The Cygnus region of the Galactic plane contains many known supernova remnants, pulsars, X-ray and GeV gamma-ray emitters which make it a prime candidate for a Very High Energy (VHE) gamma-ray survey in the Northern Hemisphere. The VERITAS observatory, an array of four atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes located at the base of Mt. Hopkins in southern Arizona, USA, has carried out an extensive survey of the Cygnus region between 67 and 82 degrees in galactic longitude and between -1 and 4 degrees in galactic latitude. The survey, comprising more than 140 hours of observations, reaches an average VHE flux sensitivity of better than 4% of the Crab Nebula at energies above 200 GeV. Here we report on the preliminary results from this survey.

We propose a physical framework for interpreting the broad band power spectra from black hole and neutron star binaries. We use the truncated disc/hot inner flow geometry, and assume that the hot flow is generically turbulent. Each radius in the hot flow produces fluctuations, and we further assume that these are damped on the viscous frequency. Integrating over radii gives broad band continuum noise power between low and high frequency breaks which are set by the viscous timescale at the outer and inner edge of the hot flow, respectively. Lense-Thirring (vertical) precession of the entire hot flow superimposes the low frequency QPO on this continuum power.
We test this model on the power spectra seen in the neutron star systems (atolls) as these have the key advantage that the (upper) kHz QPO most likely independently tracks the truncation radius. These show that this model can give a consistent solution, with the truncation radius decreasing from 20-8Rg while the inner radius of the flow remains remarkably constant at 6Rg. This very constrained geometry still does not quite completely determine the Lense-Thirring precession frequency as this also depends on the radial distribution of mass in the hot flow. Nonetheless, we show that this can be consistent with the low frequency QPO, showing that the broad band power spectra can be used as a diagnostic of accretion flows in strong gravity.

We review the formation scenarios for binary black holes, and show that their coalescence rate depends very strongly on the outcome of the second mass transfer. However, the observations of IC10 X-1, an binary with a massive black hole accreting from a Wolf-Rayet star proves that this mass transfer can be stable. We analyze the future evolution of IC10 X-1 and show that it is very likely to form a binary black hole system merging in a few Gyrs. We estimate the coalescence rate density of such systems to be $ 0.06 {\rm Mpc}^{-3} {\rm Myr}^{-1}$, and the detection rate for the current LIGO/VIRGO of $ 0.69 {\rm yr}^{-1} $, a much higher value than the expected double neutron star rate. Thus the first detection of a gravitational wave source is likely to be a coalescence of a binary black hole.

(Shortened) [...] After recalling the basic features of the "fireshell model", we emphasize the following novel results: 1) the interpretation of the X-ray flares in GRB afterglows as due to the interaction of the optically thin fireshell with isolated clouds in the CircumBurst Medium (CBM); 2) an interpretation as "fake - disguised" short GRBs of the GRBs belonging to the class identified by Norris & Bonnell [...] consistent with an origin from the final coalescence of a binary system in the halo of their host galaxies with particularly low CBM density [...]; 3) the first attempt to study a genuine short GRB with the analysis of GRB 050509B, that reveals indeed still an open question; 4) the interpretation of the GRB-SN association in the case of GRB 060218 via the "induced gravitational collapse" process; 5) a first attempt to understand the nature of the "Amati relation", a phenomenological correlation between the isotropic-equivalent radiated energy of the prompt emission E_{iso} with the cosmological rest-frame \nu F_{\nu} spectrum peak energy E_{p,i}. In addition, recent progress on the thermalization of the electron-positron plasma close to their formation phase, as well as the structure of the electrodynamics of Kerr-Newman Black Holes are presented. An outlook for possible explanation of high-energy phenomena in GRBs to be expected from the AGILE and the Fermi satellites are discussed. As an example of high energy process, the work by Enrico Fermi dealing with ultrarelativistic collisions is examined. It is clear that all the GRB physics points to the existence of overcritical electrodynamical fields. In this sense we present some progresses on a unified approach to heavy nuclei and neutron stars cores, which leads to the existence of overcritical fields under the neutron star crust.

