Astrophysics
We derive a new formulation of the fully general relativistic equations describing a stationary equatorial MHD outflow from a rotating central object. The wind solution appears as a level contour of a `Bernoulli' function fixed by the…
We report the abundances of 30 elements in 23 metal-poor ([Fe/H] <-1.7) giants. These are based on 7774 equivalent widths and spectral synthesis of 229 additional lines. Hyperfine splitting is taken into account when appropriate. Our choice…
We present multi-wavelength observations of the northern population of Omega Cen from the main-sequence turn-off to high on the red giant branch. We show that the best information about the metallicity and age of the stars can be gained…
A globular cluster distance scale based on Hipparcos parallaxes of subdwarfs has been used to derive estimates of M_K for cluster Miras, including one in the SMC globular cluster NGC121. These lead to a zero-point of the Mira infrared…
We propose a new method for determining total masses of low frequency eccentric binaries (such as, neutron star binaries with orbital frequency $f\gsim 10^{-3}$Hz) from their gravitational waves. In this method we use the frequency shift…
We present far-infrared and millimetric observations of a sample of 3C objects. Millimetre data were taken at 1.25 mm with the IRAM 30m antenna feeding the MPIfR bolometer array. Mid-infrared (MIR) and far-infrared (FIR) photometry were…
We have observed the spectrum of Procyon A (F5IV) from 4559 to 5780 A with a S/N of ~ 1e3 and a resolving power of 2e5. We have measured the line bisectors and relative line shifts of a large number of Fe I and Fe II lines, comparing them…
A pole-count analysis of the infrared 2MASS survey is presented, in order to identify faint stream-like structures within the halo of the Milky Way. Selecting stars with colours consistent with M-giant stars, we find a strong over-density…
We present a general procedure for obtaining the present density fluctuation probability distribution given the statistics of the initial conditions. The main difficulties faced with regard to this problem are those related to the…
In the hypernova/collapsar model of gamma-ray bursts, it is natural that radiation is emitted by the inner engine for some time after the burst. This has been discussed as a possible source of the X-ray line emission observed in some…
Galaxies in rich clusters with z $\gtrsim$ 0.3 are observed to have a higher fraction of photometrically blue galaxies than their nearby counterparts. This raises the important question of what environmental effects can cause the…
We present the results of two Beppo-SAX observations of the poor clusters SC1327-312 and SC1329-313. These objects are located in a huge structure, formed by three ACO clusters, which is probably the remnant of one of the largest and best…
We observed the Monoceros R2 molecular cloud with the ACIS-I array onboard the Chandra X-ray Observatory. From the central 3.2' x 3.2' region, we detect 154 sources above the detection limit of ~5x10^-16 ergs s^-1 cm^-2 with a 100…
It has been suggested that the QPO phenomenon in LMXB's could be explained when the central compact object is a strange star. In this work we investigate within a standard model for disk accretion whether the observed clustering of spin…
A simple analytical model for estimating the fraction (\Omega_{gas}) of matter in gaseous form within the collapsed dark matter (DM) haloes is presented. The model is developed using (i) the Press-Schechter formalism to estimate the…
We use the deepest and most complete redshift catalog currently available (the Hubble Deep Field (HDF) North supplemented by new HDF South redshift data) to minimize residuals between photometric and spectroscopic redshift estimates. The…
Lyman alpha galaxies at high redshifts offer a powerful probe of both the formation of galaxies and the reionization of the intergalactic medium. Lyman alpha line emission is an efficient tool for identifying young galaxies at high…
We present an investigation of MgII absorbers characterized as single-cloud weak systems at z~1. We measured column densities and Doppler parameters for MgII and FeII in 15 systems found in HIRES/Keck spectra at 6.6 km/s. Using these…
Using the exact solution of the axisymmetric pulsar magnetosphere derived in a previous publication and the conservation laws of the associated MHD flow, we show that the Lorentz factor of the outflowing plasma increases linearly with…
We propose a method for estimating the large-scale rms bulk velocity of the cosmic mass field from the transmitted fluxes of Ly$\alpha$ forests. It is based on two linear relationships on large scales: 1) the relation between the…