117368372
The visible environment of gas-accreting galaxies
We studied the environment of a sample of galaxies in which the presence of polar rings or the presence of gas- and stars- counterrotation is observed. These galaxies are believed to have accreted this material, now in peculiar motion, from their environment. 
The variable considered here are the number of possible companions in the field, down to an apparent magnitude 22, their size, their concentration around the accreting galaxy, and a set of related parameters. A control sample of 'normal' galaxies has also been studied. From Kolgomorov-Smirnov tests of the considered variables, no significant differences have been found between the population of objects around the our accreting galaxies and the control sample. 
These results seems to give support to the models suggesting a long formation time for the acquisition process, starting from a diffuse gas instead of fagocitation of small satellite.
18425047
The peculiar galaxy IC 1182: An ongoing merger?
Broad and narrow band images and long slit spectroscopy of IC1182 are presented. The broad band images reveal a distorted morphology with a large, heavily obscured disk-like structure and several knots in the central region. Galactic material, some of it in the form of two tails, is detected well beyond the main body of the galaxy. The second, fainter tail and several knots are reported here for the first time. The narrow band images show that the galaxy is a powerful emitter. The emission in the main lines extends all over the galaxy, with plumes and arc-like structures seen in H$\alpha$ at large distances from the center. The uncorrected H$\alpha$ flux corresponds to 3.51$\times10^{41}$ erg s$^{-1}$, 3 times that of Arp 220. The internal extinction deduced from the Balmer decrement is high all along the slit, with E$_{B-V}\approx$ 1. There are no clear signs of nuclear activity and the observed line ratios can be explained in terms of stellar photoionization. The metallicity of the gas in the two brightest central knots is low, 0.1 Z$_{\odot}$ and 0.06 Z$_{\odot}$ respectively. In the main body of the galaxy, besides the reported knots, the distribution of the ionized gas resembles that of an inclined disk about 12 kpc in size. The rotation pattern is complex and corresponds to two identifiable disk galaxies with observed rotation amplitudes of 200 \kms and 100 \kms respectively. The data presented here indicate that IC 1182 is a high luminosity starburst system, involving two systems in the process of merging, with two tidal tails emerging from the central region of the galaxy.
1840
Cluster formation in the LMC
In this work we present preliminary results concerning the properties of about 50 clusters and associations located in a densely populated region at the Southern edge of the supershell LMC~4. The ages of the clusters and associations are derived. The cluster formation rate peaks at about 10-20 Myr ago corresponding to the age of the formation of LMC~4. Objects younger than 10 Myr are located close to CO clouds, indicating a possible trigger of the recent star formation by the interaction of the supershell with the interstellar medium. 
Isophotal analysis has been done for 50% of the clusters. A large number of objects present isophotal distortions commonly interpreted as sign of interaction. Cluster multiplets are coeval within 20 Myr, suggesting a common origin. This indicates that clusters possibly form in large groups. Our findings are in agreement with the unified view of multi-scale star formation, where a size-duration correlation is expected.
14891588
The visible environment of galaxies with counterrotation
In this paper we present a statistical study of the environments of 49 galaxies in which there is gas- or stellar-counterrotation. The number of possible companions in the field (to apparent magnitude 22), their size and concentration were considered. All the statistical parameters were analysed by means of Kolgomorov-Smirnov tests, using a control sample of 43 galaxies without counterrotation. From our data, no significant differences between the counter-rotating and control samples appear. This is different to Seyfert or radio-loud galaxies which lie in environments with a higher density of companions. On the contrary, if a weak tendency exists, for galaxies with gas counterrotation only, it is discovered in regions of space where the large scale density of galaxies is smaller. Our results tend to disprove the hypothesis that counterrotation and polar rings derive from a recent interaction with a small satellite or a galaxy of similar size. To a first approximation, they seem to follow the idea that all galaxies are born through a merger process of smaller objects occurring very early in their life, or that they derive from a continuous, non-traumatic infall of gas that formed stars later. Whatever the special machinery is which produces counterrotation or polar rings instead of a co-planar, co-rotating distribution of gas and stars, it seems not to be connected to the present galaxy density of their environments.
119325667
The scaling relations of early{type galaxies in clusters ? I. Surface photometry in seven nearby clusters
This is the first paper of a series investigating the scaling relations of early–type galaxies in clusters. Here we illustrate the multi–band imagery and the image reduction and calibration procedures relative to the whole sample of 22 clusters at $0.05 \mathrel{\raise0.35ex\hbox{$\scriptstyle <$}\kern-0.6em \lower0.40ex\hbox{{$\scriptstyle \sim$}}}z \mathrel{\raise0.35ex\hbox{$\scriptstyle <$}\kern-0.6em \lower0.40ex\hbox{{$\scriptstyle \sim$}}}0.25$. We also present detailed surface photometry of 312 early–type galaxies in 7 clusters in the first redshift bin, $z \approx0.025$–0.075. We give for each galaxy the complete set of luminosity and geometrical profiles, and a number of global, photometric and morphological parameters. They have been evaluated taking into account the effects of seeing. Internal consistency checks and comparisons with data in the literature confirm the quality of our analysis. These data, together with the spectroscopic ones presented in the second paper of the series, will provide the local calibration of the scaling relations.
