G 112-29 (=NLTT 18149), a Very Wide Companion to GJ 282 AB with a Common Proper Motion, Common Parallax, Common Radial Velocity and Common Age

We have made a search for common proper motion (CPM) companions to the wide binaries in the solar vicinity. We found that the binary GJ 282AB has a very distant CPM companion (NLTT 18149) at a separation s=1.09 \arcdeg. Improved spectral types and radial velocities are obtained, and ages determined for the three components. The Hipparcos trigonometric parallaxes and the new radial velocities and ages turn out to be very similar for the three stars, and provide strong evidence that they form a physical system. At a projected separation of 55733AU from GJ 282AB, NLTT 18149 ranks among the widest physical companions known.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures, submmited to Ap

Revival: Memories, Identities, Utopias

Revival: Memories, Identities, Utopias explores the phenomenon of revivalism in art, architecture and design from the nineteenth century to the present. Essays from leading scholars investigate the meanings and impacts of revivalism across a wide array of global contexts. The book?s three sections are prefaced by critical interventions, which consider the significance of ?nostalgia?, ?anachronism? and ?historicism? as philosophical, cultural, and artistic categories that are as productive as they are problematic. A thematic framework invites parallels between apparently disparate projects, such as resurgences of techniques or materials, medievialism, utopian futurism, empire and style, and the persistence of ?neo? in the midst of an ever-urgent quest for originality. Revivalism?s political, religious and economic dimensions are considered from a variety of perspectives, and the differing registers of revivalism are foregrounded in innovative and sophisticated ways. Revival: Memories, Identities, Utopias is the first book to consider these complex processes of historical layering and the stimulating dialogues struck up between materials, objects and ideas that take place across periods and places, often with surprising and controversial results. From Neo-Victorian typography and tattooing to idyllic urban planning and divine revelations, the cultural heft of revivalism is revealed as a constant and paradoxical companion of modernity

Bimodal chemical evolution of the Galactic disk and the Barium abundance of Cepheids

In order to understand the Barium abundance distribution in the Galactic disk based on Cepheids, one must first be aware of important effects of the corotation resonance, situated a little beyond the solar orbit. The thin disk of the Galaxy is divided in two regions that are separated by a barrier situated at that radius. Since the gas cannot get across that barrier, the chemical evolution is independent on the two sides of it. The barrier is caused by the opposite directions of flows of gas, on the two sides, in addition to a Cassini-like ring void of HI (caused itself by the flows). A step in the metallicity gradient developed at corotation, due to the difference in the average star formation rate on the two sides, and to this lack of communication between them. In connection with this, a proof that the spiral arms of our Galaxy are long-lived (a few billion years) is the existence of this step. When one studies the abundance gradients by means of stars which span a range of ages, like the Cepheids, one has to take into account that stars, contrary to the gas, have the possibility of crossing the corotation barrier. A few stars born on the high metallicity side are seen on the low metallicity one, and vice-versa. In the present work we re-discuss the data on Barium abundance in Cepheids as a function of Galactic radius, taking into account the scenario described above. The [Ba/H] ratio, plotted as a function of Galactic radius, apparently presents a distribution with two branches in the external region (beyond corotation). One can re-interpret the data and attribute the upper branch to the stars that were born on the high metallicity side. The lower branch, analyzed separately, indicates that the stars born beyond corotation have a rising Barium metallicity as a function of Galactic radius.Comment: 6 pages, 7 figures, Proceedings of IAU Symposium 29

Revised metallicity classes for low-mass stars: dwarfs (dM), subdwarfs (sdM), extreme subdwarfs (esdM), and ultra subdwarfs (usdM)

The current classification system of M stars on the main sequence distinguishes three metallicity classes (dwarfs - dM, subdwarfs - sdM, and extreme subdwarfs - esdM). The spectroscopic definition of these classes is based on the relative strength of prominent CaH and TiO molecular absorption bands near 7000A, as quantified by three spectroscopic indices (CaH2, CaH3, and TiO5). We re-examine this classification system in light of our ongoing spectroscopic survey of stars with proper motion \mu > 0.45 "/yr, which has increased the census of spectroscopically identified metal-poor M stars to over 400 objects. Kinematic separation of disk dwarfs and halo subdwarfs suggest deficiencies in the current classification system. Observations of common proper motion doubles indicates that the current dM/sdM and sdM/esdM boundaries in the [TiO5,CaH2+CaH3] index plane do not follow iso-metallicity contours, leaving some binaries inappropriately classified as dM+sdM or sdM+esdM. We propose a revision of the classification system based on an empirical calibration of the TiO/CaH ratio for stars of near solar metallicity. We introduce the parameter \zeta_{TiO/CaH} which quantifies the weakening of the TiO bandstrength due to metallicity effect, with values ranging from \zeta_{TiO/CaH}=1 for stars of near-solar metallicity to \zeta_{TiO/CaH}~0 for the most metal-poor (and TiO depleted) subdwarfs. We redefine the metallicity classes based on the value of the parameter \zeta_{TiO/CaH}; and refine the scheme by introducing an additional class of ultra subdwarfs (usdM). We introduce sequences of sdM, esdM, and usdM stars to be used as formal classification standards.Comment: 15 pages, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa

The role of surface roughness, albedo, and Bowen ratio on ecosystem energy balance in the Eastern United States

Land cover and land use influence surface climate through differences in biophysical surface properties, including partitioning of sensible and latent heat (e.g., Bowen ratio), surface roughness, and albedo. Clusters of closely spaced eddy covariance towers (e.g., \u3c10 \u3ekm) over a variety of land cover and land use types provide a unique opportunity to study the local effects of land cover and land use on surface temperature. We assess contributions albedo, energy redistribution due to differences in surface roughness and energy redistribution due to differences in the Bowen ratio using two eddy covariance tower clusters and the coupled (land-atmosphere) Variable-Resolution Community Earth System Model. Results suggest that surface roughness is the dominant biophysical factor contributing to differences in surface temperature between forested and deforested lands. Surface temperature of open land is cooler (−4.8 °C to −0.05 °C) than forest at night and warmer (+0.16 °C to +8.2 °C) during the day at northern and southern tower clusters throughout the year, consistent with modeled calculations. At annual timescales, the biophysical contributions of albedo and Bowen ratio have a negligible impact on surface temperature, however the higher albedo of snow-covered open land compared to forest leads to cooler winter surface temperatures over open lands (−0.4 °C to −0.8 °C). In both the models and observation, the difference in mid-day surface temperature calculated from the sum of the individual biophysical factors is greater than the difference in surface temperature calculated from radiative temperature and potential temperature. Differences in measured and modeled air temperature at the blending height, assumptions about independence of biophysical factors, and model biases in surface energy fluxes may contribute to daytime biases

The Paradox of Compacts: final report to the Home Office on monitoring the impact of Compacts

The Compact is an important building block in achieving a better relationship between Government and the voluntary and community sector. We are fully committed to partnership working with the sector and increasing their role in civil society and in the delivery of public s e rvices. The Compact helps us to work better together, so that we can better meet the needs of communities