Physical Properties of the Transiting Planetary System TrES-3
We present four new transits of the planetary system TrES-3 observed between 2009 May and 2010 June. Among these, the third transit by itself indicates possible evidence for brightness disturbance, which might be a result of the planet blocking a cool starspot on the stellar surface. A total of 109 transit times, including our measurements, were used to determine the improved ephemeris with a transit epoch of 2454185.910944 ˙ 0.000072 HJED and an orbital period of 1.30618700 ˙ 0.00000015d. We analyzed the transit light curves using the JKTEBOP code and adopting the quadratic limb-darkening law. In order to derive the physical properties of the TrES-3 system, the transit parameters were combined with the empirical relations from eclipsing binary stars and stellar evolutionary

title: Bootes II: Not a Dwarf Galaxy but Possibly Shed by One
abstract: We present moderately deep V I C photometry of Boötes II, obtained using the SOAR Telescope. While identified initially as an old, metal-poor, dwarf galaxy, Boötes II appears to be a moderately metal-rich globular cluster with [Fe/H] ≈ −0.7. The slope of the red giant branch suggests that [α/Fe] ≈ 0.0, and the turn-off indicates an age of 7 to 9 Gyrs, considerably younger than most globular clusters, but similar to Palomar 12. Like that object, Boötes II lies in the direction of the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy tidal stream, and, with a distance of almost 50 kpc, is probably associated with the more distant portion of the stream, as defined by Belokurov et al. (2006a).

title: A Chemical Abundance Study of three RHB and two RGB stars in NGC6637 (M69)
abstract: We present a detailed chemical abundance study of three red horizontal branch and two red giant branch stars in the metal-rich globular cluster NGC 6637 (M69). The value of [Fe/H] derived from LTE calculations is $-$0.77 $\pm$ 0.02 dex. We also discuss the anticorrelation between oxygen and sodium abundances in the program stars and compare the [Si/Ti] ratio of NGC 6637 with those of other globular clusters.

title: THE RR LYRAE VARIABLES AND HORIZONTAL BRANCH OF NGC 6656 (M22)
abstract: The first calibrated broadband UBVI time-series photometry is presented for the RR Lyrae variable stars in NGC 6656 (M22), with observations spanning a range of 22 years. We have also redetermined the variability types and periods for the RR Lyrae stars identified previously by photographic observations, revising the number of fundamental-mode RR Lyrae variables (RR0) to 10 and the number of first-overtone variables (RR1) to 16. The mean periods of the RR0 and RR1 variables are (P) {sub RR0} = 0.66 ± 0.02 days and (P) {sub RR1} = 0.33 ± 0.01 days, respectively, supporting an Oosterhoff II classification for the cluster. The number ratio of RR1-type to all RR-type variables is N {sub 1}/N{sub RR} = 0.61, also consistent with an Oosterhoff II designation. Both the RR Lyrae stars' minimum light colors and the blue edge of the RR Lyrae instability strip suggest E( B – – V) = 0.36 ± 0.02 mag toward M22. Regarding the HB morphology of M22, we find (B-R)/(B+V+R) = +0.97 ± 0.1 and at least one ''gap'' located in an unusual part of the blue HB, in the middle of the so-called hot HB stars.

title: Enrichment by supernovae in globular clusters with multiple populations
abstract: The most massive globular cluster in the Milky Way, ω Centauri, is thought to be the remaining core of a disrupted dwarf galaxy, as expected within the model of hierarchical merging. It contains several stellar populations having different heavy elemental abundances supplied by supernovae—a process known as metal enrichment. Although M 22 appears to be similar to ω Cen, other peculiar globular clusters do not. Therefore ω Cen and M 22 are viewed as exceptional, and the presence of chemical inhomogeneities in other clusters is seen as ‘pollution’ from the intermediate-mass asymptotic-giant-branch stars expected in normal globular clusters. Here we report Ca abundances for seven globular clusters and compare them to ω Cen. Calcium and other heavy elements can only be supplied through numerous supernovae explosions of massive stars in these stellar systems, but the gravitational potentials of the present-day clusters cannot preserve most of the ejecta from such explosions. We conclude that these globular clusters, like ω Cen, are most probably the relics of more massive primeval dwarf galaxies that merged and disrupted to form the proto-Galaxy.

title: INFRARED PHOTOMETRY OF NGC 6791
abstract: We present deep JHK photometry of the old and metal-rich open cluster NGC 6791. The photometry reaches below the main-sequence turnoff to K ≈ 16.5 mag. We combine our photometry with that from Stetson et al. to provide color-magnitude diagrams showing K versus J - K, K versus V - K, and V versus V - K. We study the slope of the red giant branch in the infrared but find that it is not a useful metallicity indicator for the cluster, nor any metal-rich cluster that lacks a well-populated red giant branch, because it is not linear, as has often been assumed, in K versus J - K. The mean color of the red horizontal-branch/red clump stars provide an estimate of the cluster reddening, E(B - V) = 0.14 ± 0.04 mag for [Fe/H] = +0.4 ± 0.1. The mean magnitudes of these stars also provide a good distance estimate, (m - M)0 = 13.07 ± 0.04. Finally, we find that the isochrones of Yi et al. provide optimal fits in V versus B - V and V - K and K versus J - K and V - K for such values if [Fe/H] lies between +0.3 and +0.5 (with a slight preference for +0.5) and ages between 9 Gyr ([Fe/H] = +0.3) and 7.5 Gyr ([Fe/H] = +0.5).

