The use of classical techniques for neutron flux measurements in nuclear reactors involves the switching between several detection chains as the power grows up to 10 decades. In space applications where mass and size constraints are of key significance, such volume of hardware represents a clear disadvantage. Instead of requiring different

Context: PG 1159-035, a pre-white dwarf with Teff≃ 140 000 K, is the prototype of both two classes: the PG 1159 spectroscopic class and the DOV pulsating class. Previous studies of PG 1159-035 photometric data obtained with the Whole Earth Telescope (WET) showed a rich frequency spectrum allowing the identification of 122 pulsation modes. Analyzing

We present a study of 66 barred, early-type (S0-Sb) disk galaxies, focused on the disk surface brightness profile outside the bar region, with the aim of throwing light on the nature of Freeman type I and II profiles, their origins, and their possible relation to disk truncations. This paper discusses the data and their reduction, outlines our

Context: The initial-final mass relationship of white dwarfs, which is poorly constrained, is of paramount importance for different aspects of modern astrophysics. From an observational perspective, most of the studies up to now have been done using white dwarfs in open clusters. Aims: In order to improve the initial-final mass relationship, we

Observations of very quiet Sun using the Solar Optical Telescope/Spectro-Polarimeter (SOT/SP) aboard the Hinode spacecraft reveal that the quiet internetwork regions are pervaded by horizontal magnetic flux. The spatial average horizontal apparent flux density derived from wavelength-integrated measures of Zeeman-induced linear polarization is

We present near-infrared linear spectropolarimetry of a sample of persistent X-ray binaries, Sco X-1, Cyg X-2, and GRS 1915+105. The slopes of the spectra are shallower than what is expected from a standard steady state accretion disk, and can be explained if the near-infrared flux contains a contribution from an optically thin jet. For the neutron