Astrophysics
Since the baryon-to-photon ratio "eta" is in some doubt at present, we ignore the constraints on eta from big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) and fit the three key cosmological parameters (h, Omega_M, eta) to four other observational…
A new method based on a Reverse Monte Carlo [RMC] technique and aimed at the inverse problem in the analysis of interstellar (intergalactic) absorption lines is presented. The line formation process in chaotic media with a finite…
We present the results of a study aimed at determining the 12C/13C ratio in two samples of planetary nebuale (PNe) by means of mm-wave observations of 12CO and 13CO. The first group includes six PNe which have been observed in the 3He+…
Calculations of the stopping power of a medium lead to divergent integrals in gravitational theory as they do in the analogous electromagnetic problem. In the em case, one introduces (normally in an arbitrary manner) the Debye length as a…
The gravitational clustering of collisionless particles in an expanding universe is modelled using some simple physical ideas. I show that it is possible to understand the nonlinear clustering in terms of three well defined regimes: (1)…
Using a new radio sample, 6C* designed to find radio galaxies at z > 4 along with the complete 3CRR and 6CE sample we extend the radio galaxy K-z relation to z~4.5. The 6C* K-z data significantly improve delineation of the K-z relation for…
Astroparticle physics is a field rich of perspectives in investigating the ultra-high energy region which will never be accessible to man made machines. Many efforts are underway in order to detect the first cosmic neutrinos, messengers of…
We report total abundances and related parameters for the full sample of the FUSE survey of molecular hydrogen in 38 translucent lines of sight. New results are presented for the "second half" of the survey involving 15 lines of sight to…
Here we present a brief overview of UC HII regions with EE (UC HII+EE) including our most recent effort aimed at searching for UC HII regions associated with extended emission.
This paper reports on the X-ray emission from BL Lacertae during its July 1997 outburst as observed with the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE), compares the RXTE data to previous measurements, and interprets the overall electromagnetic…
We present the initial results from the Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) imaging survey of planetary nebulae (PN). The IRAC colors of PN are red, especially when considering the 8.0 micron band. Emission in this band is likely due to…
The evolution on the AGB and beyond is reviewed with respect to the origin of Wolf-Rayet central stars. We focus on thermal pulses due to their particular importance for the evolution of hydrogen deficient stars. It is shown that overshoot…
We have developed and tested an antireflection (AR) coating method for silicon lenses at cryogenic temperatures and millimeter wavelengths. Our particular application is a measurement of the cosmic microwave background. The coating consists…
Recent experimental results from supernovae Ia observations have been interpreted to show that the rate of expansion of the universe is increasing. Other recent experimental results find strong indications that the universe is ``flat.'' In…
Boomerang, Maxima, DASI, CBI and VSA significantly increase the case for accelerated expansion in the early universe (the inflationary paradigm) and at the current epoch (dark energy dominance), especially when combined with data on high…
While the accretion power in astrophysics has been studied in many astronomical environments, the ``spin--down power'' is often neglected. In this essay I demonstrate that the spin--down power alone may drive a rotating system from…
The possibility to constrain fractal space dimensionality from Astrophysics and other areas is briefly reviewed. Assuming such dimensionality to be $3 + \epsilon$, a limit to $\epsilon$ can be inferred from COBE satellite data. The…
We present the results of the study of the Star Formation Rates (SFRs) of a sample of disk galaxies in nearby compact groups compared with the SFRs of a sample of field galaxies. For this purpose, H$\alpha$ luminosities and equivalent…
Quasi-simultaneous optical/near-IR photometry is presented for a sample of 37 luminous optically selected QSOs drawn from the Large Bright QSO Survey. Most of the QSOs have decreased in brightness since discovery; this is expected in…
The use of Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) as a classifier of digital spectra is investigated. Using both simulated and real data, it is shown that neural networks can be trained to discriminate between the spectra of different classes of…