16975153
The bright galaxy population of five medium redshift clusters II. Quantitative galaxy morphology
Aims. Following the study presented in our previous paper, based on the Nordic Optical Telescope (NOT) sample, which consists of five clusters of galaxies within the redshift range 0.18 ≤ z ≤ 0.25 imaged in the central 0.5–2 Mpc in very good seeing conditions, we have studied the quantitative morphology of their bright galaxy population Methods. We analyzed the surface brightness profiles of the galaxy population in those clusters, after performing simulations in order to check the reliability of the fits. We also derived a quantitative morphological classification. Results. The structural parameters derived from these analyses are presented. We obtained that the structural parameters of E/S0 galaxies are similar to those shown by galaxies in low redshift clusters. However, the disc scales are different. In particular, the scales of the discs of galaxies in medium redshift clusters are statistically different than those located in similar galaxies in the Coma cluster. However, the scales of the discs of galaxies in medium redshift clusters are similar to nearby field galaxies. Conclusions. Our results suggest that the evolution of the disc component of galaxies in clusters is faster than in field ones. Mechanisms like galaxy harassment showing timescales of ∼1 Gyr could be responsible for this disc scale evolution. This indicates that spiral galaxies in clusters have undergone a strong evolution in the last 2.5 Gyr or that Coma is in some way anomalous.
121146499
Prototype tests of two controlled geometry drift chambers
Abstract This report presents results on the performance of two new drift chamber geometries, which were optimized for space resolution and two-track separation. The best performance requires isochronous drift collection, low electron diffusion, and careful signal shaping. The role of the mobility of electrons and positive ions is emphasized. We tested two geometries, and at a gas pressure of 1 atm we found σ ⋍ 60–70 μ m for the single-track resolution and Δ ⋍ 600 μ m for the two-track separation.
13240980
The PANDA Experiment at FAIR
The physics program of the future FAIR facility covers a wide range of topics that address central issues of strong interactions and QCD. The antiproton beam of unprecedented quality in the momentum range from 1 GeV/c to 15 GeV/c will allow the PANDA experiment to make high precision, high statistics measurements, which include charmonium and open charm spectroscopy, the search for exotic hadrons and the study of in-medium modifications of hadron masses.
85534134
Extended LCDM: generalized non-minimal coupling for dark matter fluids
In this paper we discuss a class of models that address the issue of explaining the gravitational dynamics at the galactic scale starting from a geometric point of view. Instead of claiming the existence of some hidden coupling between dark matter and baryons, or abandoning the existence of dark matter itself, we consider the possibility that dark matter and gravity have some non trivial interaction able to modify the dynamics at astrophysical scales. This interaction is implemented assuming that dark matter gets non-minimally coupled with gravity at suitably small scales and late times. After showing the predictions of the model in the Newtonian limit we also discuss the possible origin of it non-minimal coupling. This investigation seems to suggest that phenomenological mechanisms envisaged for the dark matter dynamics, such as the Bose-Einstein condensation of dark matter halos, could be connected to this class of models.
110466342
Performance and Aging Studies of BaBar Resistive Plate Chambers
The BaBar detector is currently operating nearly 200 Resistive Plate Chambers (RPCs), constructed as part of an upgrade of the forward endcap muon detector in 2002. Although the average RPC efficiency remains high, numerous changes in the RPC performance (increased currents and rates) have been observed. A few of the highest rate RPCs have suffered efficiency losses of more than 15%. Several types of efficiency loss have been observed. Tests with humidified gas have shown that some of the lost efficiency is recoverable. However, efficiency losses in the highest rate regions have not yet improved with humid gases.
118188413
Disformal invariance of second order scalar-tensor theories: Framing the Horndeski action
The Horndeski action is the most general one involving a metric and a scalar field that leads to second order field equations in four dimensions. Being the natural extension of the well known Scalar-Tensor theories, its structure and properties are worth analysing along the experience accumulated in the latter context. Here we argue that disformal transformations play, for the Horndeski theory, a similar role to that of conformal transformations for Scalar-Tensor theories a l`a Brans-Dicke. We identify the most general transformation preserving second order field equations and discuss the issue of viable frames for this kind of theories, in particular the possibility to cast the action in the so called Einstein frame. Finally, we investigate the physical equivalence of such frames and their reciprocal relationship.