title: Quantum gravity from noncommutative spacetime
abstract: We review a novel and authentic way to quantize gravity. This novel approach is based on the fact that Einstein gravity can be formulated in terms of a symplectic geometry rather than a Riemannian geometry in the context of emergent gravity. An essential step for emergent gravity is to realize the equivalence principle, the most important property in the theory of gravity (general relativity), from U(1) gauge theory on a symplectic or Poisson manifold. Through the realization of the equivalence principle, which is an intrinsic property in symplectic geometry known as the Darboux theorem or the Moser lemma, one can understand how diffeomorphism symmetry arises from noncommutative U(1) gauge theory; thus, gravity can emerge from the noncommutative electromagnetism, which is also an interacting theory. As a consequence, a background-independent quantum gravity in which the prior existence of any spacetime structure is not a priori assumed but is defined by using the fundamental ingredients in quantum gravity theory can be formulated. This scheme for quantum gravity can be used to resolve many notorious problems in theoretical physics, such as the cosmological constant problem, to understand the nature of dark energy, and to explain why gravity is so weak compared to other forces. In particular, it leads to a remarkable picture of what matter is. A matter field, such as leptons and quarks, simply arises as a stable localized geometry, which is a topological object in the defining algebra (noncommutative ★-algebra) of quantum gravity.

title: Conformality Lost
abstract: We consider zero-temperature transitions from conformal to non-conformal phases in quantum theories. We argue that there are three generic mechanisms for the loss of conformality in any number of dimensions: (i) fixed point goes to zero coupling, (ii) fixed point runs off to infinite coupling, or (iii) an IR fixed point annihilates with a UV fixed point and they both disappear into the complex plane. We give both relativistic and non-relativistic examples of the last case in various dimensions and show that the critical behavior of the mass gap behaves similarly to the correlation length in the finite temperature Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless (BKT) phase transition in two dimensions, ξ ∼ exp(c/|T − Tc|). We speculate that the chiral phase transition in QCD at large number of fermion flavors belongs to this universality class, and attempt to identify the UV fixed point that annihilates with the Banks-Zaks fixed point at the lower end of the conformal window.

title: Longitudinal top polarization as a probe of a possible origin of forward–backward asymmetry of the top quark at the Tevatron
abstract: If the forward–backward (FB) asymmetry of top quark ( A FB ) observed at the Tevatron deviates from the SM prediction, there must be P -violating interactions in q q ¯ → t t ¯ . This new interaction will necessarily affect the top spin polarization. In this Letter, we perform a model independent analysis on the longitudinal (anti)top polarization ( P L and P ¯ L ) using an effective lagrangian with dim-6 four-quark operators relevant for q q ¯ → t t ¯ , and show that the P -odd observable corresponding to the polarization difference ( P L − P ¯ L ) gives important informations on the chiral structures of new physics that might be relevant to the A FB .

title: Factorization in exclusive quarkonium production
abstract: We present factorization theorems for two exclusive heavy-quarkonium production processes: production of two quarkonia in ${e}^{+}{e}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ annihilation and production of a quarkonium and a light meson in $B$-meson decays. We describe the general proofs of factorization and supplement them with explicit one-loop analyses, which illustrate some of the features of the soft-gluon cancellations. We find that violations of factorization are generally suppressed relative to the factorized contributions by a factor ${v}^{2}{m}_{c}/Q$ for each $S$-wave charmonium and a factor ${m}_{c}/Q$ for each $L$-wave charmonium with $Lg0$. Here, $v$ is the velocity of the heavy quark or antiquark in the quarkonium rest frame, $Q=\sqrt{s}$ for ${e}^{+}{e}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ annihilation, $Q={m}_{B}$ for $B$-meson decays, $\sqrt{s}$ is the ${e}^{+}{e}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ center-of-momentum energy, ${m}_{c}$ is the charm-quark mass, and ${m}_{B}$ is the $B$-meson mass. There are modifications to the suppression factors if quantum-number restrictions apply for the specific process.

title: Model independent analysis of the forward–backward asymmetry of top quark production at the Tevatron
abstract: Motivated by a possible anomaly in the forward–backward (FB) asymmetry of top quark ( A FB ) observed at the Tevatron, we perform a model independent analysis on q q ¯ → t t ¯ using an effective Lagrangian with dim-6 four-quark operators. We derive necessary conditions on new physics structures and the couplings that are consistent with the t t ¯ production cross section and A FB measured at the Tevatron, and discuss possible new physics scenarios that could generate such dim-6 operators.