The Possible White Dwarf-Neutron Star Connection

The current status of the problem of whether neutron stars can form, in close binary systems, by accretion-induced collapse (AIC) of white dwarfs is examined. We find that, in principle, both initially cold C+O white dwarfs in the high-mass tail of their mass distribution in binaries and O+Ne+Mg white dwarfs can produce neutron stars. Which fractions of neutron stars in different types of binaries (or descendants from binaries) might originate from this process remains uncertain.Comment: 6 pages. To appear in "White Dwarfs", ed. J. Isern, M. Hernanz, and E. Garcia-Berro (Dordrecht: Kluwer

The role of heavy quarks in light hadron fragmentation

We investigate the role of heavy quarks in the production of light flavored hadrons and in the determination of the corresponding non perturbative hadronization probabilities. We define a general mass variable flavor number scheme for fragmentation functions that accounts for heavy quark mass effects, and perform a global QCD analysis to an up-to-date data set including very precise Belle and BaBar results. We show that the mass dependent picture provides a much more accurate and consistent description of data.Comment: 5 pages, 3 eps figure

NLO Scale Dependence of Semi-Inclusive Processes

We discuss the order \alpha_s^2 gluon initiated QCD corrections to one particle inclusive deep inelastic processes. We focus in the NLO evolution kernels relevant for the non homogeneous QCD scale dependence of these cross sections and factorization.Comment: Poster presentation at the XXIII Physics in Collision Conference (PIC03), Zeuthen, Germany, June 2003, 3 pages, LaTeX, 4 eps figures, PSN FRAP1

Deep inelastic scattering, diffraction, and all that

These lectures include an introduction to the partonic description of the proton, the photon and the `colour singlet', as seen in inclusive and semi-inclusive DIS, in $e^+e^-$ collisions, and in diffractive processes, respectively. Their formal treatment using structure, fragmentation, and fracture functions is outlined giving an insight into the perturbative QCD framework for these functions. Examples and comparisons with experimental data from LEP, HERA, and Tevatron are also covered.Comment: 46 pages, 52 postscript figures, LaTeX, aipproc.sty. To be published in the proceedings of VII Mexican Workshop on Particles and Field

Photoproduction of jets and the virtual structure of the photon

We compute the ratio between the direct and the resolved photon components of single jet and dijet production in $ep$ collisions for the kinematical range covered by the most recent ZEUS data. We analyse the phenomenological consequences of different models for the structure of virtual photons in these observables and compare them with the available data. We also comment on the correlation between the so called $x_{\gamma}^{obs}$ and the `true' $x_{\gamma}$, that can be inferred from the data.Comment: epsfig, 5 figure

Search for the companions of Galactic SNe Ia

The central regions of the remnants of Galactic SNe Ia have been examined for the presence of companion stars of the exploded supernovae. We present the results of this survey for the historical SN 1572 and SN 1006. The spectra of the stars are modeled to obtain Teff, log g and the metallicity. Radial velocities are obtained with an accuracy of 5--10 km s$^{-1}$. Implications for the nature of the companion star in SNeIa follow.Comment: 8 pages, 2 Postscript figures. Appeared in "From Twilight to Highlight: the Physics of Supernovae", ed. W. Hillebrandt & B. Leibundgut (Springer), pp. 140-14

Type Ia Supernova Scenarios and the Hubble Sequence

The dependence of the Type Ia supernova (SN Ia) rate on galaxy type is examined for three currently proposed scenarios: merging of a Chandrasekhar--mass CO white dwarf (WD) with a CO WD companion, explosion of a sub--Chandrasekhar mass CO WD induced by accretion of material from a He star companion, and explosion of a sub--Chandrasekhar CO WD in a symbiotic system. The variation of the SNe Ia rate and explosion characteristics with time is derived, and its correlation with parent population age and galaxy redshift is discussed. Among current scenarios, CO + He star systems should be absent from E galaxies. Explosion of CO WDs in symbiotic systems could account for the SNe Ia rate in these galaxies. The same might be true for the CO + CO WD scenario, depending on the value of the common envelope parameter. A testable prediction of the sub--Chandrasekhar WD model is that the average brightness and kinetic energy of the SN Ia events should increase with redshift for a given Hubble type. Also for this scenario, going along the Hubble sequence from E to Sc galaxies SNe Ia events should be brighter on average and should show larger mean velocities of the ejecta. The observational correlations strongly suggest that the characteristics of the SNe Ia explosion are linked to parent population age. The scenario in which WDs with masses below the Chandrasekhar mass explode appears the most promising one to explain the observed variation of the SN Ia rate with galaxy type together with the luminosity--expansion velocity trend.Comment: 16 pages uuencoded compressed Postscript, 2 figures included. ApJ Letters, in pres

Order-alpha_s^2 corrections to one-particle inclusive processes in DIS

We analyze the order-$\alpha_s^2$ QCD corrections to semi-inclusive deep inelastic scattering and present results for processes initiated by a gluon. We focus in the most singular pieces of these corrections in order to obtain the hitherto unknown NLO evolution kernels relevant for the non homogeneous QCD scale dependence of these cross sections, and to check explicitly factorization at this order. In so doing we discuss the prescription of overlapping singularities in more than one variable.Comment: 16 pages, 9 eps figures. Uses revtex4 and feynm