The origin of intergalactic thermonuclear supernovae

The population synthesis method is used to study the possibility of explaining the appreciable fraction (20^+12_15%) of the intergalactic (no-host) type Ia supernovae observed in galaxy clusters (Gal-Yam ete al. 2003) by binary whote dwarf merginngs in the cores of globular clusters. In a typical globular cluster, the number of merging double white dwarfs is fount to be smaller than 10^{-13} per year per average cluster star during the entire evolution of the cluster, which is a factor of 3 higher than in a Milky-Way-type galaxy. From 5 to 30% of the merging white dwarfs are dynamically expelled from the cluster with barycenter velocities up to 150 km/s. SN Ia explosions during the mergers of binary white dwarfs in dense star clusters may account for \sim 1% of the total rate of SN Ia in the central parts of galaxy clusters if the baryon mass fraction in such star clusters is \sim 0.3%.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figs. Astronomy Letters (in press

GAMS RESULTS ON THE OMEGA-PI(0) SYSTEM

The first results on the omega-pi-0 system produced in the charge-exchange reaction of pi--p scattering at 38 GeV/c and 100 GeV/c are presented. The omega-pi-0 mass spectrum shows, alongside with the well-known b1(0) (1235) and rho-3(0) (1690) mesons, a new neutral state with mass 2200 +/- 20 MeV and width 260 +/- 50 MeV. This meson, X(2200), is produced like rho-3 through one-pion exchange. X(2200) is a candidate for the 1-- multiplet, and its possible interpretation is a 2(3)D1 excitation of the rho-0. Its production cross section at 3 S GeV/c is equal to sigma(pi--p --> Xn) . BR (X --> omega-pi-0) = 120 +/- 25 nb. Cross sections for b1 and rho-3 have also been measured. The energy dependences have been determined