Gamow shell-model calculations of drip-line oxygen isotopes

We employ the Gamow shell model (GSM) to describe low-lying states of the oxygen isotopes 24O and 25O. The many-body Schrodinger equation is solved starting from a two-body Hamiltonian defined by a renormalized low-momentum nucleon-nucleon (NN) interaction, and a spherical Berggren basis. The Berggren basis treats bound, resonant, and continuum states on an equal footing, and is therefore an appropriate representation of loosely bound and unbound nuclear states near threshold. We show that such a basis is necessary in order to obtain a detailed and correct description of the low-lying 1+ and 2+ excited states in 24O. On the other hand, we find that a correct description of binding energy systematics of the ground states is driven by proper treatment and inclusion of many-body correlation effects. This is supported by the fact that we get 25O unstable with respect to 24O in both oscillator and Berggren representations starting from a 22O core. Furthermore, we show that the structure of these loosely bound or unbound isotopes are strongly influenced by the 1S0 component of the NN interaction. This has important consequences for our understanding of nuclear stability.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

Water resources management in a homogenizing world: Averting the Growth and Underinvestment trajectory

Biotic homogenization, a de facto symptom of a global biodiversity crisis, underscores the urgency of reforming water resources management to focus on the health and viability of ecosystems. Global population and economic growth, coupled with inadequate investment in maintenance of ecological systems, threaten to degrade environmental integrity and ecosystem services that support the global socioeconomic system, indicative of a system governed by the Growth and Underinvestment (G&U) archetype. Water resources management is linked to biotic homogenization and degradation of system integrity through alteration of water systems, ecosystem dynamics, and composition of the biota. Consistent with the G&U archetype, water resources planning primarily treats ecological considerations as exogenous constraints rather than integral, dynamic, and responsive parts of the system. It is essential that the ecological considerations be made objectives of water resources development plans to facilitate the analysis of feedbacks and potential trade-offs between socioeconomic gains and ecological losses. We call for expediting a shift to ecosystem-based management of water resources, which requires a better understanding of the dynamics and links between water resources management actions, ecological side-effects, and associated long-term ramifications for sustainability. To address existing knowledge gaps, models that include dynamics and estimated thresholds for regime shifts or ecosystem degradation need to be developed. Policy levers for implementation of ecosystem-based water resources management include shifting away from growth-oriented supply management, better demand management, increased public awareness, and institutional reform that promotes adaptive and transdisciplinary management approaches

Delayed soft X-ray emission lines in the afterglow of GRB 030227

Strong, delayed X-ray line emission is detected in the afterglow of GRB 030227, appearing near the end of the XMM-Newton observation, nearly twenty hours after the burst. The observed flux in the lines, not simply the equivalent width, sharply increases from an undetectable level (<1.7e-14 erg/cm^2/s, 3 sigma) to 4.1e-14 erg/cm^2/s in the final 9.7 ks. The line emission alone has nearly twice as many detected photons as any previous detection of X-ray lines. The lines correspond well to hydrogen and/or helium-like emission from Mg, Si, S, Ar and Ca at a redshift z=1.39. There is no evidence for Fe, Co or Ni--the ultimate iron abundance must be less than a tenth that of the lighter metals. If the supernova and GRB events are nearly simultaneous there must be continuing, sporadic power output after the GRB of a luminosity >~5e46 erg/s, exceeding all but the most powerful quasars.Comment: Submitted to ApJL. 14 pages, 3 figures with AASLaTe

Effective Interaction Techniques for the Gamow Shell Model

We apply a contour deformation technique in momentum space to the newly developed Gamow shell model, and study the drip-line nuclei 5He, 6He and 7He. A major problem in Gamow shell-model studies of nuclear many-body systems is the increasing dimensionality of many-body configurations due to the large number of resonant and complex continuum states necessary to reproduce bound and resonant state energies. We address this problem using two different effective operator approaches generalized to the complex momentum plane. These are the Lee-Suzuki similarity transformation method for complex interactions and the multi-reference perturbation theory method. The combination of these two approaches results in a large truncation of the relevant configurations compared with direct diagonalization. This offers interesting perspectives for studies of weakly bound systems.Comment: 18 pages, 17 figs, Revtex

Swift Identification of Dark Gamma-Ray Bursts

We present an optical flux vs. X-ray flux diagram for all known gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) for which an X-ray afterglow has been detected. We propose an operational definition of dark bursts as those bursts that are optically subluminous with respect to the fireball model, i.e., which have an optical-to-X-ray spectral index beta_OX < 0.5. Out of a sample of 52 GRBs we identify 5 dark bursts. The definition and diagram serve as a simple and quick diagnostic tool for identifying dark GRBs based on limited information, particularly useful for early and objective identification of dark GRBs observed with the Swift satellite.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure. ApJ Letters, in pres

The Host Galaxy of GRB 990712

We present a comprehensive study of the z=0.43 host galaxy of GRB 990712, involving ground-based photometry, spectroscopy, and HST imaging. The broad-band UBVRIJHKs photometry is used to determine the global spectral energy distribution (SED) of the host galaxy. Comparison with that of known galaxy types shows that the host is similar to a moderately reddened starburst galaxy with a young stellar population. The estimated internal extinction in the host is Av=0.15+/-0.1 and the star-formation rate (SFR) from the UV continuum is 1.3+/-0.3 M_sun/yr, (not corrected for the effects of extinction). Other galaxy template spectra than starbursts failed to reproduce the observed SED. We also present VLT spectra leading to the detection of Halpha from the GRB host galaxy. A SFR of 2.8+/-0.7 M_sun/yr, is inferred from the Halpha line flux, and the presence of a young stellar population is supported by a large equivalent width. Images from HST/STIS show that the host has two separate knots, which could be two distinct star-forming regions.Comment: 11 pages, accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysic

Discovery of an overdensity of faint red galaxies in the vicinity of the z=1.786 radio galaxy 3C 294

We report the discovery of an overdensity of faint red galaxies in the vicinity of the z=1.786 radio galaxy 3C 294. The overdensity, discovered in a 84 min Ks-band ISAAC/VLT image is significant at the 2.4 sigma level (compared to the local field density), and overlaps with the extended X-ray emission around 3C 294 detected with the Chandra X-ray Observatory. The near-infrared colours of the galaxies making up the overdensity show a large scatter and the galaxies do not follow a red sequence in the colour magnitude diagram. If the galaxies are in a cluster at z=1.786 they must be dominated by young stellar populations with different star-formation histories.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRA