A Dimensional study of Disk Galaxies

We present a highly simplified model of the dynamical structure of a disk galaxy where only two parameters fully determine the solution, mass and angular momentum. We show through simple physical scalings that once the mass has been fixed, the angular momentum parameter $\lambda$ is expected to regulate such critical galactic disk properties as colour, thickness of the disk and disk to bulge ratio. It is hence expected to be the determinant physical ingredient resulting in a given Hubble type. A simple analytic estimate of $\lambda$ for an observed system is provided. An explicit comparison of the distribution of several galactic parameters against both Hubble type and $\lambda$ is performed using observed galaxies. Both such distributions exhibit highly similar characteristics for all galactic properties studied, suggesting $\lambda$ as a physically motivated classification parameter for disk galaxies.Comment: 10 pages including 11 figures, Final version, MNRAS in pres

On the galactic spin of barred disk galaxies

We present a study of the connection between the galactic spin parameter $\lambda_{d}$ and the bar fraction in a volume-limited sample of 10,674 disk galaxies drawn from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 7. The galaxies in our sample are visually classified into galaxies hosting long or short bars, and non-barred galaxies. We find that the spin distributions of these three classes are statistically different, with galaxies hosting long bars with the lowest $\lambda_{d}$ values, followed by non-barred galaxies, while galaxies with short bars present typically high spin parameters. The bar fraction presents its maximum at low to intermediate $\lambda_{d}$ values for the case of long bars, while the maximum for short bars is at high $\lambda_{d}$. This bi-modality is in good agreement with previous studies finding longer bars hosted by luminous, massive, red galaxies with low content of cold gas, while short bars are found in low luminosity, low mass, blue galaxies, usually gas rich. In addition, the rise and fall of the bar fraction as a function of $\lambda_{d}$, within the long-bar sample, shown in our results, can be explained as a result of two competing factors: the self-gravity of the disk that enhances bar instabilities, and the support by random motions instead of ordered rotational motion, that prevents the formation/growth of bars.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures,1 table. Accepted for publication in Ap

La liturgia en la economía de la salvación. La perenne dialéctica entre mysterium, actio y vita y sus implicaciones teórico-prácticas.

A la luz de la economía salvífica, la interrelación entre la lex credendi, la lex orandi, y la lex vivendi encuentra su punto central justamente en la acción litúrgica. De este dato de hecho derivan varias consecuencias ya sea en relación con la consideración de la liturgia como actualización de la obra de la salvación, ya sea en orden a la necesidad de elaborar algunas perspectivas teológicas que consigan entrar en relación dialéctica con todos los demás ámbitos de la investigación teológica. Aquí se sitúa la específica aportación que emerge de la elaboración de una teología litúrgica y sobre todo del diálogo con ella sobre la base de Optatam totius 16. La Iglesia se renueva cuando la relación entre lex credendi, lex orandi y lex vivendi no sufre fracturas, cuando —al contrario— de la interacción lineal de las tres leges brota esa dinámica interior por medio de la cual la persona actúa al servicio del misterio de la Pascua

Establishment of in vitro tissue cultures from Echinacea angustifolia D.C. adult plants for the production of phytochemical compounds

SUMMARY The establishment of in vitro cultures of Echinacea angustifolia D.C. was obtained directly from sections of flower stalks of adult plants. The shoot formation was obtained from this plantmaterial placed on a modified MS basal medium named CH supplemented with 0.5 mg L1 6 benzylaminopurine (BA). The in vitro propagation procedure of E. angustifolia consisted of three distinct phases: an initial regeneration phase fromstalk sections (IP shoots on basal mediumwith 0.25 mg L1 BA), an elongation phase on active charcoal and an axillary proliferation of the shoots (AP shoots on basal medium with 0.5 mg L1 BA).Regenerating calli were established from leaves of in vitro shoots cultured on CH medium supplemented with 3 mg L1 BA and 0.5 mg L1 indole-3-butyric acid (IBA). Developed shoots from the callus cultures were subcultured on the CH medium with 0.5 mg L1 BA (leaf regenerated shoots: LR shoots). The secondary metabolite content of the in vitro plant material was compared with that of the greenhouse growing plants. The quali-quantitative LC-DAD-ESI-MS analysis on the extracts from axillary proliferation shoots (AP shoots) showed significant production of caffeic acid derivatives while leaf callus and LR shoots, accumulated mainly alkamides. These results showed that the proper choice of the procedures for in vitro multiplication allowed us to obtain plant biomass able to produce the active compounds typical of E. angustifolia plants

Un perredista opina sobre su partido

Entrevista hecha por Ana María Silva a Demetrio Sodi de la Tijera, senador por el Distrito Federal de la LIX Legislatura del Congreso de la Unión, por el Partido de la Revolución Democrática (PRD). Sodi de la Tijera opina sobre el proyecto alternativo del PRD y de Andrés Manuel López Obrador.ITESO, A.C

Empirical distributions of galactic λ\lambda spin parameters from the SDSS

Using simple dimensional arguments for both spiral and elliptical galaxies, we present formulas to derive an estimate of the halo spin parameter $\lambda$ for any real galaxy, in terms of common observational parameters. This allows a rough estimate of $\lambda$, which we apply to a large volume limited sample of galaxies taken from the SDSS data base. The large numbers involved (11,597) allow the derivation of reliable $\lambda$ distributions, as signal adds up significantly in spite of the errors in the inferences for particular galaxies. We find that if the observed distribution of $\lambda$ is modeled with a log-normal function, as often done for this distribution in dark matter halos that appear in cosmological simulations, we obtain parameters $\lambda_{0}=0.04 \pm 0.005$ and $\sigma_{\lambda}=0.51 \pm 0.05$, interestingly consistent with values derived from simulations. For spirals, we find a good correlation between empirical values of $\lambda$ and visually assigned Hubble types, highlighting the potential of this physical parameter as an objective classification tool.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures, expanded final version, MNRAS (in press

Quantifying galactic morphological transformations in the cluster environment

We study the effects of the cluster environment on galactic morphology by defining a dimensionless angular momentum parameter $\lambda_{d}$, to obtain a quantitative and objective measure of galaxy type. The use of this physical parameter allows us to take the study of morphological transformations in clusters beyond the measurements of merely qualitative parameters, e.g. S/E ratios, to a more physical footing. To this end, we employ an extensive Sloan Digital Sky Survey sample (Data Release 7), with galaxies associated with Abell galaxy clusters. The sample contains 121 relaxed Abell clusters and over 51,000 individual galaxies, which guarantees a thorough statistical coverage over a wide range of physical parameters. We find that the median $\lambda_{d}$ value tends to decrease as we approach the cluster center, with different dependences according to the mass of the galaxies and the hosting cluster; low and intermediate mass galaxies showing a strong dependence, while massive galaxies seems to show, at all radii, low $\lambda_{d}$ values. By analysing trends in $\lambda_{d}$ as functions of the nearest neighbour environment, clustercentric radius and velocity dispersion of clusters, we can identify clearly the leading physical processes at work. We find that in massive clusters ($\sigma>700$ km/s), the interaction with the cluster central region dominates, whilst in smaller clusters galaxy-galaxy interactions are chiefly responsible for driving galactic morphological transformations.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRA