19,275 research outputs found
Spiral structure of the Third Galactic Quadrant and the solution to the Canis Major debate
With the discovery of the Sagittarius dwarf spheroidal (Ibata et al. 1994), a
galaxy caught in the process of merging with the Milky Way, the hunt for other
such accretion events has become a very active field of astrophysical research.
The identification of a stellar ring-like structure in Monoceros, spanning more
than 100 degrees (Newberg et al. 2002), and the detection of an overdensity of
stars in the direction of the constellation of Canis Major (CMa, Martin et al.
2004), apparently associated to the ring, has led to the widespread belief that
a second galaxy being cannibalised by the Milky Way had been found. In this
scenario, the overdensity would be the remaining core of the disrupted galaxy
and the ring would be the tidal debris left behind. However, unlike the
Sagittarius dwarf, which is well below the Galactic plane and whose orbit, and
thus tidal tail, is nearly perpendicular to the plane of the Milky Way, the
putative CMa galaxy and ring are nearly co-planar with the Galactic disk. This
severely complicates the interpretation of observations. In this letter, we
show that our new description of the Milky Way leads to a completely different
picture. We argue that the Norma-Cygnus spiral arm defines a distant stellar
ring crossing Monoceros and the overdensity is simply a projection effect of
looking along the nearby local arm. Our perspective sheds new light on a very
poorly known region, the third Galactic quadrant (3GQ), where CMa is located.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures. Quality of Fig 1 has been degraded to make it
smaller. Original fig. available on request. accepted for publication in
MNRAS letter
A new look at Sco OB1 association with Gaia DR2
We present and discuss photometric optical data in the area of the OB
association Sco OB1 covering about 1 squared degree. UBVI photometry is
employed in tandem with Gaia DR2 data to investigate the 3 dimensional
structure and the star formation history of the region. By combining parallaxes
and proper motions we identify 7 physical groups located between the young open
cluster NGC 6231 and the bright nebula IC4628. The most prominent group
coincides with the sparse open cluster Trumpler 24. We confirm the presence of
the intermediate age star cluster VdB-Hagen 202, which is unexpected in this
environment, and provide for the first time estimates of its fundamental
parameters. After assessing individual groups membership, we derive mean proper
motion components, distances, and ages. The seven groups belong to two
different families. To the younger family (family I) belong several pre-Main
Sequence stars as well. These are evenly spread across the field, and also in
front of VdB-Hagen 202. VdB-Hagen 202 and two smaller, slightly detached,
groups of similar properties form family II, which do not belong to the
association, but are caught in the act of passing through it. As for the
younger population, this forms an arc-like structure from the bright nebula IC
4628 down to NGC 6231, as previously found. Moreover, the pre-Main Sequence
stars density seems to increase from NGC 6231 northward to Trumpler 24
Stanilov-Tsankov-Videv Theory
We survey some recent results concerning Stanilov-Tsankov-Videv theory,
conformal Osserman geometry, and Walker geometry which relate algebraic
properties of the curvature operator to the underlying geometry of the
manifold.Comment: This is a contribution to the Proceedings of the 2007 Midwest
Geometry Conference in honor of Thomas P. Branson, published in SIGMA
(Symmetry, Integrability and Geometry: Methods and Applications) at
http://www.emis.de/journals/SIGMA
Interacting social processes on interconnected networks
We propose and study a model for the interplay between two different
dynamical processes --one for opinion formation and the other for decision
making-- on two interconnected networks and . The opinion dynamics on
network corresponds to that of the M-model, where the state of each agent
can take one of four possible values (), describing its level of
agreement on a given issue. The likelihood to become an extremist ()
or a moderate () is controlled by a reinforcement parameter .
The decision making dynamics on network is akin to that of the
Abrams-Strogatz model, where agents can be either in favor () or against
() the issue. The probability that an agent changes its state is
proportional to the fraction of neighbors that hold the opposite state raised
to a power . Starting from a polarized case scenario in which all agents
of network hold positive orientations while all agents of network have
a negative orientation, we explore the conditions under which one of the
dynamics prevails over the other, imposing its initial orientation. We find
that, for a given value of , the two-network system reaches a consensus
in the positive state (initial state of network ) when the reinforcement
overcomes a crossover value , while a negative consensus happens
for . In the phase space, the system displays a
transition at a critical threshold , from a coexistence of both
orientations for to a dominance of one orientation for
. We develop an analytical mean-field approach that gives an
insight into these regimes and shows that both dynamics are equivalent along
the crossover line .Comment: 25 pages, 6 figure
A photometric study of the young open cluster NGC 1220
We present UBV CCD observations obtained in the field of the northern open
cluster NGC 1220, for which little information is available. We provide also BV
CCD photometry of a field 5 northward of NGC 1220 to take into
account field star contamination. We argue that NGC 1220 is a young compact
open cluster, for which we estimate a core radius in the range
arcmin. We identify 26 likely candidate members with spectral type earlier than
, down to =15.00 mag on the basis of the position in the two-colour
Diagram and in the Colour Magnitude Diagrams (CMDs). By analyzing the
distribution of these stars in the colour-colour and CMDs, we find that NGC
1220 has a reddening E mag, is placed pc
distant from the Sun, and has an age of about 60 Myrs. The cluster turns out to
be located about 120 pc above the Galactic plane, relatively high with respect
to its age.Comment: 7 pages, 8 eps figures, accepted for publication in A&
PHYLOGEOGRAPHY OF THE RUFOUS-NAPED WREN (CAMPYLORHYNCHUS RUFINUCHA): SPECIATION AND HYBRIDIZATION IN MESOAMERICA
The Rufous-naped Wren (Campylorhynchus rufinucha) is a sedentary, morphologically variable species distributed in the dry forests of Mesoamerica. It ranges from Colima, Mexico, south to Costa Rica along the Pacific slope, with a disjunct population in central Veracruz. Populations of two forms on the Pacific slope intergrade in Chiapas, Mexico, apparently as a result of secondary contact. We sequenced a mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) gene to explore phylogeographic patterns and hybridization. We found three divergent lineages, two geographically spanning the Isthmus of Tehuantepec and a disjunct Veracruz population. Analyses of molecular variation and statistics are consistent with genetically distinct populations. Morphological and behavioral evidence from other studies is consistent with the existence of these three independent evolutionary lineages. However, the geographic distribution of haplotypes suggests mtDNA introgression east of the isthmus. Our data suggest that this secondary contact could be explained by population expansions. We recommend recognizing three species, two of which hybridize in a narrow contact zone
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