Context: Monitoring of pulse period variations in accreting binary pulsars is an important tool to study the interaction between the magnetosphere of the neutron star and the accretion disk. While the X-ray flux of the brightest X-ray pulsars have been successfully monitored over many years (e.g. with RXTE/ASM, CGRO/BATSE, Swift/BAT), the possibility to monitor their pulse timing properties continuously has so far been very limited. Aims: In our work we show that the Swift/BAT observations can be used to monitor coherent pulsations of bright X-ray sources and use the Swift archival data to study one of the most enigmatic X-ray pulsars, Hercules X-1. A quasi-continuous monitoring of the pulse period and the pulse period derivative of an X-ray pulsar, here Her X-1, is achieved over a long time (<~ 4 yrs). We compare our observational results with predictions of accretion theory and use them to test different aspects of the physical model of the system. Methods: In our analysis we use the data accumulated with Swift/BAT starting from the beginning of 2005 (shortly after launch) until the present time. To search for pulsations and for their subsequent analysis we used the count rate measured by the BAT detector in the entire field of view. Results: The slope of the correlation between the locally determined spin-up rate and the X-ray luminosity is measured for Her X-1 and found to be in agreement with predictions of basic accretion torque theory. The observed behaviour of the pulse period together with the previously measured secular decrease of the system's orbital period is discussed in the frame of a model assuming ejection of matter close to the inner boundary of the accretion disk.

A fast trigger system is being designed as a potential upgrade to VERITAS, or as the basis for a future array of imaging atmospheric-Cherenkov telescopes such as AGIS. The scientific goal is a reduction of the energy threshold by a factor of 2 over the current threshold of VERITAS of around 130 GeV. The trigger is being designed to suppress both accidentals from the night-sky background and cosmic rays. The trigger uses field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) so that it is adaptable to different observing modes and special physics triggers, e.g. pulsars. The trigger consists of three levels: The level 1 (L1.5) trigger operating on each telescope camera samples the discriminated pixels at a rate of 400 MHz and searches for nearest-neighbor coincidences. In L1.5, the received discriminated signals are delay-compensated with an accuracy of 0.078 ns, facilitating a short coincidence time-window between any nearest neighbor of 5 ns. The hit pixels are then sent to a second trigger level (L2) that parameterizes the image shape and transmits this information along with a GPS time stamp to the array-level trigger (L3) at a rate of 10 MHz via a fiber optic link. The FPGA-based event analysis on L3 searches for coincident time-stamps from multiple telescopes and carries out a comparison of the image parameters against a look-up table at a rate of 10 kHz. A test of the single-telescope trigger was carried out in spring 2009 on one VERITAS telescope.

The phenomenon of giant radio pulses (GRP) from the Crab Pulsar can be studied at gamma-ray energies using atmospheric-Cherenkov telescopes such as VERITAS and the SGARFACE experiment attached to the Whipple 10 m telescope. Although these instruments are generally used for very-high-energy gamma-ray astronomy above 100 GeV, they also provide substantial sensitivity to short bursts of photons above 100 MeV lasting up to 15 $\mu$s. Motivated by the theoretical predictions for short microsecond-scale GeV bursts as counterparts to GRPs \cite{Lyutikov2007}, we report on a search for gamma-ray emission using simultaneous observations of the Crab Pulsar taken with VERITAS and the SGARFACE experiment.

Analysis of high-precision timing observations of an array of approx. 20 millisecond pulsars (a so-called ''timing array'') may ultimately result in the detection of a stochastic gravitational-wave background. The feasibility of such a detection and the required duration of this type of experiment are determined by the achievable rms of the timing residuals and the timing stability of the pulsars involved. We present results of the first long-term, high-precision timing campaign on a large sample of millisecond pulsars used in gravitational-wave detection projects. We show that the timing residuals of most pulsars in our sample do not contain significant low-frequency noise that could limit the use of these pulsars for decade-long gravitational-wave detection efforts. For our most precisely timed pulsars, intrinsic instabilities of the pulsars or the observing system are shown to contribute to timing irregularities on a five-year timescale below the 100 ns level. Based on those results, realistic sensitivity curves for planned and ongoing timing array efforts are determined. We conclude that prospects for detection of a gravitational-wave background through pulsar timing array efforts within five years to a decade are good.

