International Evidence on Stochastic and Deterministic Monetary Neutrality.

We analyze the issue of the impact of multiple breaks on monetary neutrality results, using a long annual international data set. We empirically verify whether neutrality propositions remain addressable (and if so, whether they hold or not), when unit root tests are carried out allowing for multiple structural breaks in the long-run trend function of the variables. It is found that conclusions on neutrality are sensitive to the number and location of breaks. In order to interpret the evidence for structural breaks, we introduce a notion of deterministic monetary neutrality, which naturally arises in the absence of permanent stochastic shocks to the variables.Deterministic and Stochastic Neutrality and Superneutrality of Money, Unit Roots, Structural Breaks, Resampling Methods

A 100 pc Elliptical and Twisted Ring of Cold and Dense Molecular Clouds Revealed by Herschel Around the Galactic Center

Thermal images of cold dust in the Central Molecular Zone of the Milky Way, obtained with the far-infrared cameras on board the Herschel satellite, reveal a ~3 × 10^7 M_☉ ring of dense and cold clouds orbiting the Galactic center. Using a simple toy model, an elliptical shape having semi-major axes of 100 and 60 pc is deduced. The major axis of this 100 pc ring is inclined by about 40° with respect to the plane of the sky and is oriented perpendicular to the major axes of the Galactic Bar. The 100 pc ring appears to trace the system of stable x_2 orbits predicted for the barred Galactic potential. Sgr A⋆ is displaced with respect to the geometrical center of symmetry of the ring. The ring is twisted and its morphology suggests a flattening ratio of 2 for the Galactic potential, which is in good agreement with the bulge flattening ratio derived from the 2MASS data

Beta decays with momentum space Majorana spinors

We construct and apply to beta decays a truly neutral local quantum field that is entirely based upon momentum space Majorana spinors. We make the observation that theory with momentum space Majorana spinors of real C parities is equivalent to Dirac's theory. For imaginary C parities, the neutrino mass can drop from the single beta decay trace and reappear in 0\nu \beta \beta, a curious and in principle experimentally testable signature for a non-trivial impact of Majorana framework in experiments with polarized sources.Comment: 7 pages, 1 figure; needs svjour.cls, svepj.cl

The infrared and molecular environment surrounding the Wolf-Rayet star WR130

We present a study of the molecular CO gas and mid/far infrared radiation arising from the environment surrounding the Wolf-Rayet (W-R) star 130. We use the multi-wavelength data to analyze the properties of the dense gas and dust, and its possible spatial correlation with that of Young Stellar Objects (YSOs). We use CO J=1-0 data from the FCRAO survey as tracer of the molecular gas, and mid/far infrared data from the recent WISE and Herschel space surveys to study the dust continuum radiation and to identify a population of associated candidate YSOs. The spatial distribution of the molecular gas shows a ring-like structure very similar to that observed in the HI gas, and over the same velocity interval. The relative spatial distribution of the HI and CO components is consistent with a photo-dissociation region. We have identified and characterized four main and distinct molecular clouds that create this structure. Cold dust is coincident with the dense gas shown in the CO measurements. We have found several cYSOs that lie along the regions with the highest gas column density, and suggest that they are spatially correlated with the shell. These are indicative of regions of star formation induced by the strong wind and ionization of the WR star.Comment: 15 pages, 12 figures, 6 Tables. Accepted for publication in MNRA

Tracing the energetics and evolution of dust with Spitzer : a chapter in the history of the Eagle Nebula

Context. The Spitzer GLIMPSE and MIPSGAL surveys have revealed a wealth of details about the Galactic plane in the infrared (IR)with orders of magnitude higher sensitivity, higher resolution, and wider coverage than previous IR observations. The structure of the interstellar medium (ISM) is tightly connected to the countless star-forming regions. We use these surveys to study the energetics and dust properties of the Eagle Nebula (M16), one of the best known star-forming regions. Aims. We present MIPSGAL observations of M16 at 24 and 70 μm and combine them with previous IR data. The mid-IR image shows a shell inside the well-known molecular borders of the nebula, as in the ISO and MSX observations from 15 to 21 μm. The morphologies at 24 and 70 μm are quite different, and its color ratio is unusually warm. The far-IR image resembles the one at 8 μm that enhances the structure of the molecular cloud and the "pillars of creation". We use this set of IR data to analyze the dust energetics and properties within this template for Galactic star-forming regions. Methods. We measure IR spectral energy distributions (SEDs) across the entire nebula, both within the inner shell and the photodissociation regions (PDRs).We use the DUSTEM model to fit these SEDs and constrain the dust temperature, the dust-size distribution, and the radiation field intensity relative to that provided by the star cluster NGC 6611 (χ/χ0). Results. Within the PDRs, the inferred dust temperature (~35 K), the dust-size distribution, and the radiation field intensity (χ/χ0 < 1) are consistent with expectations. Within the inner shell, the dust is hotter (~70 K). Moreover, the radiation field required to fit the SED is larger than that provided by NGC 6611 (χ/χ0 > 1). We quantify two solutions to this problem: (1) The size distribution of the dust in the shell is not that of interstellar dust. There is a significant enhancement of the carbon dust-mass in stochastically heated very small grains. (2) The dust emission arises from a hot (~10^6 K) plasma where both UV and collisions with electrons contribute to the heating. Within this hypothesis, the shell SED may be fit for a plasma pressure p/k ~ 5 × 10^7 K cm^(−3). Conclusions. We suggest two interpretations for the M16 inner shell: (1) The shell matter is supplied by photo-evaporative flows arising from dense gas exposed to ionized radiation. The flows renew the shell matter as it is pushed out by the pressure from stellar winds. Within this scenario, we conclude that massive-star forming regions such as M16 have a major impact on the carbon dustsize distribution. The grinding of the carbon dust could result from shattering in grain-grain collisions within shocks driven by the dynamical interaction between the stellar winds and the shell. (2) We also consider a more speculative scenario where the shell is a supernova remnant. In this case, we would be witnessing a specific time in the evolution of the remnant where the plasma pressure and temperature would enable the remnant to cool through dust emission