Vigilance by Sentinels in a group of baboons (Papio hamadryas hamadryas) in a zoo setting

Vigilance by sentinels is an anti-predator strategy by which certain group members keep watch from strategic positions, while the group is involved in other activities. Many anti-predatory behavior patterns observed in natural habitats are also deployed similarly when provoked by human presence. This work is part of a study conducted with a group of hamadryas baboons (Papio h. hamadryas) in semi-freedom in a 15-hectare zoo complex with extensive human pressure. The animals make incursions into an adjoining high-risk area to access food resources, making use of vigilance with sentinels and other risk minimization strategies. Results reveal that human presence provokes similar reactions to natural predatory pressure, forcing them to select strategies to minimize the factors involved in risk perception, such as the degree of visibility of the surroundings, minimizing the length of the incursion and behavioral restrictions

Are T Tauri stars gamma-ray emitters?

T Tauri stars are young, low mass, pre-main sequence stars surrounded by an accretion disk. These objects present strong magnetic activity and powerful magnetic reconnection events. Strong shocks are likely associated with fast reconnection in the stellar magnetosphere. Such shocks can accelerate particles up to relativistic energies. We aim at developing a simple model to calculate the radiation produced by non-thermal relativistic particles in the environment of T Tauri stars. We want to establish whether this emission is detectable at high energies with the available or forthcoming gamma-ray telescopes. We assume that particles (protons and electrons) pre-accelerated in reconnection events are accelerated at shocks through Fermi mechanism and we study the high-energy emission produced by the dominant radiative processes. We calculate the spectral energy distribution of T Tauri stars up to high-energies and we compare the integrated flux obtained with that from a specific Fermi source, 1FGL J1625.8-2429c, that we tentatively associate with this kind of young stellar objects (YSOs). We suggest that under reasonable general conditions nearby T Tauri stars might be detected at high energies and be responsible for some unidentified Fermi sources on the Galactic plane.Comment: 7 pages, 10 figure

Binaries with the eyes of CTA

The binary systems that have been detected in gamma rays have proven very useful to study high-energy processes, in particular particle acceleration, emission and radiation reprocessing, and the dynamics of the underlying magnetized flows. Binary systems, either detected or potential gamma-ray emitters, can be grouped in different subclasses depending on the nature of the binary components or the origin of the particle acceleration: the interaction of the winds of either a pulsar and a massive star or two massive stars; accretion onto a compact object and jet formation; and interaction of a relativistic outflow with the external medium. We evaluate the potentialities of an instrument like the Cherenkov telescope array (CTA) to study the non-thermal physics of gamma-ray binaries, which requires the observation of high-energy phenomena at different time and spatial scales. We analyze the capability of CTA, under different configurations, to probe the spectral, temporal and spatial behavior of gamma-ray binaries in the context of the known or expected physics of these sources. CTA will be able to probe with high spectral, temporal and spatial resolution the physical processes behind the gamma-ray emission in binaries, significantly increasing as well the number of known sources. This will allow the derivation of information on the particle acceleration and emission sites qualitatively better than what is currently available.Comment: 23 pages, 13 figures, accepted for publication in Astroparticle Physics, special issue on Physics with the Cherenkov Telescope Arra

On the development of the final optical multiplexer board prototype for the TileCal experiment

This paper describes the architecture of the final optical multiplexer board for the TileCal experiment. The results of the first VME 6U prototype have led to the definition of the final block diagram and functionality of this prototype. Functional description of constituent blocks and the state of the work currently undergoing at the Department of Electronic Engineering, in collaboration with IFIC-Valencia, is presented. As no board is yet produced, no experimental results are presented but, nevertheless, design issues that have been taking into account as component placement and signal integrity issues will be detailed

AGILE Observations of the Gravitational Wave Event GW150914

We report the results of an extensive search in the AGILE data for a gamma-ray counterpart of the LIGO gravitational wave event GW150914. Currently in spinning mode, AGILE has the potential of covering with its gamma-ray instrument 80 % of the sky more than 100 times a day. It turns out that AGILE came within a minute from the event time of observing the accessible GW150914 localization region. Interestingly, the gamma-ray detector exposed about 65 % of this region during the 100 s time intervals centered at -100 s and +300 s from the event time. We determine a 2-sigma flux upper limit in the band 50 MeV - 10 GeV, $UL = 1.9 \times 10^{-8} \rm \, erg \, cm^{-2} \, s^{-1}$ obtained about 300 s after the event. The timing of this measurement is the fastest ever obtained for GW150914, and significantly constrains the electromagnetic emission of a possible high-energy counterpart. We also carried out a search for a gamma-ray precursor and delayed emission over timescales ranging from minutes to days: in particular, we obtained an optimal exposure during the interval -150 / -30 s. In all these observations, we do not detect a significant signal associated with GW150914. We do not reveal the weak transient source reported by Fermi-GBM 0.4 s after the event time. However, even though a gamma-ray counterpart of the GW150914 event was not detected, the prospects for future AGILE observations of gravitational wave sources are decidedly promising.Comment: 20 pages, 6 figures. Submitted to the Astrophysical Journal Letters on April 1, 201

A study of the association of Fermi sources with massive young galactic objects

Massive protostars have associated bipolar outflows that can produce strong shocks when they interact with the surrounding medium. At these shocks particles can be accelerated up to relativistic energies. Relativistic electrons and protons can then produce gamma-ray emission, as some theoretical models predict. To identify young galactic objects that may emit gamma rays, we crossed the Fermi First Year Catalog with some catalogs of known massive young stellar objects (MYSOs), early type stars, and OB associations, and we implemented Monte Carlo simulations to find the probability of chance coincidences. We obtained a list of massive MYSOs that are spatially coincident with Fermi sources. Our results indicate that \sim 70% of these candidates should be gamma-ray sources with a confidence of \sim 5{\sigma}. We studied the coincidences one by one to check the viability of these young sources as potential counterparts to Fermi sources and made a short list of best targets for new detailed multifrequency observations. The results for other type of young galactic objects are not conclusive

Setup, tests and results for the ATLAS TileCal Read Out Driver production

In this paper we describe the performance and test results of the production of the 38 ATLAS TileCal Read Out Drivers (RODs). We first describe the basic hardware specifications and firmware functionality of the modules, the test-bench setup used for production and the test procedure to qualify the boards. We then finally show and discuss the performance results

The star forming region Monoceros R2 as a gamma-ray source

Context. After the release of the gamma-ray source catalog produced by the Fermi satellite during its first two years of operation, a significant fraction of sources still remain unassociated at lower energies. In addition to well-known high-energy emitters (pulsars, blazars, supernova remnants, etc.), theoretical expectations predict new classes of gamma-ray sources. In particular, gamma-ray emission could be associated with some of the early phases of stellar evolution, but this interesting possibility is still poorly understood. Aims. The aim of this paper is to assess the possibility of the Fermi gamma-ray source 2FGL J0607.5-0618c being associated with the massive star forming region Monoceros R2. Methods. A multi-wavelength analysis of the Monoceros R2 region is carried out using archival data at radio, infrared, X-ray, and gamma-ray wavelengths. The resulting observational properties are used to estimate the physical parameters needed to test the different physical scenarios. Results. We confirm the 2FGL J0607.5-0618c detection with improved confidence over the Fermi two-year catalog. We find that a combined effect of the multiple young stellar objects in Monoceros R2 is a viable picture for the nature of the source.Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y GeofísicasInstituto Argentino de Radioastronomí