Massive Star Cluster Populations in Irregular Galaxies as Probable Younger Counterparts of Old Metal-rich Globular Cluster Populations in Spheroids
Peak metallicities of metal-rich populations of globular clusters (MRGCs) belonging to early-type galaxies and spheroidal subsystems of spiral galaxies (spheroids) of different mass fall within the somewhat conservative -0.7 ? [Fe/H] ? -0.3 range. Indeed, if possible age effects are taken into account, this metallicity range might become smaller. Irregular galaxies such as the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), with longer timescales of formation and lower star formation (SF) efficiency, do not contain old MRGCs with [Fe/H] > -1.0, but they are observed to form populations of young/intermediate-age massive star clusters (MSCs) with masses exceeding 104 M?. Their formation is widely believed to be an accidental process fully dependent on external factors. From the analysis of available data on the populations and their hosts, including intermediate-age populous star clusters in the LMC, we find that their most probable mean metallicities fall within -0.7 ? [Fe/H] ? -0.3, as the peak metallicities of MRGCs do, irrespective of signs of interaction. Moreover, both the disk giant metallicity distribution function (MDF) in the LMC and the MDFs for old giants in the halos of massive spheroids exhibit a significant increase toward [Fe/H] ? -0.5. That is in agreement with a correlation found between SF activity in galaxies and their metallicity. The formation of both the old MRGCs in spheroids and MSC populations in irregular galaxies probably occurs at approximately the same stage of the host galaxies' chemical evolution and is related to the essentially increased SF activity in the hosts around the same metallicity that is achieved very early in massive spheroids, later in lower mass spheroids, and much later in irregular galaxies. Changes in the interstellar dust, particularly in elemental abundances in dust grains and in the mass distribution function of the grains, may be among the factors regulating star and MSC formation activity in galaxies. Strong interactions and mergers affecting the MSC formation presumably play an additional role, although they can substantially intensify the internally regulated MSC formation process. Several implications of our suggestions are briefly discussed.

title: Second-Parameter Globular Clusters in the Milky Way and in M33 as Tracers of Mass Loss from M31 in the Early Epoch?
abstract: I suggest that the bulk of the "young", second-parameter globular clusters (SPGCs) observed in the outer halo of our Galaxy and recently found in other massive spiral of the Local Group (LG), M33, may have originated due to mass outflow from M31 and subsequent accretion of gas on the Galaxy and M33 in the early epoch.

title: Optical monitoring of the central region of the globular cluster M 15 = NGC 7078: New variable stars
abstract: AbstractWe obtained a series of more than two hundred R-band CCD images for the crowded central (115″×77″) region of the metal-poor globular cluster M 15 with an angular resolution of 
$$0\mathop .\limits^{''} 5 - 0\mathop .\limits^{''} 9$$
 in most images. Optimal image subtraction was used to identify variable stars. Brightness variations were found in 83 stars, 55 of which were identified with known cluster variables and the remaining 28 are candidates for new variables. Two of them are most likely SX Phe variables. The variability type of two more stars is uncertain. The remaining stars were tentatively classified as RR Lyrae variables. A preliminary analysis of published data and our results shows that the characteristics of RR Lyrae variables in the densest part (r<35″) of the cluster probably change. More specifically, the maximum of the period distribution of first-and second-overtone (RR1, RR2) pulsating stars shifts toward shorter periods; i.e., there is an increase in the fraction of stars pulsating with periods 
$$ < 0\mathop .\limits^d 3$$
 and a deficiency of stars with 
$$0\mathop .\limits^d 35 - 0\mathop .\limits^d 40$$
. The ratio of the number of these short-period RR Lyrae variables to the number of fundamental-tone (RR0) pulsating variables changes appreciably. We found and corrected the error of transforming the coordinates of variables V128–155 in M 15 into the coordinate system used in the catalog of variable stars in globular clusters.

