Context: .Protoplanetary nebulae typically present non-spherical envelopes. The origin of such geometry is still controversial. There are indications that it may be carried over from an earlier phase of stellar evolution, such as the AGB phase. But how early in the star's evolution does the non-spherical envelope appear? Aims.Li-rich giants show

In this paper we study the fine structure of the penumbra as inferred from the uncombed model (flux tube embedded in a magnetic surrounding) when applied to penumbral spectropolarimetric data from the neutral iron lines at 6300 Å. The inversion infers very similar radial dependences in the physical quantities (LOS velocity, magnetic field strength

We introduce coined Nonlinear Quantum Walks (NLQW) on the lattice. The NLQW is based on the walker acquisition of non-linear (probability dependent) phases at each step of the walk. The most striking result is the formation of non-dispersive pulses in the probability distribution (soliton-like structures). These exhibit a variety of dynamical

Aims.We made a seismic study of the young massive β Cephei star HD 203664 with the goal of constraining its interior structure.Methods.Our study is based on a time series of 328 new Geneva 7-colour photometric data of the star spread over 496.8 days.Results.The data confirm the frequency of the dominant mode of the star, which we refined to f_1=6

We present a comprehensive treatment of the pixel-lensing theory and apply it to lensing experiments and their results toward M31. Using distribution functions for the distances, velocities, masses, and luminosities of stars, we derive lensing event rates as a function of the event observables. In contrast to the microlensing regime, in the pixel

Aims.We present a detailed dynamical analysis of the rich galaxy cluster A2744, containing a powerful diffuse radio halo.Methods.Our analysis is based on redshift data for 102 galaxies, part of them recovered from unexplored spectra in the ESO archive. We combine galaxy velocity and position information to select the cluster members and determine