Planetary transit candidates in the CoRoT LRa01 field
The space mission CoRoT is devoted to the analysis of stellar variability and the photometric detection of extrasolar planets.  We present the list of planetary transit candidates detected in the first short run observed by CoRoT that targeted SRc01, towards the Galactic center in the direction of Aquila, which lasted from April to May 2007.  Among the acquired data, we analyzed those for 1269 sources in the chromatic bands and 5705 in the monochromatic band. Instrumental noise and the stellar variability were treated with several detrending tools, to which several transit-search algorithms were subsequently applied.  Fifty-one sources were classified as planetary transit candidates and 26 were followed up with ground-based observations. Until now, no planet has been detected in the CoRoT data from the SRc01 field.

title: μ Eridani from MOST and from the ground: an orbit, the SPB component's fundamental parameters and the SPB frequencies
abstract: MOST time-series photometry of mu Eri, an SB1 eclipsing binary with a rapidly-rotating SPB primary, is reported and analyzed. The analysis yields a number of sinusoidal terms, mainly due to the intrinsic variation of the primary, and the eclipse light-curve. New radial-velocity observations are presented and used to compute parameters of a spectroscopic orbit. Frequency analysis of the radial-velocity residuals from the spectroscopic orbital solution fails to uncover periodic variations with amplitudes greater than 2 km/s. A Rossiter-McLaughlin anomaly is detected from observations covering ingress. 
From archival photometric indices and the revised Hipparcos parallax we derive the primary's effective temperature, surface gravity, bolometric correction, and the luminosity. An analysis of a high signal-to-noise spectrogram yields the effective temperature and surface gravity in good agreement with the photometric values. From the same spectrogram, we determine the abundance of He, C, N, O, Ne, Mg, Al, Si, P, S, Cl, and Fe. 
The eclipse light-curve is solved by means of EBOP. For a range of mass of the primary, a value of mean density, very nearly independent of assumed mass, is computed from the parameters of the system. Contrary to a recent report, this value is approximately equal to the mean density obtained from the star's effective temperature and luminosity. 
Despite limited frequency resolution of the MOST data, we were able to recover the closely-spaced SPB frequency quadruplet discovered from the ground in 2002-2004. The other two SPB terms seen from the ground were also recovered. Moreover, our analysis of the MOST data adds 15 low-amplitude SPB terms with frequencies ranging from 0.109 c/d to 2.786 c/d.

title: Exoplanets around G-K Giants
abstract: G and K giants are a class of radial velocity (RV) variables. One reason for this variability are planetary companions which are indicated in time series of stellar spectra. Since 2004 these spectra in the visual range were obtained with the high resolution coud\'e \'echelle spectrograph mounted on the 2m telescope of the Th\"uringer Landessternwarte Tautenburg (TLS) for a northern sample of 62 very bright K giants. In the South around 300 G and K giants were observed with HARPS mounted on the 3.6m telescope on La Silla. The TLS sample contains at least 11 stars (18 %) which show low-amplitude, long-period RV variations most likely due to planets. This percentage of planet frequency is confirmed by preliminary results of the HARPS study. Moreover the TLS survey seems to indicate that giant planets do not favour metal-rich stars, are more massive, and have longer periods than those found around solar-type host stars.

title: Confirmation of the Planet Hypothesis for the Long-period Radial Velocity Variations of Beta Geminorum
abstract: Our aim is to confirm the nature of the long period radial velocity measurements for β Gem first found by Hatzes & Cochran (1993).  We present precise stellar radial velocity measurements for the K giant star β Gem spanning over 25 years. An examination of the Ca II K emission, spectral line shapes from high resolution data ($R = 210\,000$), and Hipparcos photometry was also made to discern the true nature of the long period radial velocity variations.  The radial velocity data show that the long period, low amplitude radial velocity variations found by Hatzes & Cochran (1993) are long-lived and coherent. Furthermore, the Ca II K emission, spectral line bisectors, and Hipparcos photometry show no significant variations of these quantities with the radial velocity period. An orbital solution assuming a stellar mass of 1.7 $M_\odot$ yields a period, $P = 589.6$ days, a minimum mass of 2.3 M Jupiter , and a semi-major axis, $a = 1.6$ AU. The orbit is nearly circular ($e = 0.02$).  The data presented here confirm the planetary companion hypothesis suggested by Hatzes & Cochran (1993). β Gem is one of six intermediate mass stars known to host a sub-stellar companion and suggests that planet-formation around stars much more massive than the sun may common.

