An Investigation of the Large-scale Variability of the Apparently Single Wolf-Rayet Star WR 1

In recent years, much studies have focused on determining the origin of the large-scale line-profile and/or photometric patterns of variability displayed by some apparently single Wolf-Rayet stars, with the existence of an unseen (collapsed?) companion or of spatially extended wind structures as potential candidates. We present observations of WR 1 which highlight the unusual character of the variations in this object. Our narrowband photometric observations reveal a gradual increase of the stellar continuum flux amounting to Delta v = 0.09 mag followed by a decline on about the same timescale (3-4 days). Only marginal evidence for variability is found during the 11 following nights. Strong, daily line-profile variations are also observed but they cannot be easily linked to the photometric variations. Similarly to the continuum flux variations, coherent time-dependent changes are observed in 1996 in the centroid, equivalent width, and skewness of He II 4686. Despite the generally coherent nature of the variations, we do not find evidence in our data for the periods claimed in previous studies. While the issue of a cyclical pattern of variability in WR 1 is still controversial, it is clear that this object might constitute in the future a cornerstone for our understanding of the mechanisms leading to the formation of largely anisotropic outflows in Wolf-Rayet stars.Comment: 11 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysic

Revealing evolved massive stars with Spitzer

Massive evolved stars loss a large fraction of their mass via copious stellar wind or instant outbursts and during certain evolutionary phases they can be identified via the presence of their circumstellar nebulae. In this paper, we present the results of search for compact nebulae (reminiscent of circumstellar nebulae around evolved massive stars) using archival 24 $\mu$m data obtained with the Multiband Imaging Photometer for Spitzer. We discovered 115 nebulae, most of which bear a striking resemblance to the circumstellar nebulae associated with Luminous Blue Variables (LBVs) and late WN-type (WNL) Wolf-Rayet (WR) stars in the Milky Way and the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). We interpret this similarity as an indication that the central stars of detected nebulae are either LBVs or related evolved massive stars. Our interpretation is supported by follow-up spectroscopy of two dozens of these central stars, most of which turns out to be either candidate LBVs (cLBVs), blue supergiants or WNL stars. We expect that the forthcoming spectroscopy of the remaining objects from our list, accompanied by the spectrophotometric monitoring of the already discovered cLBVs, will further increase the known population of Galactic LBVs, which in turn would have profound consequences for better understanding the LBV phenomenon and its role in the transition between hydrogen burning O stars and helium burning WR stars. We also report the detection of an arc-like structure attached to the cLBV HD326823 and an arc associated with the LBV R99 (HD269445) in the LMC.Comment: 9 pages, 10 figures, accepted to MNRA

The bright optical afterglow of the long GRB 001007

We present optical follow up observations of the long GRB 001007 between 6.14 hours and ~468 days after the event. An unusually bright optical afterglow (OA) was seen to decline following a steep power law decay with index alpha = -2.03 +/- 0.11, possibly indicating a break in the light curve at t - to < 3.5 days, as found in other bursts. Upper limits imposed by the LOTIS alerting system 6.14 hours after the gamma ray event provide tentative (1.2 sigma) evidence for a break in the optical light curve. The spectral index beta of the OA yields -1.24 +/- 0.57. These values may be explained both by several fireball jet models and by the cannonball model. Fireball spherical expansion models are not favoured. Late epoch deep imaging revealed the presence of a complex host galaxy system, composed of at least two objects located 1.2" (1.7 sigma) and 1.9" (2.7 sigma) from the afterglow position.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, published in A&

Measurement of the electron structure function F2e at LEP energies

The hadronic part of the electron structure function F2e has been measured for the first time, using e+e−e+e− data collected by the DELPHI experiment at LEP, at centre-of-mass energies of √s=91.2-209.5 GeV. The data analysis is simpler than that of the measurement of the photon structure function. The electron structure function View the MathML sourceF2e data are compared to predictions of phenomenological models based on the photon structure function. It is shown that the contribution of large target photon virtualities is significant. The data presented can serve as a cross-check of the photon structure function View the MathML sourceF2γ analyses and help in refining existing parameterisations

First Observation of CP Violation in B0->D(*)CP h0 Decays by a Combined Time-Dependent Analysis of BaBar and Belle Data

We report a measurement of the time-dependent CP asymmetry of B0->D(*)CP h0 decays, where the light neutral hadron h0 is a pi0, eta or omega meson, and the neutral D meson is reconstructed in the CP eigenstates K+ K-, K0S pi0 or K0S omega. The measurement is performed combining the final data samples collected at the Y(4S) resonance by the BaBar and Belle experiments at the asymmetric-energy B factories PEP-II at SLAC and KEKB at KEK, respectively. The data samples contain ( 471 +/- 3 ) x 10^6 BB pairs recorded by the BaBar detector and ( 772 +/- 11 ) x 10^6, BB pairs recorded by the Belle detector. We measure the CP asymmetry parameters -eta_f S = +0.66 +/- 0.10 (stat.) +/- 0.06 (syst.) and C = -0.02 +/- 0.07 (stat.) +/- 0.03 (syst.). These results correspond to the first observation of CP violation in B0->D(*)CP h0 decays. The hypothesis of no mixing-induced CP violation is excluded in these decays at the level of 5.4 standard deviations.Comment: 9 pages, 2 figures, submitted to Physical Review Letter

