VERITAS Discovery of >200 GeV Gamma-Ray Emission from the Intermediate-Frequency-Peaked BL Lacertae Object W Comae
We report the detection of very high-energy -ray emission from the intermediate-frequencypeaked BLLacertae object WComae (z = 0.102) by VERITAS, an array of four imaging atmospheric-Cherenkov telescopes. The source was observed between January and April 2008. A strong outburst of -ray emission was measured in the middle of March, lasting for only four days. The energy spectrum measured during the two highest flare nights is fit by a power-law and is found to be very steep, with a differential photon spectral index of = 3 .81±0.35stat±0.34syst. The integral photon flux above 200GeV during those two nights corresponds to roughly 9% of the flux from the Crab Nebula. Quasi-simultaneous Swift observations at X-ray energies were triggered by the VERITAS observations. The spectral energy distribution of the flare data can be described by synchrotron-self-Compton (SSC) or external-Compton (EC) leptonic jet models, with the latter offering a more natural set of parameters to fit the data.

title: The BaBar Drift Chamber
abstract: The central drift chamber for the BaBar detector at the PEP-II B-factory at SLAC is a cylindrical chamber with a length of 280 cm and outer radius of 81 cm. It consists of 40 layers of small hexagonal cells arranged in 10 axial and stereo super layers. 
 
In order to minimize multiple scattering, light materials are used for the mechanical structure, and the gas mixture is helium based. The pulse height and timing electronics are mounted directly on the chamber rear end plate. 
 
A full-length prototype of the BaBar drift chamber has been built. The analysis of cosmic-ray events measures the spatial resolution averaged in the cell to be 130 μm and the dE/dx resolution to be 6.8%, meeting the performance goals for the BaBar central tracker. 
 
The mechanical assembly and stringing of the chamber was completed in December 1997 and the detector will be integrated into BaBar during summer 1998.

title: VERITAS Collaboration Contributions to the 34th International Cosmic Ray Conference
abstract: Compilation of papers presented by the VERITAS Collaboration at the 34th International Cosmic Ray Conference (ICRC), held July 30 through August 6, 2015 in The Hague, The Netherlands.

title: Measurements of B0 decays to pi+ pi- pi0

title: Study of exclusive charmless semileptonic decays of the B meson

title: Status report from VERITAS
abstract: VERITAS is a ground-based gamma-ray observatory covering energies between 100 GeV and 50 TeV and will start operating by January 2007. We give a brief report of the construction status and performance characteristics of the telescopes.

title: A quantum-enhanced prototype gravitational-wave detector
abstract: The quantum nature of the electromagnetic field imposes a fundamental limit on the sensitivity of optical precision measurements such as spectroscopy, microscopy and interferometry. The so-called quantum limit is set by the zero-point fluctuations of the electromagnetic field, which constrain the precision with which optical signals can be measured. In the world of precision measurement, laser-interferometric gravitational-wave detectors, are the most sensitive position meters ever operated, capable of measuring distance changes of the order of 10- 18 m r.m.s. over kilometre separations caused by gravitational waves from astronomical sources. The sensitivity of currently operational and future gravitational-wave detectors is limited by quantum optical noise. Here, we demonstrate a 44% improvement in displacement sensitivity of a prototype gravitational-wave detector with suspended quasi-free mirrors at frequencies where the sensitivity is shot-noise-limited, by injecting a squeezed state of light. This demonstration is a critical step towards implementation of squeezing-enhancement in large-scale gravitational-wave detectors.

title: Observation of the Production of $\eta$ Mesons in Two Photon Collisions
abstract: Using 2674 nb/sup -1/ of data taken at ..sqrt..s from 5.00 to 7.25 GeV with a trigger sensitive to decays of lower-mass particles produced in two-photon collisions, we have observed 56 +- 12 events consistent with the reaction e/sup +/e/sup -/..-->..e/sup +/e/sup -/eta, eta..--> gamma gamma... Background has been subtracted using separated-beam data. We obtain GAMMA/sub gammagamma/(eta) = 0.56 +- 0.16 keV and the pseudoscalar-nonet mixing angle theta/sub P/ = -17.6/sup 0/ +- 3.6/sup 0/.

title: Implications For The Origin Of GRB 051103 From LIGO Observations
abstract: We present the results of a LIGO search for gravitational waves (GWs) associated with GRB 051103, a short-duration hard-spectrum gamma-ray burst (GRB) whose electromagnetically determined sky position is coincident with the spiral galaxy M81, which is 3.6 Mpc from Earth. Possible progenitors for short-hard GRBs include compact object mergers and soft gamma repeater (SGR) giant flares. A merger progenitor would produce a characteristic GW signal that should be detectable at a distance of M81, while GW emission from an SGR is not expected to be detectable at that distance. We found no evidence of a GW signal associated with GRB 051103. Assuming weakly beamed γ-ray emission with a jet semi-angle of 30°, we exclude a binary neutron star merger in M81 as the progenitor with a confidence of 98%. Neutron star-black hole mergers are excluded with >99% confidence. If the event occurred in M81, then our findings support the hypothesis that GRB 051103 was due to an SGR giant flare, making it one of the most distant extragalactic magnetars observed to date.

title: Geometry of the transport equation in multicomponent WKB approximations
abstract: Although the WKB approximation for multicomponent systems has been intensively studied in the literature, its geometric and global aspects are much less well understood than in the scalar case. In this paper we give a completely geometric derivation of the transport equation, without using local sections and without assuming complete diagonalizability of the matrix valued principal symbol, or triviality of its eigenbundles. The term (unnamed in the previous literature) appearing in the transport equation in addition to the covariant derivative with respect to a natural projected connection is a tensor, independent of the choice of any sections. We give a goemetric interpretation of this tensor, involving the contraction of the curvature of the eigenbundle and an analog of the second fundamental form with the Poisson tensor in phase space. In the non-degenerate case this term may be rewritten in an even simpler geometric form. Finally, we discuss obstructions to the existence of WKB states and give a geometric description of the quantization condition for WKB states for a non-degenerate eigenvalue-function.

title: Bounds on the CP asymmetry in b --> sgamma decays.
abstract: We have measured the CP asymmetry A(CP) identical with[gamma(b-->sgamma)-gammab-->sgamma)]/[gamma(b-->sgamma)+gamma(b-->sgamma)] to be A(CP) = (-0.079+/-0.108+/-0.022) (1.0+/-0.030), implying that, at 90% confidence level, A(CP) lies between -0.27 and +0.10. These limits rule out some extreme non-standard-model predictions, but are consistent with most, as well as with the standard model.