The complex stellar populations in the lines of sight to open clusters in the third Galactic quadrant

Multi-color photometry of the stellar populations in five fields in the third Galactic quadrant centred on the clusters NGC 2215, NGC 2354, Haffner 22, Ruprecht 11, and ESO489SC01 is interpreted in terms of a warped and flared Galactic disk, without resort to an external entity such as the popular Monoceros or Canis Major overdensities. Except for NGC 2215, the clusters are poorly or unstudied previously. The data generate basic parameters for each cluster, including the distribution of stars along the line of sight. We use star counts and photometric analysis, without recourse to Galactic-model-based predictions or interpretations, and confirms earlier results for NGC 2215 and NGC 2354. ESO489SC01 is not a real cluster, while Haffner~22 is an overlooked cluster aged about 2.5 Gyr. Conclusions for Ruprecht~11 are preliminary, evidence for a cluster being marginal. Fields surrounding the clusters show signatures of young and intermediate-age stellar populations. The young population background to NGC~2354 and Ruprecht~11 lies 8-9 kpc from the Sun and $\sim$1 kpc below the formal Galactic plane, tracing a portion of the Norma-Cygnus arm, challenging Galactic models that adopt a sharp cut-off of the disk 12-14 kpc from the Galactic center. The old population is metal poor with an age of 2-3 Gyr, resembling star clusters like Tombaugh 2 or NGC 2158. It has a large color spread and is difficult to locate precisely. Young and old populations follow a pattern that depends critically on the vertical location of the thin and/or thick disk, and whether or not a particular line of sight intersects one, both, or none.Comment: 16 pages, 9 eps figures, in press in MNRA

The biting and predaceous midges of Guadeloupe (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae). I. Species of the subfamily Ceratopogoninae

We provide new records of biting and predaceous midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) from Guadeloupe in the subfamily Ceratopogoninae, including descriptions and illustrations of three new predaceous species in the genera, Parabezzia Malloch, Stilobezzia Kieffer and Palpomyia Meigen, respectively, and the first records of the New World predaceous genus, Amerohelea Grogan and Wirth, from the Caribbean region. We also provide the first Guadeloupe records of the biting midges, Culicoides (Anilomyia) decor (Williston), C. (Avaritia) pusillus Lutz, C. (Drymodesmyia) bredini Wirth and Blanton, C. (D.) poikilonotus Macfie, C. (Haematomyidium) hoffmani Fox, C. (Hoffmania) insignis Lutz, C. rangeli Ortiz and Mirsa and C. trilineatus Fox, and the predaceous midges, Brachypogon (Brachypogon) bifidus Spinelli and Grogan, B. (B.) telesfordi Spinelli and Grogan, B. (B.) woodruffi Spinelli and Grogan, Monohelea maya Felippe-Bauer, Huerta and Ibáñez-Bernal, Stilobezzia (Stilobezzia) diminuta Lane and Forattini, S. (S.) thomsenae Wirth, Amerohelea galindoi Grogan and Wirth, Bezzia (Bezzia) flinti Spinelli and Wirth, B. (Homobezzia) venustula (Williston) and Palpomyia insularis Spinelli and Grogan

Exotic looped trajectories via quantum marking

We provide an analytical and theoretical study of exotic looped trajectories (ELTs) in a double-slit interferometer with quantum marking. We use an excited Rydberg-like atom and which-way detectors such as superconducting cavities, just as in the Scully-Englert-Walther interferometer. We indicate appropriate conditions on the atomic beam or superconducting cavities so that we determine an interference pattern and fringe visibility exclusive from the ELTs. We quantitatively describe our results for Rubidium atoms and propose this framework as an alternative scheme to the double-slit experiment modified to interfere only these exotic trajectories.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figure

Towards the Synthesis of Write-Ahead Logging

The implications of robust models have been far-reaching and pervasive. In this paper, authors validate the synthesis of local-area networks. In our research, we present an algorithm for interposable algorithms (OrbicWem), validating that the famous semantic algorithm for the visualization of sensor net- works by Wu and Wang is optimal