title: Age Dating of Globular Clusters Using UBV(RI) Main-sequence Photometry in the Two-color Diagram: Age of NGC 6397
abstract: I propose and apply a method for deriving ages of the metal-poor globular clusters (GCs) in a distance-independent way, which is based on age indicator related to the main sequence in the two-color diagrams with U-B index. Age of the metal-poor GC NGC 6397 has been estimated, using Yale isochrones of Demarque et al. (1996), to be close to 16 Gyr provided the cluster metallicity is near [Fe/H]=-2.0.

title: Metal-rich Globular Clusters: An Unaccounted Factor Responsible for Their Formation?
abstract: A presently unaccounted but quite probable “chemical factor” may be responsible for the formation of old metal-rich globular clusters (MRGCs) in spheroids, as well as of their conterparts, young (intermediate–age) massive star clusters (MSCs) in irregulars. Their formation presumably occurs ~ at the same stage of the host galaxies’ chemical evolution and is related to the essentially increased SF activity in the hosts around the same metallicity, ~Z⊙/3 ([Fe/H]~-0.5). It is achieved very soon in massive spheroids, later in lower-mass spheroids, and (much) more later in irregulars.

title: Physics Performance Report for PANDA: Strong Interaction Studies with Antiprotons
abstract: To study fundamental questions of hadron and nuclear physics in interactions of antiprotons with nucleons and nuclei, the universal PANDA detector will be built. Gluonic excitations, the physics of strange and charm quarks and nucleon structure studies will be performed with unprecedented accuracy thereby allowing high-precision tests of the strong interaction. The proposed PANDA detector is a state-of-the art internal target detector at the HESR at FAIR allowing the detection and identification of neutral and charged particles generated within the relevant angular and energy range. This report presents a summary of the physics accessible at PANDA and what performance can be expected.

title: Beam-energy and system-size dependence of dynamical net charge fluctuations
abstract: We present measurements of net charge fluctuations in Au+Au collisions at s(NN)=19.6, 62.4, 130, and 200 GeV, Cu+Cu collisions at s(NN)=62.4 and 200 GeV, and p+p collisions at s=200 GeV using the dynamical net charge fluctuations measure nu(+-,dyn). We observe that the dynamical fluctuations are nonzero at all energies and exhibit a modest dependence on beam energy. A weak system size dependence is also observed. We examine the collision centrality dependence of the net charge fluctuations and find that dynamical net charge fluctuations violate 1/N(ch) scaling but display approximate 1/N(part) scaling. We also study the azimuthal and rapidity dependence of the net charge correlation strength and observe strong dependence on the azimuthal angular range and pseudorapidity widths integrated to measure the correlation.

title: Azimuthal charged-particle correlations and possible local strong parity violation.
abstract: Parity-odd domains, corresponding to nontrivial topological solutions of the QCD vacuum, might be created during relativistic heavy-ion collisions. These domains are predicted to lead to charge separation of quarks along the system's orbital momentum axis. We investigate a three-particle azimuthal correlator which is a P even observable, but directly sensitive to the charge separation effect. We report measurements of charged hadrons near center-of-mass rapidity with this observable in Au + Au and Cu + Cu collisions at square root of s(NN) = 200 GeV using the STAR detector. A signal consistent with several expectations from the theory is detected. We discuss possible contributions from other effects that are not related to parity violation.

title: LED monitoring system for the BTeV lead tungstate crystal calorimeter prototype
abstract: We report on the performance of a monitoring system for a prototype calorimeter for the BTeV experiment that uses lead tungstate crystals coupled with photomultiplier tubes. The tests were carried out at the 70-GeV accelerator complex at Protvino, Russia.

title: Investigation of prompt electron-neutrino production in a proton beam dump experiment with the IHEP-JINR ν detector
abstract: The production of prompt and ordinary ( ν ) e was investigated in a proton beam dump experiment at the 70 GeV Serpukhov accelerator measuring their interactions in the IHEP-JINR neutrino detector. An upper limit of σ charm μ b/nucleon at 90% CL was obtained near the production threshold.