We present results from the high precision timing analysis of the pulsar-white dwarf (WD) binary PSR J1012+5307 using 15 years of multi-telescope data. Observations were performed regularly by the European Pulsar Timing Array (EPTA) network, consisting of Effelsberg, Jodrell Bank, Westerbork and Nan\c{c}ay. All the timing parameters have been improved from the previously published values, most by an order of magnitude. In addition, a parallax measurement of $\pi = 1.2(3)$ mas is obtained for the first time for PSR J1012+5307, being consistent with the optical estimation from the WD companion. Combining improved 3D velocity information and models for the Galactic potential the complete evolutionary Galactic path of the system is obtained. A new intrinsic eccentricity upper limit of $e<8.4\times 10^{-7}$ is acquired, one of the smallest calculated for a binary system and a measurement of the variation of the projected semi-major axis also constrains the system's orbital orientation for the first time. It is shown that PSR J1012+5307 is an ideal laboratory for testing alternative theories of gravity. The measurement of the change of the orbital period of the system of $\dot{P}_{b} = 5(1)\times 10^{-14}$ is used to set an upper limit on the dipole gravitational wave emission that is valid for a wide class of alternative theories of gravity. Moreover, it is shown that in combination with other binary pulsars PSR J1012+5307 is an ideal system to provide self-consistent, generic limits, based only on millisecond pulsar data, for the dipole radiation and the variation of the gravitational constant $\dot{G}$.

We report on recent results obtained thanks to Target of Opportunity observations of the two galactic sources SGR 1627-41 and 1E 1547-5408. These two transient sources present several similarities which support the interpretation of Anomalous X-ray Pulsars and Soft Gamma-ray Repeaters as a single class of strongly magnetized neutron stars.

We explore the effects of r-process nucleosynthesis on fall-back accretion in neutron star(NS)-NS and black hole-NS mergers, and the resulting implications for short-duration gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). Though dynamically important, the energy released during the r-process is not yet taken into account in merger simulations. We use a nuclear reaction network to calculate the heating (due to beta-decays and nuclear fission) experienced by material on the marginally-bound orbits nominally responsible for late-time fall-back. Since matter with longer orbital periods t_orb experiences lower densities, for longer periods of time, the total r-process heating rises rapidly with t_orb, such that material with t_orb > 1 seconds can become completely unbound. Thus, r-process heating fundamentally changes the canonical prediction of an uninterrupted power-law decline in the fall-back rate dM/dt at late times. When the timescale for r-process to complete is > 1 second, the heating produces a complete cut-off in fall-back accretion after ~ 1 second; if robust, this would imply that fall-back accretion cannot explain the late-time X-ray flaring observed following some short GRBs. However, for a narrow, but physically plausible, range of parameters, fall-back accretion can resume after ~ 10 s, despite having been strongly suppressed for ~ 1-10 s after the merger. This suggests the intriguing possibility that the gap observed between the prompt and extended emission in short GRBs is a manifestation of r-process heating.

The strong dependence of the neutrino annihilation mechanism on the mass accretion rate makes it difficult to explain the LGRBs with duration in excess of 100 seconds as well as the precursors separated from the main gamma-ray pulse by few hundreds of seconds. Even more difficult is to explain the Swift observations of the shallow decay phase and X-ray flares, if they indeed indicate activity of the central engine for as long as 10,000 seconds. These data suggest that some other, most likely magnetic mechanisms have to be considered. The magnetic models do not require the development of accretion disk within the first few seconds of the stellar collapse and hence do not require very rapidly rotating stellar cores at the pre-supernova state. This widens the range of potential LGRB progenitors. In this paper, we re-examine the close binary scenario allowing for the possibility of late development of accretion disks in the collapsar model and investigate the available range of mass accretion rates, black hole masses, and spins. A particularly interesting version of the binary progenitor involves merger of a WR star with an ultra-compact companion, neutron star or black hole. In this case we expect the formation of very long-lived accretion disks, that may explain the phase of shallow decay and X-ray flares observed by Swift. Similarly long-lived magnetic central engines are expected in the current single star models of LGRB progenitors due to their assumed exceptionally fast rotation.

X-ray binaries stand as the brightest X-ray sources in the galaxy, showing both variable X-ray emission and extreme flares. Some of these systems have been recently discovered to be TeV gamma-ray emitters, with the high energy emission posited as resulting from particle acceleration in relativistic jets or from shocks between pulsar and stellar winds. VERITAS, an array of four 12m imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes has accrued more than 100 hours of observation time on X-ray binaries. Here we present the results of observations on 3A 1954+319, XTE J2012+381, 1A 0620-00, EXO 2030+375, KS 1947+300, SS 433, Cygnus X-1 and Cygnus X-3.

Magnetars are rotating neutron stars with extremely strong magnetic fields (~ 10^14-10^15 G). X-ray and soft gamma-ray observations have revealed the existence of non-thermal particle populations which may suggest emission of very high energy photons. VERITAS, an array of four 12m imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes, is designed to observe gamma-ray emission between 100 GeV and 30 TeV. Here we present the results of VERITAS observations of two magnetars, 4U 0142+61 and 1E 2259+586.

We call "prompt" emission of Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs) the erratic and violent phase of hard X-ray and soft gamma-ray emission, usually lasting for tens of seconds in long GRBs. However, the central engine of GRBs may live much longer. Evidence of it comes from the strange behaviour of the early "afterglow", seen especially in the X-ray band, characterised by a "steep-flat-steep" light curve, very often not paralleled by a similar behaviour in the optical band. This difference makes it hard to explain both the optical and the X-ray emission with a unique component. Two different mechanisms seem to be required. One can well be the standard emission from the forward shock of the fireball running through the interstellar medium. The second one is more elusive, and to characterise its properties we have studied those GRBs with well sampled data and known redshift, fitting at the same time the optical and the X-ray light curves by means of a composite model, i.e. the sum of the standard forward shock emission and a phenomenological additional component with a minimum of free parameters. Some interesting findings have emerged, pointing to a long activity of the central engine powered by fallback material.

Four years after the launch the Swift satellite the nature of the GRBs broadband afterglow behaviour is still an open issue. The standard external shock fireball model cannot easily explain the combined temporal and spectral properties of Optical to X-ray afterglows. We analysed the rest frame de-absorbed and K-corrected Optical and X-ray light curves of a sample of 33 GRBs with known redshift and optical extinction at the host frame. We modelled their broadband behaviour as the sum of the standard forward shock emission due to the interaction of a fireball with the circum-burst medium and an additional component. This description provides a good agreement with the observed light curves despite their complexity and diversity and can also account for the lack of achromatic late times jet breaks and the presence of chromatic breaks in several GRBs lightcurves. In order to test the predictions of such modelling we analysed the X-ray time resolved spectra searching for possible spectral breaks within the observed XRT energy band, finding 7 GRBs showing such a break. The Optical to X-Ray SED evolution of these GRBs are consistent with what expected by our interpretation.

We model the assembly of planets from planetary embryos under the conditions suggested by various scenarios for the formation of the planetary system around the millisecond pulsar B1257+12. We find that the most likely models fall at the low angular momentum end of the proposed range. Models that invoke supernova fallback produce such disks, although we find that a solar composition disk produces a more likely evolution than one composed primarily of heavy elements. Furthermore, we find that dust sedimentation must occur rapidly as the disk cools, in order that the solid material be confined to a sufficiently narrow range of radii. A quantitative comparison between the observations and the best-fit models shows that the simulations can reproduce the observed eccentricities and masses, but have difficulty reproducing the compactness of the pulsar planet system. Finally, we examine the results of similar studies of solar system terrestrial planet accumulation and discuss what can be learned from the comparison.

We present a linear analysis of inviscid, incompressible, magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) shallow water systems. In spherical geometry, a generic property of such systems is the existence of five wave modes. Three of them (two magneto-Poincare modes and one magneto-Rossby mode) are previously known. The other two wave modes are strongly influenced by the magnetic field and rotation, and have substantially lower angular frequencies; as such, we term them "magnetostrophic modes". We obtain analytical functions for the velocity, height and magnetic field perturbations in the limit that the magnitude of the MHD analogue of Lamb's parameter is large. On a sphere, the magnetostrophic modes reside near the poles, while the other modes are equatorially confined. Magnetostrophic modes may be an ingredient in explaining the frequency drifts observed in Type I X-ray bursts from neutron stars.

