An 80 pc Long Massive Molecular Filament in the Galactic Mid-Plane

The ubiquity of filaments in star forming regions on a range of scales is clear, yet their role in the star formation process remains in question. We suggest that there are distinct classes of filaments which are responsible for their observed diversity in star-forming regions. An example of a massive molecular filament in the Galactic mid-plane formed at the intersection of UV-driven bubbles which displays a coherent velocity structure (< 4 km/s) over 80 pc is presented. We classify such sources as Massive Molecular Filaments (MMFs; M > 10^4 Msun, length > 10 pc, velocity gradient < 5 km/s) and suggest that MMFs are just one of the many different classes of filaments discussed in the literature today. Many MMFs are aligned with the Galactic Plane and may be akin to the dark dust lanes seen in Grand Design Spirals.Comment: To appear in proceedings of the 'Labyrinth of Star Formation' meeting (18-22 June 2012, Chania, Greece), published by Springe

On the Conformal Geometry of Transverse Riemann-Lorentz Manifolds

Physical reasons suggested in \cite{Ha-Ha} for the \emph{Quantum Gravity Problem} lead us to study \emph{type-changing metrics} on a manifold. The most interesting cases are \emph{Transverse Riemann-Lorentz Manifolds}. Here we study the conformal geometry of such manifolds

Spatial Structure of Ion Beams in an Expanding Plasma

We report spatially resolved perpendicular and parallel, to the magnetic field, ion velocity distribution function (IVDF) measurements in an expanding argon helicon plasma. The parallel IVDFs, obtained through laser induced fluorescence (LIF), show an ion beam with v ≈ 8000 m/s flowing downstream and confined to the center of the discharge. The ion beam is measurable for tens of centimeters along the expansion axis before the LIF signal fades, likely a result of metastable quenching of the beam ions. The parallel ion beam velocity slows in agreement with expectations for the measured parallel electric field. The perpendicular IVDFs show an ion population with a radially outward flow that increases with distance from the plasma axis. Structures aligned to the expanding magnetic field appear in the DC electric field, the electron temperature, and the plasma density in the plasma plume. These measurements demonstrate that at least two-dimensional and perhaps fully three-dimensional models are needed to accurately describe the spontaneous acceleration of ion beams in expanding plasmas

The Trichoptera of Panama XIII. Further new country records for caddisflies (Insecta: Trichoptera) from the Republic of Panama

The Republic of Panama currently includes 414 recorded species of Trichoptera. Herein we add two new genera (Hydroptilidae: Angrisanoia Ozdikmen, 2008 and Mayatrichia Mosely, 1937) and 17 new country records (Philopotamidae: Chimarra (C.) tapanti Blahnik, Wormaldia bolivari Muñoz-Quesada and Holzenthal, and Wormaldia zunigae Muñoz-Quesada and Holzenthal; Hydropsychidae: Centromacronema pygmaeum Botosaneanu; Hydroptilidae: Brysopteryx esparta Harris and Holzenthal, Byrsopteryx solisi Harris and Holzenthal, Costatrichia falsa Santos, Takiya, and Nessimian, Mayatrichia illobia Harris and Holzenthal, Metrichia amplitudinis Bueno-Soria and Holzenthal, Ochrotrichia boquillas Moulton and Harris, O. conformalis Bueno-Soria and Holzenthal, O. quinealensis Bueno-Soria and Holzenthal, and O. unica Bueno-Soria and Santiago; Leptoceridae: Triaenodes morai Holzenthal and Andersen; Odontoceridae: Marilia kingsolveri Bueno-Soria and Rojas-Ascencio; and, Helicopsychidae: Helicopsyche alajuela Johanson and Holzenthal and Helicopsyche breviterga Flint) to Panama’s caddisfly fauna. The newly recorded taxa increase Panama’s total known caddisfly fauna to 431 species, distributed among 15 families and 55 genera. These results are part of an ongoing effort to characterize the caddisfly fauna of Panama, and to evaluate the aquatic insect diversity of the country’s major watersheds (cuencas). La República de Panamá actualmente incluye 414 especies registradas de Trichoptera. Aquí agregamos dos nuevos géneros (Hydroptilidae: Angrisanoia Ozdikmen, 2008 y Mayatrichia Mosely, 1937) y 17 nuevos registros para el país (Philopotamidae: Chimarra (C.) tapanti Blahnik, Wormaldia bolivari Muñoz-Quesada y Holzenthal, y Wormaldia zunigae Muñoz-Quesada y Holzenthal; Hydropsychidae: Centromacronema pygmaeum Botosaneanu; Hydroptilidae: Brysopteryx esparta Harris y Holzenthal, Byrsopteryx solisi Harris y Holzenthal, Costatrichia falsa Santos, Takiya, y Nessimian, Mayatrichia illobia Harris y Holzenthal, Metrichia amplitudinis Bueno-Soria y Holzenthal, Ochrotrichia boquillas Moulton y Harris, Ochrotrichia conformalis Bueno-Soria y Holzenthal, Ochrotrichia quinealensis Bueno-Soria y Holzenthal, y Ochrotrichia unica Bueno-Soria y Santiago; Leptoceridae: Triaenodes morai Holzenthal y Andersen; Odontoceridae: Marilia kingsolveri Bueno-Soria y Rojas- Ascencio; y, Helicopsychidae: Helicopsyche alajuela Johanson y Holzenthal y Helicopsyche breviterga Flint) a la fauna de Trichoptera de Panamá. Los taxones recien reportados aumentan el total de la fauna de Trichoptera de Panamá a 431 especies, distribuidas en 15 familias y 55 géneros. Estos resultados son parte de un esfuerzo continuo para caracterizar la fauna de Trichoptera y para evaluar la diversidad de insectos acuáticos de las principales cuencas hidrográficas (cuencas) de Panamá

