High Excitation Molecular Gas in the Magellanic Clouds

We present the first survey of submillimeter CO 4-3 emission in the Magellanic Clouds. The survey is comprised of 15 6'x6' maps obtained using the AST/RO telescope toward the molecular peaks of the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds. We have used these data to constrain the physical conditions in these objects, in particular their molecular gas density and temperature. We find that there are significant amounts of molecular gas associated with most of these molecular peaks, and that high molecular gas temperatures are pervasive throughout our sample. We discuss whether this may be due to the low metallicities and the associated dearth of gas coolants in the Clouds, and conclude that the present sample is insufficient to assert this effect.Comment: 18 pages, 3 figures, 5 tables. To appear in Ap

On the dual interpretation of zero-curvature Friedmann-Robertson-Walker models

Two possible interpretations of FRW cosmologies (perfect fluid or dissipative fluid)are considered as consecutive phases of the system. Necessary conditions are found, for the transition from perfect fluid to dissipative regime to occur, bringing out the conspicuous role played by a particular state of the system (the ''critical point '').Comment: 13 pages Latex, to appear in Class.Quantum Gra

Weyl-Conformally-Invariant Lightlike p-Brane Theories: New Aspects in Black Hole Physics and Kaluza-Klein Dynamics

We introduce and study in some detail the properties of a novel class of Weyl-conformally invariant p-brane theories which describe intrinsically lightlike branes for any odd world-volume dimension. Their dynamics significantly differs from that of the ordinary (conformally non-invariant) Nambu-Goto p-branes. We present explicit solutions of the Weyl-invariant lightlike brane- (WILL-brane) equations of motion in various gravitational models of physical relevance exhibiting various new phenomena. In D=4 the WILL-membrane serves as a material and charged source for gravity and electromagnetism in the coupled Einstein-Maxwell-WILL-membrane system; it automatically positions itself on (``straddles'') the common event horizon of the corresponding matching black hole solutions, thus providing an explicit dynamical realization of the membrane paradigm in black hole physics. In product spaces of interest in Kaluza-Klein theories the WILL-brane wraps non-trivially around the compact (internal)dimensions and still describes massless mode dynamics in the non-compact (space-time) dimensions. Due to nontrivial variable size of the internal compact dimensions we find new types of physically interesting solutions describing massless brane modes trapped on bounded planar circular orbits with non-trivial angular momentum, and with linear dependence between energy and angular momentum.Comment: 28 pages, published versio

Results of the ESO-SEST Key Programme on CO in the Magellanic Clouds. IX. The giant LMC HII region complex N11

We present maps and a catalogue containing the J=1-0 12CO parameters of 29 individual molecular clouds in the second-brightest LMC star formation complex, N11. In the southwestern part of N11, molecular clouds occur in a ring or shell surrounding the major OB star association LH9. In the northeastern part, a chain of molecular clouds delineates the rim of one of the so-called supergiant shells in the LMC. The well-defined clouds have dimensions close to those of the survey beam (diameters of 25 pc or less). Some of the clouds were also observed in J=2-1 12CO, and in the lower two transitions of 13CO. Clouds mapped with a twice higher angular resolution in J=2-1 12CO show substructure with dimensions once again comparable to those of the mapping beam. The few clouds for which we could model physical parameters have fairly warm (T(kin) = 60 - 150 K) and moderately dense (n(H2) = 3000 cm-3) gas. The northeastern chain of CO clouds, although lacking in diffuse intercloud emission, is characteristic of the more quiescent regions of the LMC and appears to have been subject to relatively little photo-processing. The clouds forming part of the southwestern shell or ring, however, are almost devoid of diffuse intercloud emission and also exhibit other characteristics of an extreme photon-dominated region (PDR).Comment: 14 pages; accepted for publication in A&

Reply to "On scaling solutions with a dissipative fluid"

In this paper we show that the claims in [Class. Quantum Grav. 19 (2002) 3067, gr-qc/0203081] related to our analysis in [Phys. Rev. D 62, 063508 (2000), astro-ph/0005070] are wrong.Comment: 4 pages, uses RevTeX. v2: To appear in Class. Quantum Gra

CO Emission in Low Luminosity, HI Rich Galaxies

We present 12CO 1-0 observations of eleven low luminosity M_B > -18), HI--rich dwarf galaxies. Only the three most metal-rich galaxies, with 12+log(O/H) ~ 8.2, are detected. Very deep CO spectra of six extremely metal-poor systems (12+log(O/H) < 7.5) yield only low upper limits on the CO surface brightness, I_CO < 0.1 K km/s. Three of these six have never before been observed in a CO line, while the others now have much more stringent upper limits. For the very low metallicity galaxy Leo A, we do not confirm a previously reported detection in CO, and the limits are consistent with another recent nondetection. We combine these new observations with data from the literature to form a sample of dwarf galaxies which all have CO observations and measured oxygen abundances. No known galaxies with 12+log(O/H) < 7.9 (Z < 0.1 solar) have been detected in CO. Most of the star-forming galaxies with higher (12+log(O/H) > 8.1) metallicities are detected at similar or higher I_CO surface brightnesses. The data are consistent with a strong dependence of the I_CO/M_H_2 = X_CO conversion factor on ambient metallicity. The strikingly low upper limits on some metal-poor galaxies lead us to predict that the conversion factor is non-linear, increasing sharply below approximately 1/10 of the solar metallicity (12+log(O/H) < 7.9).Comment: 25 pages, 4 figures, 3 tables. Accepted for publication in AJ Tables replaced -- now formated for landscape orientatio

Thermal Conduction in Systems out of Hydrostatic Equilibrium

We analyse the effects of thermal conduction in a relativistic fluid, just after its departure from hydrostatic equilibrium, on a time scale of the order of thermal relaxation time. It is obtained that the resulting evolution will critically depend on a parameter defined in terms of thermodynamic variables, which is constrained by causality requirements.Comment: 16 pages, emTex (LaTex 2.09). To appear in Classical and Quantum Gravit

Dynamics of a self-gravitating thin cosmic string

We assume that a self-gravitating thin string can be locally described by what we shall call a smoothed cone. If we impose a specific constraint on the model of the string, then its central line obeys the Nambu-Goto equations. If no constraint is added, then the worldsheet of the central line is a totally geodesic surface.Comment: 20 pages, latex, 1 figure, final versio

Constraints on AdS5AdS_5 Embeddings

We show that the embedding of either a static or a time dependent maximally 3-symmetric brane with non-zero spatial curvature $k$ into a non-compactified $AdS_5$ bulk does not yield exponential suppression of the geometry away from the brane. Implications of this result for brane-localized gravity are discussed.Comment: RevTeX, 9 pages (updated version v2, conclusions unchanged after extension to the non-static case