We investigate the observational signatures associated with one of the proposed formation scenario for the recently discovered highly eccentric binary millisecond pulsar (MSP) PSR J1903+0327 in the galactic plane. The scenario requires that the MSP to be part of a hierarchical triple (HT), consisting of inner and outer binaries, experiencing the Kozai resonance. Numerical modeling of a bound point mass HT, while incorporating the effects due to the quadrupolar interactions between the binary orbits and dominant contributions to the general relativistic periastron precession in the inner binary, reveals that, at the present epoch, the orbital eccentricity of the binary MSP should decrease for reasonable ranges in the HT parameters. The estimated decrements in the orbital eccentricity of the inner binary are few parts in $10^{5}$, substantially higher than the reported accuracies in the estimation of the orbital eccentricity of the binary MSP, while employing various general relativistic timing models for isolated binary pulsars. For wide ranges in the allowed orbital parameters, the estimated rate of change in the eccentricity of the inner binary is orders of magnitude higher than the value recently measured by the pulsar timing analysis. Therefore, we rule out the scenario that the MSP is part of a HT undergoing the Kozai oscillations. The origin of this system in a typical globular cluster is also shown to be less likely than inferred in the discovery paper.

Forty years elapsed since the optical identification of the first isolated neutron star (INS), the Crab pulsar. 25 INSs have been now identified in the optical (O), near-ultraviolet (nUV), or near-infrared (nIR), hereafter UVOIR, including rotation-powered pulsars (RPPs), magnetars, and X-ray-dim INSs (XDINSs), while deep investigations have been carried out for compact central objects (CCOs), Rotating RAdio transients (RRATs), and high-magnetic field radio pulsars (HBRPs). In this review I describe the status of UVOIR observations of INSs, their emission properties, and I present recent results.

A number of neutron star low-mass X-ray binaries have recently been discovered to show broad, asymmetric Fe K emission lines in their X-ray spectra. These lines are generally thought to be the most prominent part of a reflection spectrum, originating in the inner part of the accretion disk where strong relativistic effects can broaden emission lines. We present a comprehensive, systematic analysis of Suzaku and XMM-Newton spectra of 10 neutron star low-mass X-ray binaries, all of which display broad Fe K emission lines. Of the 10 sources, 4 are Z sources, 4 are atolls and 2 are accreting millisecond X-ray pulsars (also atolls). The Fe K lines are well fit by a relativistic line model for a Schwarzschild metric, and imply a narrow range of inner disk radii (6 - 15 GM/c^2) in most cases. This implies that the accretion disk extends close to the neutron star surface over a range of source states. Continuum modeling shows that for the majority of observations, a blackbody component (plausibly associated with the boundary layer) dominates the X-ray emission from 8-20 keV. Thus it appears likely that this spectral component produces the majority of the ionizing flux that illuminates the accretion disk. Therefore, we also fit the spectra with a blurred reflection model, wherein a blackbody component illuminates the disk. This model fits well in most cases, supporting the idea that the boundary layer is illuminating a geometrically thin disk.

Despite its probable occurrence in Nature, the accretion-induced collapse (AIC) of a white dwarf has not yet been directly observed (or, at least, it has not been unambiguously identified as such). In this contribution we summarize the observational signatures of AIC, emphasizing its possible role as both an optical and high-energy transient.

In this work we revisit the all-sky Galactic diffuse $\gamma$-ray emission based on the "conventional" cosmic ray model. The major revision to the "conventional" cosmic ray model is to accommodate the new results of cosmic electrons/positrons from PAMELA, ATIC, PPB-BETS, H.E.S.S. and Fermi-LAT, which show excesses of electrons or positrons compared with the expected background. However, as the origins of the excesses are not clear, we consider different scenarios to account for the excesses: the astrophysical sources, such as the Galactic pulsars, or exotic sources, such as dark matter annihilation or decay. We find the EGRET data can set strong constraints on the dark matter annihilation scenario. While there are few constraints on the decaying dark matter and pulsar scenarios. Furthermore, we find some distinctive features at the diffuse $\gamma$-ray spectra for the dark matter scenarios. We expect that measurements at Fermi-LAT up to $\sim 300$ GeV may have the potential to distinguish, or at least set strong constraints on, the dark matter scenarios.

The Large Area Telescope (LAT) on the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope (formerly GLAST), with its improved sensitivity relative to previous generation gamma-ray telescopes, is significantly increasing the number of known gamma-ray sources in the sky, including pulsars. In addition to searching for gamma-ray emission from known radio pulsars, it is now possible to successfully perform blind searches for pulsars on the gamma-ray data alone, with the goal of uncovering a new population of potentially radio-quiet (Geminga-like) pulsars. We describe our methods and some recent results from our searches, performed using the time-differencing technique, which have resulted in the discovery of a large number of new gamma-ray pulsars.