High-precision abundances of elements in Kepler LEGACY stars. Verification of trends with stellar age

HARPS-N spectra with S/N > 250 and MARCS model atmospheres were used to derive abundances of C, O, Na, Mg, Al, Si, Ca, Ti, Cr, Fe, Ni, Zn, and Y in ten stars from the Kepler LEGACY sample (including the binary pair 16 Cyg A and B) selected to have metallicities in the range -0.15 < [Fe/H] < +0.15 and ages between 1 and 7 Gyr. Stellar gravities were obtained from seismic data and effective temperatures were determined by comparing non-LTE iron abundances derived from FeI and FeII lines. Available non-LTE corrections were also applied when deriving abundances of the other elements. The results support the [X/Fe]-age relations previously found for solar twins. [Mg/Fe], [Al/Fe], and [Zn/Fe] decrease by ~0.1 dex over the lifetime of the Galactic thin disk due to delayed contribution of iron from Type Ia supernovae relative to prompt production of Mg, Al, and Zn in Type II supernovae. [Y/Mg] and [Y/Al], on the other hand, increase by ~0.3 dex, which can be explained by an increasing contribution of s-process elements from low-mass AGB stars as time goes on. The trends of [C/Fe] and [O/Fe] are more complicated due to variations of the ratio between refractory and volatile elements among stars of similar age. Two stars with about the same age as the Sun show very different trends of [X/H] as a function of elemental condensation temperature Tc and for 16 Cyg, the two components have an abundance difference, which increases with Tc. These anomalies may be connected to planet-star interactions.Comment: 13 pages with 7 figures. Accepted for publication in A&

The Bolocam 1.1 mm Lockman Hole Galaxy Survey: SHARC II 350 micron Photometry and Implications for Spectral Models, Dust Temperatures, and Redshift Estimation

We present 350 micron photometry of all 17 galaxy candidates in the Lockman Hole detected in a 1.1 mm Bolocam survey. Several of the galaxies were previously detected at 850 microns, at 1.2 mm, in the infrared by Spitzer, and in the radio. Nine of the Bolocam galaxy candidates were detected at 350 microns and two new candidates were serendipitously detected at 350 microns (bringing the total in the literature detected in this way to three). Five of the galaxies have published spectroscopic redshifts, enabling investigation of the implied temperature ranges and a comparison of photometric redshift techniques. Lambda = 350 microns lies near the spectral energy distribution peak for z = 2.5 thermally emitting galaxies. Thus, luminosities can be measured without extrapolating to the peak from detection wavelengths of lambda > 850 microns. Characteristically, the galaxy luminosities lie in the range 1.0 - 1.2 x 10^13 L_solar, with dust temperatures in the range of 40 K to 70 K, depending on the choice of spectral index and wavelength of unit optical depth. The implied dust masses are 3 - 5 x 10^8 M_solar. We find that the far-infrared to radio relation for star-forming ULIRGs systematically overpredicts the radio luminosities and overestimates redshifts on the order of Delta z ~ 1, whereas redshifts based on either on submillimeter data alone or the 1.6 micron stellar bump and PAH features are more accurate.Comment: In Press (to appear in Astrophysical Journal, ApJ 20 May 2006 v643 1) 47 pages, 10 figures, 4 table

Measuring the extent of convective cores in low-mass stars using Kepler data: towards a calibration of core overshooting

Our poor understanding of the boundaries of convective cores generates large uncertainties on the extent of these cores and thus on stellar ages. Our aim is to use asteroseismology to consistently measure the extent of convective cores in a sample of main-sequence stars whose masses lie around the mass-limit for having a convective core. We first test and validate a seismic diagnostic that was proposed to probe in a model-dependent way the extent of convective cores using the so-called $r_{010}$ ratios, which are built with $l=0$ and $l=1$ modes. We apply this procedure to 24 low-mass stars chosen among Kepler targets to optimize the efficiency of this diagnostic. For this purpose, we compute grids of stellar models with both the CESAM2k and MESA evolution codes, where the extensions of convective cores are modeled either by an instantaneous mixing or as a diffusion process. Among the selected targets, we are able to unambiguously detect convective cores in eight stars and we obtain seismic measurements of the extent of the mixed core in these targets with a good agreement between the CESAM2k and MESA codes. By performing optimizations using the Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm, we then obtain estimates of the amount of extra-mixing beyond the core that is required in CESAM2k to reproduce seismic observations for these eight stars and we show that this can be used to propose a calibration of this quantity. This calibration depends on the prescription chosen for the extra-mixing, but we find that it should be valid also for the code MESA, provided the same prescription is used. This study constitutes a first step towards the calibration of the extension of convective cores in low-mass stars, which will help reduce the uncertainties on the ages of these stars.Comment: 27 pages, 15 figures, accepted in A&