Luminosity and mass functions of galactic open clusters II: NGC 4852

We present wide-field deep UBVI photometry for the previously unstudied open cluster NGC 4852 down to a limiting magnitude I ∼ 24, obtained from observations taken with the Wide Field Imager camera on-board the MPG/ESO 2.2 m telescope at La Silla (ESO, Chile). These data are used to obtain the first estimate of the cluster basic parameters, to study the cluster spatial extension by means of star counts, and to derive the Luminosity (LF) and Mass Function (MF). The cluster radius turns out to be 5.0 ±1.0 arcmin. The cluster emerges clearly from the field down to V = 20 mag. At fainter magnitudes, it is completely confused with the general Galactic disk field. The stars inside this region define a young open cluster (200 million years old) 1.1 kpc far from the Sun (m - M = 11.60, E(B - V) = 0.45). The Present Day Mass Functions (PDMF) from the V photometry is one of the most extended in mass obtained to date, and can be represented as a power-law with a slope α = 2.3 ± 0.3 and (the Salpeter MF in this notation has a slope α = 2.35), in the mass range 3.2 ≤ m/m⊙ ≤ 0.6. Below this mass, the MF cannot be considered as representative of the cluster MF, as the cluster merges with the field and therefore the MF is the result of the combined effect of strong irregularities in the stellar background and interaction of the cluster with the dense Galactic field. The cluster total mass at the limiting magnitude results to be 2570 ±210 M⊙.Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísica

Wormholes, Gamma Ray Bursts and the Amount of Negative Mass in the Universe

In this essay, we assume that negative mass objects can exist in the extragalactic space and analyze the consequences of their microlensing on light from distant Active Galactic Nuclei. We find that such events have very similar features to some observed Gamma Ray Bursts and use recent satellite data to set an upper bound to the amount of negative mass in the universe.Comment: Essay awarded ``Honorable Mention'' in the Gravity Foundation Research Awards, 199

Neutrinos from collapsars

Context. Long gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are associated with the gravitational collapse of very massive stars. The central engine of a GRB can collimate relativistic jets that propagate inside the stellar envelope. The shock waves produced when the jet disrupts the stellar surface are capable of accelerating particles up to very high energies. Aims. If the jet has hadronic content, neutrinos will be produced via charged pion decays. The main goal of this work is to estimate the neutrino emission produced in the region close to the surface of the star, taking pion and muon cooling into account, along with subtle effects arising from neutrino production in a highly magnetized medium. Methods. We estimate the maximum energies of the different kinds of particles and solve the coupled transport equations for each species. Once the particle distributions are known, we calculate the intensity of neutrinos. We study the different effects on the neutrinos that can change the relative weight of different flavors. In particular, we consider the effects of neutrino oscillations, and of neutrino spin precession caused by strong magnetic fields. Results. The expected neutrino signals from the shocks in the uncorking regions of Population III events is very weak, but the neutrino signal produced by Wolf-Rayet GRBs with z < 0.5 is not far from the level of the atmospheric background. Conclusions. The IceCube experiment does not have the sensitivity to detect neutrinos from the implosion of the earliest stars, but a number of high-energy neutrinos may be detected from nearby long GRBs. The cumulative signal should be detectable over several years (~10 yr) of integration with the full 86-string configuration.Fil: Romero, Gustavo Esteban. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico - Conicet - la Plata. Instituto Argentino de Radioastronomia (i); ArgentinaFil: Peres, Orlando L. G.. Universidade Estadual de Campinas; BrasilFil: Vieyro, Florencia Laura. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico - Conicet - la Plata. Instituto Argentino de Radioastronomia (i); Argentin

In search for natural wormholes

We have investigated 631 time profiles of gamma ray bursts from the BATSE database searching for observable signatures produced by microlensing events related to natural wormholes. The results of this first search of topologically nontrivial objects in the Universe can be used to constrain their number and mass.Comment: Mod. Phys. Lett. A. (in press) Latex (revtex style) with no figure

Neutrinos from collapsars

Context. Long gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are associated with the gravitational collapse of very massive stars. The central engine of a GRB can collimate relativistic jets that propagate inside the stellar envelope. The shock waves produced when the jet disrupts the stellar surface are capable of accelerating particles up to very high energies. Aims. If the jet has hadronic content, neutrinos will be produced via charged pion decays. The main goal of this work is to estimate the neutrino emission produced in the region close to the surface of the star, taking pion and muon cooling into account, along with subtle effects arising from neutrino production in a highly magnetized medium. Methods. We estimate the maximum energies of the different kinds of particles and solve the coupled transport equations for each species. Once the particle distributions are known, we calculate the intensity of neutrinos. We study the different effects on the neutrinos that can change the relative weight of different flavors. In particular, we consider the effects of neutrino oscillations, and of neutrino spin precession caused by strong magnetic fields. Results. The expected neutrino signals from the shocks in the uncorking regions of Population III events is very weak, but the neutrino signal produced by Wolf-Rayet GRBs with z < 0.5 is not far from the level of the atmospheric background. Conclusions. The IceCube experiment does not have the sensitivity to detect neutrinos from the implosion of the earliest stars, but a number of high-energy neutrinos may be detected from nearby long GRBs. The cumulative signal should be detectable over several years (~10 yr) of integration with the full 86-string configuration.Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y GeofísicasInstituto Argentino de Radioastronomí