title: Planets of young stars: the TLS radial velocity survey
abstract: We report on the search for planets orbiting 46 nearby young stars performed at the State Observatory of Turingia (TLS) by means of a radial velocity survey. The aim of this program is to test the theories of formation/evolution of planetary systems. For 19(8) stars we can exclude planets with Msini > 1 MJ (5 MJ) and P < 10 days; we find 1 short period binary and 5 stars with long period RV-trend. One good young exo-planet candidate is presented.

title: Oscillations in Procyon A First results from a multi-site campaign
abstract: Procyon A is a bright F5IV star in a binary system. Although the distance, mass and angular diameter of this star are all known with high precision, the exact evolutionary state is still unclear. Evolutionary tracks with different ages and different mass fractions of hydrogen in the core pass, within the errors, through the observed position of Procyon A in the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram. For more than15 years several different groups have studied the solar-like oscillations in Procyon A to determine its evolutionary state. Although several studies independently detected power excess in the periodogram, there is no agreement on the actual oscillation frequencies yet. This is probably due to either insufficient high-quality data (i.e., aliasing) or due to intrinsic properties of the star (i.e., short mode lifetimes). Now a spectroscopic multi-site campaign using 10 telescopes world-wide (minimizing aliasing effects) with a total time span of nearly 4 weeks (increase the frequency resolution) is performed to identify frequencies in this star and finally determine its properties and evolutionary state.

title: Kaon pair production in pp, pd and dd collisions at COSY
abstract: The near‐threshold production of kaon‐pairs has been investigated in proton‐proton, proton‐deuteron and deuteron‐deuteron collisions at the Cooler Synchrotron COSY. The excitation function for the pp→ppK+K− reaction and the invariant K−p, K−pp, and K+K− mass distributions indicate the presence of both K−p and K+K− final state interactions. Analogous final‐state interactions of antikaons with deuterons has been found in the pp→dK+K0 reaction as well as in the pn→dK+K− reaction, measured in the quasi‐free pd→pspdK+K− process with a “spectator” proton (psp). The existing COSY data on the pd→3HeK+K− reaction are not yet sufficient to study the K−3He and K+K− final state interactions. A very small total cross section was found for the dd→4HeK+K− reaction.

title: First results from subthreshold K+-production measurements with ANKE
abstract: The new spectrometer ANKE has been put into operation at the accelerator COSY of the Forschungszentrum Julich. An initial scientific goal is to study K + -production in pA collisions at subthreshold energies below the free NN-threshold of T = 1.58 GeV. First measurements of double differential cross sections in p 12 C collisions at emission angles around 0° have been performed at T = 1.0, 1.2 and 2.0 GeV. The challenge is to identify the kaons in a huge background of pions and protons, since the signal to background ratio decreases to about 10 −6 at T = 1.0 GeV. For background suppression detectors and a trigger system based on energy-loss and time-of-flight measurements have been developed. In the analysis the decay of kaons ( τ = 12.4 ns) stopped in the detection system into μ + and π + is exploited as well as the track information from the wire chambers.

title: Momentum dependence of hadronic production of the ϕ-meson and its width in nuclear matter
abstract: Information on the properties of the ϕ meson in the nuclear environment has been derived from its production in proton collisions with C, Cu, Al, and Au nuclear targets. The experiment was carried out with 2.83 GeV protons at the Cooler Synchrotron COSY, with the ϕ being detected via its K + K − decay using the ANKE magnetic spectrometer. The measured dependence of the production cross section on the nuclear mass number has been compared with calculations within three different nuclear models. These suggest a significant broadening of the width of the ϕ in medium relative to its vacuum value. The ANKE results obtained in the momentum range 0.6 < pϕ < 1.6 GeV/c are compared with data from photoproduction experiments at slightly higher momenta.

title: Identification of K+-mesons from subthreshold pA collisions with ANKE at COSY-Jülich
abstract: The spectrometer ANKE has been put into operation at the accelerator COSY of the Forschungszentrum Julich in spring 1998. An initial scientific goal is to study K + -production in pA collisions at subthreshold energies far below the free NN-threshold at T p =1.58 GeV. This requires the identification of K + -mesons in a background of pions and protons, about 10 6 times more intense. In this paper the sophisticated detection system and the software procedures for kaon identification are described. With the help of TOF, energy-loss and range measurements as well as the track information from wire chambers, it is possible to measure d 2 σ/ d Ω d p for deep subthreshold K + production at beam energies down to T p =1.0 GeV.