The Lick Observatory Supernova Search

We report here the current status of the Lick Observatory Supernova Search (LOSS) with the Katman Automatic Imaging Telescope (KAIT). The progress on both the hardware and the software of the system is described, and we present a list of recent discoveries. LOSS is the world' most successful search engine for nearby supernovae.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, Submitted to the proceedings of the 10th Annual October Astrophysics Conference in Maryland on Cosmic Explosion

Coherent eta photoproduction on the deuteron in the S11S_{11} resonance region

Coherent eta photoproduction on the deuteron is studied in the $S_{11}$ resonance region neglecting eta rescattering and two-body processes. For the elementary reaction on the nucleon, we have considered the dominant $S_{11}(1535)$ resonance and as background the nucleon pole terms as well as $\rho$ and $\omega$ meson exchange. We have studied the influence of different choices for the neutron resonance amplitude, different prescriptions for fixing the invariant mass of the resonance amplitude and different methods for deriving the elementary production amplitude for an arbitrary reference frame.Comment: 33 pages revtex including 13 postscript figure

Near-threshold measurement of the 4He(g,n) reaction

A near-threshold 4He(g,n) cross-section measurement has been performed at MAX-lab. Tagged photons from 23 < Eg < 42 MeV were directed toward a liquid 4He target, and neutrons were detected by time-of-flight in two liquid-scintillator arrays. Seven-point angular distributions were measured for eight photon energies. The results are compared to experimental data measured at comparable energies and Recoil-Corrected Continuum Shell Model, Resonating Group Method, and recent Hyperspherical-Harmonic Expansion calculations. The angle-integrated cross-section data is peaked at a photon energy of about 28 MeV, in disagreement with the value recommended by Calarco, Berman, and Donnelly in 1983.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures, some revisions, submitted to Physics Letters

Quasifree Eta Photoproduction from Nuclei

Quasifree $\eta$ photoproduction from nuclei is studied in the Distorted Wave Impulse Approximation (DWIA). The elementary eta production operator contains Born terms, vector meson and nucleon resonance contributions and provides an excellent description of the recent low energy Mainz measurements on the nucleon. The resonance sector includes the $S_{11}(1535)$, $P_{11}(1440)$ and $D_{13}(1520)$ states whose couplings are fixed by independent electromagnetic and hadronic data. Different models for the $\eta N$ t-matrix are used to construct a simple $\eta A$ optical potential based on a $t \rho$-approximation. We find that the exclusive $A(\gamma,\eta N)B$ process can be used to study medium modifications of the $N^*$ resonances, particularly if the photon asymmetry can be measured. The inclusive $A(\gamma, \eta)X$ reaction is compared to new data obtained on $^{12}C$, $^{40}Ca$, and is found to provide a clear distinction between different models for the $\eta N$ t-matrix.Comment: 30 pages in RevTeX including 14 embedded PS figures; Replaced with revised version. Added more discussion about the imaginary part of the eta optical potentia

Novel Weak Decays in Doubly Strange Systems

The strangeness-changing ($\Delta S = 1$) weak baryon-baryon interaction is studied through the nonmesonic weak decay of double-$\Lambda$ hypernuclei. Besides the usual nucleon-induced decay $\Lambda N \to N N$ we discuss novel hyperon-induced decay modes $\Lambda \Lambda \to \Lambda N$ and $\Lambda \Lambda \to \Sigma N$. These reactions provide unique access to the exotic $\Lambda \Lambda$K and $\Lambda \Sigma$K vertices which place new constraints on Chiral Pertubation Theory ($\chi$PT) in the weak SU(3) sector. Within a meson-exchange framework, we use the pseudoscalar $\pi,\eta,K$ octet for the long-range part while parametrizing the short-range part through the vector mesons $\rho, \omega, K^*$. Realistic baryon-baryon forces for the $S=0,-1$ and -2 sectors account for the strong interaction in the initial and final states. For $^6_{\Lambda \Lambda}$He the new hyperon-induced decay modes account for up to 4% of the total nonmesonic decay rate. Predictions are made for all possible nonmesonic decay modes.Comment: 19 pages, 2 ps figures, 9 table

XMM-Newton observations of ultraluminous X-ray sources in nearby galaxies

An XMM-Newton study of ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULX) has been performed in a sample of 10 nearby Seyfert galaxies. Eighteen ULX have been found with positional uncertainty of about 4". The large collecting area of XMM-Newton makes the statistics sufficient to perform spectral fitting with simple models in 8 cases. The main results of the present minisurvey strengthen the theory that the ULX could be accreting black holes in hard or soft state. In some cases, the contribution of the ULX to the overall X-ray flux appears to be dominant with respect to that of the active nucleus. In addition, 6 ULX present probable counterparts at other wavelengths (optical/infrared, radio). A multiwavelength observing strategy is required to better assess the nature of these sources.Comment: 10 pages, 11 figures. Accepted for publication by Astronomy and Astrophysics. If you want figures at full resolution, please send an email to Foschin

Phenomenological Lambda-Nuclear Interactions

Variational Monte Carlo calculations for ${_{\Lambda}^4}H$ (ground and excited states) and ${_{\Lambda}^5}He$ are performed to decipher information on ${\Lambda}$-nuclear interactions. Appropriate operatorial nuclear and ${\Lambda}$-nuclear correlations have been incorporated to minimize the expectation values of the energies. We use the Argonne $\upsilon_{18}$ two-body NN along with the Urbana IX three-body NNN interactions. The study demonstrates that a large part of the splitting energy in ${_{\Lambda}^4}H$ ($0^+-1^+$) is due to the three-body ${\Lambda}$ NN forces. $_{\Lambda}^{17}O$ hypernucleus is analyzed using the {\it s}-shell results. $\Lambda$ binding to nuclear matter is calculated within the variational framework using the Fermi-Hypernetted-Chain technique. There is a need to correctly incorporate the three-body ${\Lambda}$ NN correlations for $\Lambda$ binding to nuclear matter.Comment: 18 pages (TeX), 2 figure

On the Surface Structure of Strange Superheavy Nuclei

Bound, strange, neutral superheavy nuclei, stable against strong decay, may exist. A model effective field theory calculation of the surface energy and density of such systems is carried out assuming vector meson couplings to conserved currents and scalar couplings fit to data where it exists. The non-linear relativistic mean field equations are solved assuming local baryon sources. The approach is calibrated through a successful calculation of the known nuclear surface tension.Comment: 12 pages, 9 figure

Final State Interactions in Hypernuclear Decay

We present an update of the One-Meson-Exchange (OME) results for the weak decay of s- and p-shell hypernuclei (Ref. Phys. Rev. C {\bf 56}, 339 (1997)), paying special attention to the role played by final state interactions between the emitted nucleons. The present study also corrects for a mistake in the inclusion of the $K$ and $K^*$ exchange mechanisms, which substantially increases the ratio of neutron-induced to proton-induced transitions, $\Gamma_n/\Gamma_p$. With the most up-to-date model ingredients, we find that the OME approach is able to describe very satisfactorily most of the measured observables, including the ratio $\Gamma_n/\Gamma_p$.Comment: 20 pages, 2 eps figure

Light-year Scale Radio Cores in Four LINER Galaxies

The LINER galaxies NGC 2911, NGC 3079, NGC 3998, and NGC 6500 were observed at 5 GHz with the European VLBI Network at a resolution of 5 milliarcsecond and found to possess flat-spectrum, variable, high-brightness temperature ($T_{\rm B} > 10^8$ K) radio cores. These radio characteristics reinforce the view that these LINERs host central engines associated with active galactic nuclei.Comment: 6 page