The All Sky Young Association (ASYA): a new young association

To analyze the SACY (Search for Associations Containing Young stars) survey we developed a method to find young associations and to define their high probability members. These bona fide members enable to obtain the kinematical and the physical properties of each association in a proper way. Recently we noted a concentration in the UV plane and we found a new association we are calling ASYA (All Sky Young Association) for its overall distribution in the sky with a total of 38 bonafide members and an estimated age of 110 Myr, the oldest young association found in the SACY survey. We present here its kinematical, space and Li distributions and its HR diagram.Comment: To appear in "Young Stars and Planets Near the Sun", Proceedings of IAU Symposium No. 314 (Cambridge University Press), J.H. Kastner, B. Stelzer, S.A. Metchev, ed

Z parameters and electroweak fits

Almost exactly ten years after the start-up of LEP and four years after the completion of the energy scans around the Z resonance the analyses of the Z parameters by the four experiments ALEPH, DELPHI, L3 and OPAL are almost final. Together with other precision electroweak results these provide a stringent test of the Standard Model

Combining real and virtual Higgs boson mass constraints

Within the framework of the standard model we observe that there is a significant discrepancy between the most precise $Z$ boson decay asymmetry measurement and the limit from direct searches for Higgs boson production. Using methods inspired by the Particle Data Group we explore the possible effect on fits of the Higgs boson mass. In each case the central value and the 95% confidence level upper limit increase significantly relative to the conventional fit. The results suggest caution in drawing conclusions about the Higgs boson mass from the existing data.Comment: 11 pages, Latex. Citations are added and paper is otherwise reconciled with version to be published in Physical Review Letter

Concepts, Developments and Advanced Applications of the PAX Toolkit

The Physics Analysis eXpert (PAX) is an open source toolkit for high energy physics analysis. The C++ class collection provided by PAX is deployed in a number of analyses with complex event topologies at Tevatron and LHC. In this article, we summarize basic concepts and class structure of the PAX kernel. We report about the most recent developments of the kernel and introduce two new PAX accessories. The PaxFactory, that provides a class collection to facilitate event hypothesis evolution, and VisualPax, a Graphical User Interface for PAX objects

Search for associations containing young stars (SACY). V. Is multiplicity universal? Tight multiple systems

Context: Dynamically undisrupted, young populations of stars are crucial to study the role of multiplicity in relation to star formation. Loose nearby associations provide us with a great sample of close ($<$150 pc) Pre-Main Sequence (PMS) stars across the very important age range ($\approx$5-70 Myr) to conduct such research. Aims: We characterize the short period multiplicity fraction of the SACY (Search for Associations Containing Young stars) accounting for any identifiable bias in our techniques and present the role of multiplicity fractions of the SACY sample in the context of star formation. Methods: Using the cross-correlation technique we identified double-lined spectroscopic systems (SB2), in addition to this we computed Radial Velocity (RV) values for our subsample of SACY targets using several epochs of FEROS and UVES data. These values were used to revise the membership of each association then combined with archival data to determine significant RV variations across different data epochs characteristic of multiplicity; single-lined multiple systems (SB1). Results: We identified 7 new multiple systems (SB1s: 5, SB2s: 2). We find no significant difference between the short period multiplicity fraction ($F_\mathrm{m}$) of the SACY sample and that of nearby star forming regions ($\approx$1-2 Myr) and the field ($F_\mathrm{m}\leq$10%) both as a function of age and as a function of primary mass, $M_1$, in the ranges $P$ [1:200 day] and $M_2$ [0.08 $M_{\odot}$-$M_1$]. Conclusions: Our results are consistent with the picture of universal star formation, when compared to the field and nearby star forming regions (SFRs). We comment on the implications of the relationship between increasing multiplicity fraction with primary mass, within the close companion range, in relation to star formation.Comment: 14 pages, 18 figures, published, A&A http://dx.doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/20142385

Search for associations containing young stars (SACY). VI. Is multiplicity universal? Stellar multiplicity in the range 3-1000 au from adaptive-optics observations

Context. Young loose nearby associations are unique samples of close (<150 pc), young (approx 5-100 Myr) pre-main sequence (PMS) stars. A significant number of members of these associations have been identified in the SACY collaboration. We can use the proximity and youth of these members to investigate key ingredients in star formation processes, such as multiplicity. Aims. We present the statistics of identified multiple systems from 113 confirmed SACY members. We derive multiplicity frequencies, mass-ratio, and physical separation distributions in a consistent parameter space, and compare our results to other PMS populations and the field. Methods. We have obtained adaptive-optics assisted near-infrared observations with NACO (ESO/VLT) and IRCAL (Lick Observatory) for at least one epoch of all 113 SACY members. We have identified multiple systems using co-moving proper-motion analysis and using contamination estimates. We have explored ranges in projected separation and mass-ratio of a [3-1000 au], and q [0.1-1], respectively. Results. We have identified 31 multiple systems (28 binaries and 3 triples). We derive a multiplicity frequency (MF) of MF_(3-1000au)=28.4 +4.7, -3.9% and a triple frequency (TF) of TF_(3-1000au)=2.8 +2.5, -0.8% in the separation range of 3-1000 au. We do not find any evidence for an increase in the MF with primary mass. The estimated mass-ratio of our statistical sample (with power-law index gamma=-0.04 +/- 0.14) is consistent with a flat distribution (gamma = 0). Conclusions. We show further similarities (but also hints of discrepancies) between SACY and the Taurus region: flat mass-ratio distributions and statistically similar MF and TF values. We also compared the SACY sample to the field (in the separation range of 19-100 au), finding that the two distributions are indistinguishable, suggesting a similar formation mechanism.Comment: 16 Pages, accepted in A&A 28 May 201