The Dog on the Ship: The "Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy" as an Outlying Part of the Argo Star System

Overdensities in the distribution of low latitude, 2MASS giant stars are revealed by systematically peeling away from sky maps the bulk of the giant stars conforming to ``isotropic'' density laws generally accounting for known Milky Way components. This procedure, combined with a higher resolution treatment of the sky density of both giants and dust allows us to probe to lower Galactic latitudes than previous 2MASS giant star studies. While the results show the swath of excess giants previously associated with the Monoceros ring system in the second and third Galactic quadrants at distances of 6-20 kpc, we also find a several times larger overdensity of giants in the same distance range concentrated in the direction of the ancient constellation Argo. Isodensity contours of the large structure suggest that it is highly elongated and inclined by about 3 deg to the disk, although details of the structure -- including the actual location of highest density, overall extent, true shape -- and its origin, remain unknown because only a fraction of it lies outside highly dust-obscured, low latitude regions. Nevertheless, our results suggest that the 2MASS M giant overdensity previously claimed to represent the core of a dwarf galaxy in Canis Major (l ~ 240 deg) is an artifact of a dust extinction window opening to the overall density rise to the more significant Argo structure centered at larger longitude (l ~ 290 +- 10 deg, b ~ -4 +- 2 deg).Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Homogeneous abundance analysis of dwarf, subgiant and giant FGK stars with and without giant planets

We have analyzed high-resolution and high signal-to-noise ratio optical spectra of nearby FGK stars with and without detected giant planets in order to homogeneously measure their photospheric parameters, mass, age, and the abundances of volatile (C, N, and O) and refractory (Na, Mg, Si, Ca, Ti, V, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, and Ba) elements. Our sample contains 309 stars from the solar neighborhood (up to the distance of 100 pc), out of which 140 are dwarfs, 29 are subgiants, and 140 are giants. The photospheric parameters are derived from the equivalent widths of Fe I and Fe II lines. Masses and ages come from the interpolation in evolutionary tracks and isochrones on the HR diagram. The abundance determination is based on the equivalent widths of selected atomic lines of the refractory elements and on the spectral synthesis of C_2, CN, C I, O I, and Na I features. We apply a set of statistical methods to analyze the abundances derived for the three subsamples. Our results show that: i) giant stars systematically exhibit underabundance in [C/Fe] and overabundance in [N/Fe] and [Na/Fe] in comparison with dwarfs, a result that is normally attributed to evolution-induced mixing processes in the envelope of evolved stars; ii) for solar analogs only, the abundance trends with the condensation temperature of the elements are correlated with age and anticorrelated with the surface gravity, which is in agreement with recent studies; iii) as in the case of [Fe/H], dwarf stars with giant planets are systematically enriched in [X/H] for all the analyzed elements, except for O and Ba (the former due to limitations of statistics), confirming previous findings in the literature that not only iron has an important relation with the planetary formation; and iv) giant planet hosts are also significantly overabundant for the same metallicity when the elements from Mg to Cu are combined together.Comment: 20 pages, 16 figures, 8 table

Chemical Evolution of the Galaxy Based on the Oscillatory Star Formation History

We model the star formation history (SFH) and the chemical evolution of the Galactic disk by combining an infall model and a limit-cycle model of the interstellar medium (ISM). Recent observations have shown that the SFH of the Galactic disk violently variates or oscillates. We model the oscillatory SFH based on the limit-cycle behavior of the fractional masses of three components of the ISM. The observed period of the oscillation ($\sim 1$ Gyr) is reproduced within the natural parameter range. This means that we can interpret the oscillatory SFH as the limit-cycle behavior of the ISM. We then test the chemical evolution of stars and gas in the framework of the limit-cycle model, since the oscillatory behavior of the SFH may cause an oscillatory evolution of the metallicity. We find however that the oscillatory behavior of metallicity is not prominent because the metallicity reflects the past integrated SFH. This indicates that the metallicity cannot be used to distinguish an oscillatory SFH from one without oscillations.Comment: 21 pages LaTeX, to appear in Ap

The distance to the LMC cluster NGC 1866 and the surrounding field

We use the Main Sequence stars in the LMC cluster NGC 1866 and of Red Clump stars in the local field to obtain two independent estimates of the LMC distance. We apply an empirical Main Sequence-fitting technique based on a large sample of subdwarfs with accurate {\sl Hipparcos} parallaxes in order to estimate the cluster distance modulus, and the multicolor Red Clump method to derive distance and reddening of the LMC field. We find that the Main Sequence-fitting and the Red Clump distance moduli are in significant disagreement; NGC 1866 distance is equal to $\rm (m-M)_{0,NGC 1866}=18.33\pm$0.08 (consistent with a previous estimate using the same data and theoretical Main Sequence isochrones), while the field stars provide $\rm (m-M)_{0,field}=18.53\pm$0.07. This difference reflects the more general dichotomy in the LMC distance estimates found in the literature. Various possible causes for this disagreement are explored, with particular attention paid to the still uncertain metallicity of the cluster and the star formation history of the field stars.Comment: 5 pages, incl. 1 figure, uses emulateapj.sty, ApJ accepte

Economic resilience and tourism destinations: eco and cultural responses to turbulence contexts in coastal areas

Since 2007, the economic recession has had a signi cant impact on European regional economies, parti- cularly the tourism sector. The combination of increasing oil prices and the reduction of purchasing power created a vast reduction of both foreign and domestic tourists, as well as lower spend from tourists, across Europe. Destinations focusing on standardised products were especially affected. This paper will stress the role of innovative coastal tourism activities to overcome the tensions caused by economic turbulence. Due to the unequal distribution of tourism across the EU, locations where tourism is socioeconomically signi cant to the region will be compared, using the cases of coastal tourism in Wales (UK), Algarve (Portugal), and Province of Huelva in Andalusia (Spain). Data from these regions was collected through the Atlantic Area KIMERAA project. For each case study, semi-structured interviews were conducted with SMEs, policymakers and Universities. These interviews, and further secondary source analysis, provided evidence that these regions were reco- vering from the economic resilience shock through diversifying their tourism markets particularly focusing on ecotourism and cultural tourism.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Improving the Knowledge on Seismogenic Sources in the Lower Tagus Valley for Seismic Hazard Purposes

The Lower Tagus Valley, that includes the metropolitan area of Lisbon, has been struck by several earthquakes which produced significant material damage and loss of lives. Their exact location remains unknown. Our goal is to shed some light into the seismogenic sources in the area using seismic reflection and geological data. In areas with no seismic coverage, potential-field data interpretation was carried out. Seismicity was overlaid to the potential seismogenic structures and high-resolution data was acquired in order to confirm which structures have been active into the Quaternary. Three major fault-zones affecting the Neogene were identified: V. F. Xira, Samora-Alcochete and Pinhal Novo. For the first fault, strong evidences suggest it is active. The other two fault-zones and other structures previously unknown can be correlated with several epicentres. Empirical relationships between maximum moment magnitude and fault area indicate that MW > 6.5 earthquakes can be expected for the larger structures