PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF THE LOW-MASS ECLIPSING BINARY NSVS 02502726
NSVS 02502726 has been known as a double-lined, detached eclipsing binary that consists of two low-mass stars. We obtained BVRI photometric follow-up observations in 2009 and 2011 to measure improved physical properties of the binary star. Each set of light curves, including the 2008 data given by Cakirli et al., was simultaneously analyzed with the previously published radial velocity curves using the Wilson-Devinney binary code. The conspicuous seasonal light variations of the system are satisfactorily modeled by a two-spot model with one starspot on each component and by changes of the spot parameters with time. Based on 23 eclipse timings calculated from the synthetic model and one ephemeris epoch, an orbital period study of NSVS 02502726 reveals that the period has experienced a continuous decrease of -5.9 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup -7} day yr{sup -1} or a sinusoidal variation with a period and semi-amplitude of 2.51 yr and 0.0011 days, respectively. The timing variations could be interpreted as either the light-travel-time effect due to the presence of an unseen third body, or as the combination of this effect and angular momentum loss via magnetic stellar wind braking. Individual masses and radii of both components are determined to be M{sub 1} = 0.689more » {+-} 0.016 M{sub Sun }, M{sub 2} = 0.341 {+-} 0.009 M{sub Sun }, R{sub 1} = 0.707 {+-} 0.007 R{sub Sun }, and R{sub 2} = 0.657 {+-} 0.008 R{sub Sun }. The results are very different from those of Cakirli et al. with the primary's radius (0.674 {+-} 0.006 R{sub Sun }) smaller the secondary's (0.763 {+-} 0.007 R{sub Sun }). We compared the physical parameters presented in this paper with current low-mass stellar models and found that the measured values of the primary star are best fitted to a 79 Myr isochrone. The primary is in good agreement with the empirical mass-radius relation from low-mass binaries, but the secondary is oversized by about 85%.« less

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: 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: 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: 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: Study of jet shapes in inclusive jet production in pp collisions at sqrt[s]=7 TeV using the ATLAS detector
abstract: Jet shapes have been measured in inclusive jet production in proton-proton collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV using 3 pb^{-1} of data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC. Jets are reconstructed using the anti-kt algorithm with transverse momentum 30 GeV < pT < 600 GeV and rapidity in the region |y| < 2.8. The data are corrected for detector effects and compared to several leading-order QCD matrix elements plus parton shower Monte Carlo predictions, including different sets of parameters tuned to model fragmentation processes and underlying event contributions in the final state. The measured jets become narrower with increasing jet transverse momentum and the jet shapes present a moderate jet rapidity dependence. Within QCD, the data test a variety of perturbative and non-perturbative effects. In particular, the data show sensitivity to the details of the parton shower, fragmentation, and underlying event models in the Monte Carlo generators. For an appropriate choice of the parameters used in these models, the data are well described.

title: Cornell Potential Parameters for S-wave Heavy Quarkonia
abstract: We compute derived quantities for various values of the model parameter of the Cornell potential model for the S-wave heavy quarkonia with radial quantum numbers n=1, 2, and 3. Our results can be used to determine leading and relative-order-v^2 nonrelativistic quantum chromodynamics matrix elements for S-wave charmonia and bottomonia such as psi(2S), eta_c(2S), and Upsilon(nS) for n=1, 2, and 3. These matrix elements will be essential ingredients for resumming relativistic corrections to processes involving those S-wave heavy quarkonium states.

title: Inclusive double-quarkonium production at the Large Hadron Collider
abstract: Based on the nonrelativistic QCD (NRQCD) factorization formalism, we investigate inclusive productions of two spin-triplet S-wave quarkonia pp → 2J/ψ + X, 2Υ + X, and J/ψ + Υ + X at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. The total production rates integrated over the rapidity (y) and transverse-momentum (pT) ranges |y| < 2.4 and pT< 50GeV are predicted to be σ[pp → 2J/ψ + X] = 22 (35) nb, σ[pp → 2Υ + X ]= 24 (49) pb, and σ[pp → J/ψ + Υ + X ] = 7 (13) pb at the center-of-momentum energy $ \sqrt {s} = 7\left(  \right)\;{\text{TeV}} $. In order to provide predictions that can be useful in both small- and large-pT regions, we do not employ the fragmentation approximation and we include the spin-triplet S-wave color-singlet and color-octet channels for each quarkonium final state at leading order in the strong coupling. The pT distributions of pp → 2J/ψ + X and 2Υ + X in the low-pT region are dominated by the color-singlet contributions. At leading order in the strong coupling, the color-singlet channel is absent for pp → J/ψ + Υ + X. Therefore, the process pp → J/ψ + Υ + X may provide a useful probe to the color-octet mechanism of NRQCD.

title: Recent Developments in Heavy-Quarkonium Phenomenology
abstract: We review recent developments in heavy-quarkonium phenomenology within the nonrelativistic QCD factorization approach. Main issues we consider in this work include the polarization of prompt J / ψ at the Fermilab Tevatron and the large relativistic and QCD corrections to double-charmonium production at the B factories. We also consider inclusive charm production in bottomonia decays.

title: Multi-site campaign for transit timing variations of WASP-12 b: possible detection of a long-period signal of planetary origin
abstract: The transiting planet WASP-12 b was identified as a potential target for transit-timing studies because a departure from a linear ephemeris has been reported in the literature. Such deviations could be caused by an additional planet in the system. We attempt to confirm the claimed variations in transit timing and interpret their origin.  We organised a multi-site campaign to observe transits by WASP-12 b in three observing seasons, using 0.5–2.6-metre telescopes.  We obtained 61 transit light curves, many of them with sub-millimagnitude precision. The simultaneous analysis of the best-quality datasets allowed us to obtain refined system parameters, which agree with values reported in previous studies. The residuals versus a linear ephemeris reveal a possible periodic signal that may be approximated by a sinusoid with an amplitude of 0.00068 ± 0.00013 d and period of 500 ± 20 orbital periods of WASP-12 b. The joint analysis of timing data and published radial velocity measurements results in a two-planet model that explains observations better than do single-planet scenarios. We hypothesise that WASP-12 b might not be the only planet in the system, and there might be the additional 0.1 MJup body on a 3.6-d eccentric orbit. A dynamical analysis indicates that the proposed two-planet system is stable on long timescales.