Following the Mobile Student: Can We Develop the Capacity for a Comprehensive Database to Assess Student Progression?

Presents a study of state-level databases on postsecondary student retention and completion rates and the feasibility of tracking students across state lines. Outlines challenges and recommendations, including establishing a common reporting standard

Fermionic bound states in Minkowski-space: Light-cone singularities and structure

The Bethe-Salpeter equation for two-body bound system with spin $1/2$ constituent is addressed directly in the Minkowski space. In order to accomplish this aim we use the Nakanishi integral representation of the Bethe-Salpeter amplitude and exploit the formal tool represented by the exact projection onto the null-plane. This formal step allows one i) to deal with end-point singularities one meets and ii) to find stable results, up to strongly relativistic regimes, that settles in strongly bound systems. We apply this technique to obtain the numerical dependence of the binding energies upon the coupling constants and the light-front amplitudes for a fermion-fermion $0^+$ state with interaction kernels, in ladder approximation, corresponding to scalar-, pseudoscalar- and vector boson exchanges, respectively. After completing the numerical survey of the previous cases, we extend our approach to a quark-antiquark system in $0^-$ state, taking both constituent-fermion and exchanged boson masses, from lattice calculations. Interestingly, the calculated light-front amplitudes for such a mock pion show peculiar signatures of the spin degrees of freedom.Comment: 22 pages, 7 figures, bst file include

A grid of Synthetic Spectra for Hot DA White Dwarfs and Its Application in Stellar Population Synthesis

In this work we present a grid of LTE and non-LTE synthetic spectra of hot DA white dwarfs (WDs). In addition to its usefulness for the determination of fundamental stellar parameters of isolated WDs and in binaries, this grid will be of interest for the construction of theoretical libraries for stellar studies from integrated light. The spectral grid covers both a wide temperature and gravity range, with 17,000 K <= T_eff <= 100,000 K and 7.0 <= log(g) <= 9.5. The stellar models are built for pure hydrogen and the spectra cover a wavelength range from 900 A to 2.5 microns. Additionally, we derive synthetic HST/ACS, HST/WFC3, Bessel UBVRI and SDSS magnitudes. The grid was also used to model integrated spectral energy distributions of simple stellar populations and our modeling suggests that DAs might be detectable in ultraviolet bands for populations older than ~8 Gyr.Comment: to be published in The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Serie

The Nature of the Secondary Star in the Black Hole X-Ray Transient V616 Mon (=A0620-00)

We have used NIRSPEC on Keck II to obtain $K$-band spectroscopy of the low mass X-ray binary V616 Mon (= A0620$-$00). V616 Mon is the proto-typical soft x-ray transient containing a black hole primary. As such it is important to constrain the masses of the binary components. The modeling of the infrared observations of ellipsoidal variations in this system lead to a derived mass of 11.0 M_{\sun} for the black hole. The validity of this derivation has been called into question due to the possiblity that the secondary star's spectral energy distribution is contaminated by accretion disk emission (acting to dilute the variations). Our new $K$-band spectrum of V616 Mon reveals a late-type K dwarf secondary star, but one that has very weak $^{\rm 12}$CO absorption features. Comparison of V616 Mon with SS Cyg leads us to estimate that the accretion disk supplies only a small amount of $K$-band flux, and the ellipsoidal variations are not seriously contaminated. If true, the derived orbital inclination of V616 Mon is not greatly altered, and the mass of the black hole remains large. A preliminary stellar atmosphere model for the $K$-band spectrum of V616 Mon reveals that the carbon abundance is approximately 50% of the solar value. We conclude that the secondary star in V616 Mon has either suffered serious contamination from the accretion of supernova ejecta that created the black hole primary, or it is the stripped remains of a formerly more massive secondary star, one in which the CNO cycle had been active.Comment: 20 pages, 5 figure

Full spectral fitting of Milky Way and M31 globular clusters: ages and metallicities

Context: The formation and evolution of disk galaxies are long standing questions in Astronomy. Understanding the properties of globular cluster systems can lead to important insights on the evolution of its host galaxy. Aims: We aim to obtain the stellar population parameters - age and metallicity - of a sample of M31 and Galactic globular clusters. Studying their globular cluster systems is an important step towards understanding their formation and evolution in a complete way. Methods: Our analysis employs a modern pixel-to-pixel spectral fitting technique to fit observed integrated spectra to updated stellar population models. By comparing observations to models we obtain the ages and metallicities of their stellar populations. We apply this technique to a sample of 38 globular clusters in M31 and to 41 Galactic globular clusters, used as a control sample. Results: Our sample of M31 globular clusters spans ages from 150 Myr to the age of the Universe. Metallicities [Fe/H] range from -2.2 dex to the solar value. The age-metallicity relation obtained can be described as having two components: an old population with a flat age-[Fe/H] relation, possibly associated with the halo and/or bulge, and a second one with a roughly linear relation between age and metallicity, higher metallicities corresponding to younger ages, possibly associated with the M31 disk. While we recover the very well known Galactic GC metallicity bimodality, our own analysis of M31's metallicity distribution function (MDF) suggests that both GC systems cover basically the same [Fe/H] range yet M31's MDF is not clearly bimodal. These results suggest that both galaxies experienced different star formation and accretion histories.Comment: A&A, in pres