B(Ds^+ -> l^+ nu) and the Decay Constant f_(D_s^+)

I report final CLEO-c results on the purely leptonic decays of the D_s^+ -> l^+ nu, for the cases when l^+ is a mu^+ or tau^+, when it decays into pi^+ anti-nu, using 314/pb of data at 4.170 GeV. I also include preliminary results from the tau^+ -> e^+ nu anti-nu channel using 195/pb. Combining both we measure f_{D_s}= 275 +/- 10 +/- 5 MeV, and f_{D_s^+}/{f_{D^+}=1.24 +/- 0.10 =/- 0.03 .Comment: Presented at "The 2007 Europhysics Conference on High Energy Physics," Manchester, England, 19-25 July 2007, to appear in the proceedings. Three pages, 1 figur

A Parsec-Scale Study of the 5/15 GHz Spectral Indices of the Compact Radio Sources in M82

Observations of the starburst galaxy, M82, have been made with the VLA in its A-configuration at 15 GHz and MERLIN at 5 GHz enabling a spectral analysis of the compact radio structure on a scale of < 0.1'' (1.6 pc). Crucial to these observations was the inclusion of the Pie Town VLBA antenna, which increased the resolution of the VLA observations by a factor of ~2. A number of the weaker sources are shown to have thermal spectra and are identified as HII regions with emission measures ~10^7 cm^-6 pc. Some of the sources appear to be optically thick at 5 GHz implying even higher emission measures of ~10^8 cm^-6 pc. The number of compact radio sources in M82 whose origin has been determined is now 46, of which 30 are supernova related and the remaining 16 are HII regions. An additional 15 sources are noted, but have yet to be identified, meaning that the total number of compact sources in M82 is at least 61. Also, it is shown that the distribution of HII regions is correlated with the large-scale ionised gas distribution, but is different from the distribution of supernova remnants. In addition, the brightest HII region at (B1950) 09h 51m 42.21s +69 54' 59.2'' shows a spectral index gradient across its resolved structure which we attribute to the source becoming optically thick towards its centre.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS. 15 pages, 9 figure

Deep MERLIN 5GHz Radio Imaging of Supernova Remnants in the M82 Starburst

The results of an extremely deep, 8-day long observation of the central kpc of the nearby starburst galaxy M82 using MERLIN (Multi-Element Radio Linked Interferometer Network) at 5 GHz are presented. The 17E-06 Jy/beam, rms noise level in the naturally weighted image make it the most sensitive high resolution radio image of M82 made to date. Over 50 discrete sources are detected, the majority of which are supernova remnants, but with 13 identified as HII regions. Sizes, flux densities and radio brightnesses are given for all of the detected sources, which are all well resolved with a majority showing shell or partial shell structures. Those sources within the sample which are supernova remnants have diameters ranging from 0.3 to 6.7 pc, with a mean size of 2.9 pc. From a comparison with previous MERLIN 5 GHz observations made in July 1992, which gives a 9.75 year timeline, it has been possible to measure the expansion velocities of ten of the more compact sources, eight of which have not been measured before. These derived expansion velocities range between 2200 and 10500 km/s.Comment: 34 pages, 10 figures. Accepted by MNRA

Radio supernovae, supernova remnants and HII regions in NGC 2146 observed with MERLIN and the VLA

We present a high-resolution 5-GHz radio continuum map of the starburst galaxy NGC 2146 made with MERLIN and the VLA, in a search of radio supernovae and supernova remnants expected to be already produced by the most massive stars in the starburst. At 5 GHz, about 20 point sources were detected earlier by Glendenning & Kronberg (1986) in the central 800 pc of NGC 2146. Our observations with higher sensitivity and resolution made with MERLIN and the VLA confirms the detection of 18 sources, and resolves 7 of them. Additional 1.6-GHz MERLIN observations disclose 9 sources coincident in position with those detected at 5 GHz, which allows us to derive their spectral indices. Only 3 sources have indices consistent with synchrotron emission from supernova remnants or radio supernovae, while the others have very steep inverted spectra. We suggest that the sources with positive spectral index are optically thick ultra-compact and/or ultra-dense HII regions with high electron densities and high emission measures (EM > 10^(7) cm^(-6) pc). Minimum energy requirements indicate that these regions may contain up to 1000 equivalent stars of type O6. When compared with M 82, the galaxy NGC 2146 lacks however a large number of supernova remnants. We suggest that NGC 2146 is experiencing a burst of star formation stronger than that in M 82, but being in a younger phase. We may, however, not exclude an alternative scenario in which strong free-free absorption at 1.6 GHz in foreground ionized gas with very high emission measures (EM > 10^(8) cm^(-6) pc) hides a certain number of supernova remnants, thus rendering for some sources the observed inverted spectra.Comment: 10 pages, including 2 figures. Accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysic

A possible radio supernova in the outer part of NGC 3310

As part of an on-going radio supernova monitoring program, we have discovered a variable, compact steep spectrum radio source ~65 arcsec (~4 kpc) from the centre of the starburst galaxy NGC 3310. If the source is at the distance of NGC 3310, then its 5 GHz luminosity is ~3 x 10^{19} WHz^-1. The source luminosity, together with its variability characteristics, compact structure (<17 mas) and its association with a group of HII regions, leads us to propose that it is a previously uncatalogued type II radio supernova. A search of archival data also shows an associated X-ray source with a luminosity similar to known radio supernova.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures. Accepted by MNRA

Second Epoch Global VLBI Observations of Compact Radio Sources in the M82 Starburst Galaxy

We have presented the results of a second epoch of global Very Long Baseline Interferometry observations, taken on 23 February 2001 at a wavelength of 18 cm, of the central kiloparsec of the nearby starburst galaxy Messier 82. These observations were aimed at studying the structural and flux evolution of some of the compact radio sources in the central region that have been identified as supernova remnants. The objects 41.95+575 and 43.31+592 have been studied, expansion velocities of 2500 +/- 1200 km/s and 7350 +/- 2100 km/s respectively have been derived. Flux densities of 31.1 +/- 0.3 mJy and 17.4 +/- 0.3 mJy have been measured for the two objects. These results are consistent with measurements and predictions from previous epochs.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures. To be published on the accompanying CD of the Proceedings of IAU Colloquium 192: Supernova