16,381 research outputs found
Probing embedded star clusters in the HII complex NGC 6357 with VVV
NGC 6357 is an active star-forming region located in the Sagittarius arm
displaying several star clusters, which makes it a very interesting target to
investigate star formation and early cluster evolution. We explore NGC 6357
with the "VISTA Variables in the V\'ia a L\'actea" (VVV) photometry of seven
embedded clusters (ECs), and one open cluster (OC) projected in the outskirts
of the complex.Photometric and structural properties (age, reddening, distance,
core and total radii) of the star clusters are derived. VVV saturated stars are
replaced by their 2MASS counterparts. Field-decontaminated VVV photometry is
used to analyse Colour-Magnitude Diagrams (CMDs), stellar radial density
profiles (RDPs) and determine astrophysical parameters. We report the discovery
of four ECs and one intermediate-age cluster in the complex area. We derive a
revised distance estimate for NGC 6357 of 1.780.1 kpc based on the cluster
CMD morphologies. Among the ECs, one contains the binary star the WR 93, while
the remaining ones are dominated by pre-main sequence (PMS) stars,
young-stellar objects (YSO) and/or and have a developed main sequence. These
features reflect a significant age spread among the clusters. Evidence is found
that the relatively populous cluster Pismis 24 hosts two subclusters.Comment: This article will be published in the A&A. 11 pages, 15 figures and 3
table
Area Quantization in Quasi-Extreme Black Holes
We consider quasi-extreme Kerr and quasi-extreme Schwarzschild-de Sitter
black holes. From the known analytical expressions obtained for their
quasi-normal modes frequencies, we suggest an area quantization prescription
for those objects.Comment: Final version to appear in Mod. Phys. Lett.
Ecological Effects of Fear: How Spatiotemporal Heterogeneity in Predation Risk Influences Mule Deer Access to Forage in a SkyâIsland System
Forage availability and predation risk interact to affect habitat use of ungulates across many biomes. Within skyâisland habitats of the Mojave Desert, increased availability of diverse forage and cover may provide ungulates with unique opportunities to extend nutrient uptake and/or to mitigate predation risk. We addressed whether habitat use and foraging patterns of female mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) responded to normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), NDVI rate of change (greenâup), or the occurrence of cougars (Puma concolor). Female mule deer used available greenâup primarily in spring, although growing vegetation was available during other seasons. Mule deer and cougar shared similar habitat all year, and our models indicated cougars had a consistent, negative effect on mule deer access to growing vegetation, particularly in summer when cougar occurrence became concentrated at higher elevations. A seemingly late parturition date coincided with diminishing NDVI during the lactation period. Skyâisland populations, rarely studied, provide the opportunity to determine how mule deer respond to growing foliage along steep elevation and vegetation gradients when trapped with their predators and seasonally limited by aridity. Our findings indicate that fear of predation may restrict access to the forage resources found in sky islands
MQCD, ('Barely') G_2 Manifolds and (Orientifold of) a Compact Calabi-Yau
We begin with a discussion on two apparently disconnected topics - one
related to nonperturbative superpotential generated from wrapping an M2-brane
around a supersymmetric three cycle embedded in a G_2-manifold evaluated by the
path-integral inside a path-integral approach of [1], and the other centered
around the compact Calabi-Yau CY_3(3,243) expressed as a blow-up of a degree-24
Fermat hypersurface in WCP^4[1,1,2,8,12]. For the former, we compare the
results with the ones of Witten on heterotic world-sheet instantons [2]. The
subtopics covered in the latter include an N=1 triality between Heterotic, M-
and F-theories, evaluation of RP^2-instanton superpotential, Picard-Fuchs
equation for the mirror Landau-Ginsburg model corresponding to CY_3(3,243),
D=11 supergravity corresponding to M-theory compactified on a `barely' G_2
manifold involving CY_3(3,243) and a conjecture related to the action of
antiholomorphic involution on period integrals. We then show an indirect
connection between the two topics by showing a connection between each one of
the two and Witten's MQCD [3]. As an aside, we show that in the limit of
vanishing "\zeta", a complex constant that appears in the Riemann surfaces
relevant to definining the boundary conditions for the domain wall in MQCD, the
infinite series of [4] used to represent a suitable embedding of a
supersymmetric 3-cycle in a G_2-mannifold, can be summed.Comment: 37 pages, LaTex; PARTLY based on talks given at ``Seventh Workshop on
QCD" [session on "Strings, Branes and (De-)Construction"], Jan 6-10, 2003, La
Cittadelle, Villefranche-sur-Mer, France; Fourth Workshop on ``Gauge Fields
and Strings", Feb 25-Mar 1, 2003, Jena, Germany; ``XII Oporto Meeting on
Geometry, Topology and Strings", July 17-20, 2003, Oporto, Portugal; "SQS03"
- International Workshop on "Supersymmetries and Quantum Symmetries', July
24-29, 2003, JINR, Dubna, Russia; poster presented at ``XIV International
Congress on Mathematical Physics", July 28-Aug 2, 2003, Lisbon, Portuga
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