New Insight into Antiproton Production and Reabsorption Using Proton-Nucleus Collisions at the AGS

Antiproton ($\bar{p}$) yields are presented for proton-nucleus collisions, with targets Be, Cu, and Au, at beam momenta of 12.3 and 17.5 GeV/c. In addition to target size and beam momentum, the number of projectile collisions $\nu$, as derived from the number of ``grey'' tracks (slow protons and deuterons), is used to disentangle the $\bar{p}$ reabsorption from the production. By quantifying the amount of reabsorption of the $\bar{p}$ within the nucleus as a function of $\nu$, the annihilation within the nucleus is estimated and compared to the free annihilation cross section. Preliminary results on antilambda ($\bar{\Lambda}$) production as a function of $\nu$ are also presented for comparison.Comment: 4 pages including 4 figure

The Gould's Belt distance survey

Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) observations can provide the position of compact radio sources with an accuracy of order 50 micro-arcseconds. This is sufficient to measure the trigonometric parallax and proper motions of any object within 500 pc of the Sun to better than a few percent. Because they are magnetically active, young stars are often associated with compact radio emission detectable using VLBI techniques. Here we will show how VLBI observations have already constrained the distance to the most often studied nearby regions of star-formation (Taurus, Ophiuchus, Orion, etc.) and have started to provide information on their internal structure and kinematics. We will then briefly describe a large project (called The Gould's Belt Distance Survey) designed to provide a detailed view of star-formation in the Solar neighborhood using VLBI observations.Comment: To be published in the Revista Mexicana de Astronomia y Astrofisica (Serie de Conferencias

Centrality-dependence of Particle Production at RHIC and the Combinational Approach

The newly proposed combinational approach, called the grand combinational model (GCM), as would be described in detail in the text, is still under our careful scrutiny. By applying it, we have attempted to analyze here the characteristics of both the transverse momentum($p_{\rm{T}}$)-, and centrality-dependence of production of the main varieties of the secondaries measured in $AuAu$ collisions at BNL-RHIC at both $\sqrt{s_{\rm{NN}}}=130$ GeV and $\sqrt{s_{\rm{NN}}}=200$ GeV by PHENIX Collaboration. Besides, with the help of it, we have also investigated the nature of centrality-dependence of the average transverse momenta of the various major categories of particles in $AuAu$ collisions at RHIC. The model seems to survive quite smoothly the acid tests of the latest PHENIX data, as it accommodates data modestly well on these twin aspects. The study reveals a kind of universality of nature of the hadronic secondaries and also of the basic particle and nuclear interactions at high energies. However, in the end, we precisely point out both the strengths and limitations of the specific model under consideration here.Comment: 13 pages, 17 figures, accepted for publication in EPJ

Progress in Measurements of the Gravitational Bending of Radio Waves Using the VLBA

We have used the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) at 43, 23 and 15 GHz to measure the solar gravitational deflection of radio waves among four radio sources during an 18-day period in October 2005. Using phase-referenced radio interferometry to fit the measured phase delay to the propagation equation of the parameterized post-Newtonian (PPN) formalism, we have determined the deflection parameter gamma = 0.9998 +/- 0.0003$ (68% confidence level), in agreement with General Relativity. The results come mainly from 43 GHz observations where the refraction effects of the solar corona were negligible beyond 3 degrees from the sun. The purpose of this experiment is three-fold: to improve on the previous results in the gravitational bending experiments near the solar limb; to examine and evaluate the accuracy limits of terrestrial VLBI techniques; and to determine the prospects and outcomes of future experiments. Our conclusion is that a series of improved designed experiments with the VLBA could increase the presented accuracy by at least a factor of 4.Comment: 22 pages, 3 figure

Direct Photons at RHIC

The PHENIX experiment has measured direct photons in $\sqrt{s_{NN}} = 200$ GeV Au+Au collisions and p+p collisions. The fraction of photons due to direct production in Au+Au collisions is shown as a function of $p_T$ and centrality. This measurement is compared with expectation from pQCD calculations. Other possible sources of direct photons are discussed.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, presented at Hot Quarks 2004, Taos, N