OI] 63 micron traces material in the outer regions of the disk, beyond the inner cavity of most transitional disks. We find that transitional disks have [OI] 63 micron line luminosities two times fainter than their full disk counterparts. We self consistently determine various stellar properties (e.g. bolometric luminosity, FUV excess, etc.) and disk properties (e.g. disk dust mass, etc.) that could influence the [OI] 63 micron line luminosity and we find no correlations that can explain the lower [OI] 63 micron line luminosities in transitional disks. Using a grid of thermo-chemical protoplanetary disk models, we conclude that either transitional disks are less flared than full disks or they possess lower gas-to-dust ratios due to a depletion of gas mass. This result suggests that transitional disks are more evolved than their full disk counterparts, possibly even at large radii.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ; 52 pages, 16 figures, 8 table

Politics in Spain: A Case of Monitory Democracy

Analysing the current political context in Spain is a major challenge to political theory. Spain is experiencing the accumulation of trends that in recent years have focused the attention of most theorists and political scientists: discrediting of the major parties, falling numbers of party members, disaffection, etc. In parallel, this trend has been accompanied by citizen mobilisations that, since 15 May 2011, are manifest in numerous channels and strategies. The aim of this paper was to analyse the complex Spanish context from the monitory democracy proposal. The results show how in recent years processes of public scrutiny have been consolidated through a range of citizen initiatives. The study offers an in-depth analysis of the main characteristics of the most notable cases and monitoring initiatives, and also reflects on their democratising potential.El análisis del contexto político actual en España es un reto importante para la teoría política. España está experimentando la acumulación de tendencias que en años recientes han centrado la atención de la mayor parte de teóricos y científicos políticos: desacreditación de los principales partidos, caída del número de miembros de los partidos, desafección, etc. Paralelamente, esta tendencia se ha visto acompañada por movilizaciones ciudadanas que, desde el 15 de mayo de 2011, son manifiestas en numerosos canales y estrategias. El objetivo de este documento es analizar el complejo contexto español desde la propuesta de democracia monitorizada. Los resultados muestran que en años recientes se han consolidado los procesos de escrutinio público mediante una serie de iniciativas ciudadanas. El estudio ofrece un análisis en profundidad de las principales características de los casos e iniciativas de monitorización más notables, y reflexiona también sobre su potencial democratizador

Low-energy electron scattering from methanol and ethanol

Measured and calculated differential cross sections for elastic (rotationally unresolved) electron scattering from two primary alcohols, methanol (CH3OH) and ethanol (C2H5OH), are reported. The measurements are obtained using the relative flow method with helium as the standard gas and a thin aperture as the collimating target gas source. The relative flow method is applied without the restriction imposed by the relative flow pressure conditions on helium and the unknown gas. The experimental data were taken at incident electron energies of 1, 2, 5, 10, 15, 20, 30, 50, and 100 eV and for scattering angles of 5°–130°. There are no previous reports of experimental electron scattering differential cross sections for CH3OH and C2H5OH in the literature. The calculated differential cross sections are obtained using two different implementations of the Schwinger multichannel method, one that takes all electrons into account and is adapted for parallel computers, and another that uses pseudopotentials and considers only the valence electrons. Comparison between theory and experiment shows that theory is able to describe low-energy electron scattering from these polyatomic targets quite well