Study of CP violation in Dalitz-plot analyses of B0 --> K+K-KS, B+ --> K+K-K+, and B+ --> KSKSK+

We perform amplitude analyses of the decays $B^0 \to K^+K^-K^0_S$, $B^+ \rightarrow K^+K^-K^+$, and $B^+ \to K^0_S K^0_S K^+$, and measure CP-violating parameters and partial branching fractions. The results are based on a data sample of approximately $470\times 10^6$ $B\bar{B}$ decays, collected with the BABAR detector at the PEP-II asymmetric-energy $B$ factory at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. For $B^+ \to K^+K^-K^+$, we find a direct CP asymmetry in $B^+ \to \phi(1020)K^+$ of $A_{CP}= (12.8\pm 4.4 \pm 1.3)$, which differs from zero by $2.8 \sigma$. For $B^0 \to K^+K^-K^0_S$, we measure the CP-violating phase $\beta_{\rm eff} (\phi(1020)K^0_S) = (21\pm 6 \pm 2)^\circ$. For $B^+ \to K^0_S K^0_S K^+$, we measure an overall direct CP asymmetry of $A_{CP} = (4 ^{+4}_{-5} \pm 2)$. We also perform an angular-moment analysis of the three channels, and determine that the $f_X(1500)$ state can be described well by the sum of the resonances $f_0(1500)$, $f_2^{\prime}(1525)$, and $f_0(1710)$.Comment: 35 pages, 68 postscript figures. v3 - minor modifications to agree with published versio

Integrating water exclusion theory into βcontacts to predict binding free energy changes and binding hot spots

10.1186/1471-2105-15-57BMC Bioinformatics151-BBMI

Measurement of CP Asymmetries and Branching Fractions in Charmless Two-Body B-Meson Decays to Pions and Kaons

We present improved measurements of CP-violation parameters in the decays $B^0 \to \pi^+ \pi^-$, $B^0 \to K^+ \pi^-$, and $B^0 \to \pi^0 \pi^0$, and of the branching fractions for $B^0 \to \pi^0 \pi^0$ and $B^0 \to K^0 \pi^0$. The results are obtained with the full data set collected at the $\Upsilon(4S)$ resonance by the BABAR experiment at the PEP-II asymmetric-energy $B$ factory at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, corresponding to $467 \pm 5$ million $B\bar B$ pairs. We find the CP-violation parameter values and branching fractions $S_{\pi^+\pi^-} = -0.68 \pm 0.10 \pm 0.03, C_{\pi^+\pi^-} = -0.25 \pm 0.08 \pm 0.02, A_{K^-\pi^+} = -0.107 \pm 0.016 ^{+0.006}_{-0.004}, C_{\pi^0\pi^0} = -0.43 \pm 0.26 \pm 0.05, Br(B^0 \to \pi^0 \pi^0) = (1.83 \pm 0.21 \pm 0.13) \times 10^{-6}, Br(B^0 \to K^0 \pi^0) = (10.1 \pm 0.6 \pm 0.4) \times 10^{-6},$ where in each case, the first uncertainties are statistical and the second are systematic. We observe CP violation with a significance of 6.7 standard deviations for $B^0 \to\pi^+\pi^-$ and 6.1 standard deviations for $B^0 \to K^+ \pi^-$, including systematic uncertainties. Constraints on the Unitarity Triangle angle $\alpha$ are determined from the isospin relations among the $B \to \pi\pi$ rates and asymmetries. Considering only the solution preferred by the Standard Model, we find $\alpha$ to be in the range $[71^\circ,109^\circ]$ at the 68% confidence level.Comment: 18 pages, 11 postscript figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.

Measurement of ISR-FSR interference in the processes e+ e- --> mu+ mu- gamma and e+ e- --> pi+ pi- gamma

Charge asymmetry in processes e+ e- --> mu+ mu- gamma and e+ e- --> pi+ pi- gamma is measured using 232 fb-1 of data collected with the BABAR detector at center-of-mass energies near 10.58 GeV. An observable is introduced and shown to be very robust against detector asymmetries while keeping a large sensitivity to the physical charge asymmetry that results from the interference between initial and final state radiation. The asymmetry is determined as afunction of the invariant mass of the final-state tracks from production threshold to a few GeV/c2. It is compared to the expectation from QED for e+ e- --> mu+ mu- gamma and from theoretical models for e+ e- --> pi+ pi- gamma. A clear interference pattern is observed in e+ e- --> pi+ pi- gamma, particularly in the vicinity of the f_2(1270) resonance. The inferred rate of lowest order FSR production is consistent with the QED expectation for e+ e- --> mu+ mu- gamma, and is negligibly small for e+ e- --> pi+ pi- gamma.Comment: 32 pages,29 figures, to be submitted to Phys. Rev.