We report the discovery of three pulsars whose large dispersion measures and angular proximity to \sgr indicate the existence of a Galactic center population of neutron stars. The relatively long periods (0.98 to 1.48 s) most likely reflect strong selection against short-period pulsars from radio-wave scattering at the observation frequency of 2 GHz used in our survey with the Green Bank Telescope. One object (PSR J1746-2850I) has a characteristic spindown age of only 13 kyr along with a high surface magnetic field $\sim 4\times 10^{13}$ G. It and a second object found in the same telescope pointing, PSR J1746-2850II (which has the highest known dispersion measure among pulsars), may have originated from recent star formation in the Arches or Quintuplet clusters given their angular locations. Along with a third object, PSR J1745-2910, and two similar high-dispersion, long-period pulsars reported by Johnston et al. (2006), the five objects found so far are 10 to 15 arc min from \sgr, consistent with there being a large pulsar population in the Galactic center, most of whose members are undetectable in relatively low-frequency surveys because of pulse broadening from the same scattering volume that angularly broadens \sgr and OH/IR masers.

The observed spectra of 9 pulsars for which multiwavelength data are available from radio to $X$- or $\gamma$-ray bands (Crab, Vela, Geminga, B0656+14, B1055-52, B1509-58, B1706-44, B1929+10, and B1951+32) are compared with the spectrum of the radiation generated by an extended polarization current whose distribution pattern rotates faster than light {\it in vacuo}. It is shown that by inferring the values of two free parameters from observational data (values that are consistent with those of plasma frequency and electron cyclotron frequency in a conventional pulsar magnetosphere), and by adjusting the spectral indices of the power laws describing the source spectrum in various frequency bands, one can account {\em quantitatively} for the entire spectrum of each pulsar in terms of a single emission process. This emission process (a generalization of the synchrotron-\'Cerenkov process to a volume-distributed source in vacuum) gives rise to an oscillatory radiation spectrum. Thus, the bell-shaped peaks of pulsar spectra in the ultraviolet or $X$-ray bands (the features that are normally interpreted as manifestations of thermal radiation) appear in the present model as higher-frequency maxima of the same oscillations that constitute the emission bands observed in the radio spectrum of the Crab pulsar. Likewise, the sudden steepening of the gradient of the spectrum by -1, which occurs around $10^{18}-10^{21}$ Hz, appears as a universal feature of the pulsar emission: a feature that reflects the transit of the position of the observer across the frequency-dependent Rayleigh distance. Inferred values of the free parameters of the present model suggest, moreover, that the lower the rotation frequency of a pulsar, the more weighted towards higher frequencies will be its observed spectral intensity.

High-quality averaged radio profiles of some pulsars exhibit double, highly symmetric features both in `absorption' and emission. Averaged profile of a 5-ms pulsar J1012+5307 hosts a distinct, extremely symmetric, and bifurcated emission component (BFC) with deep central minimum. We show that the component can be very well fitted by the textbook formula for the non-coherent beam of curvature radiation (CR) in the polarisation state that is orthogonal to the plane of electron trajectory. The separation Delta_bfc of maxima in the BFC is observed to decrease with increasing frequency nu_obs at the rate that is consistent with the curvature origin (Delta_bfc proportional to nu_obs^(-1/3)). With zero emissivity in the plane of electron trajectory, the extraordinary-mode beam can naturally produce deep double absorption features (double notches) observed in other pulsars. The bifurcated emission components are observed when the line of sight passes through splitted fan beams produced by radially-extended streams of curvature-emitting plasma. The intrinsic property of CR to create bifurcated fan beams provides natural explanation for the observations and implies the curvature origin of pulsar radio emission.

Gamma-rays provide a powerful insight into the non-thermal universe and perhaps a unique probe for new physics beyond the standard model. Current experiments are already giving results in the physics of acceleration of cosmic rays in supernova remnants, pulsar and active galactic nuclei with almost a hundred sources detected at very-high-energies so far. Despite its relatively recent appearance, very high-energy gamma-ray astronomy has proven to have reached a mature technology with fast assembling, relatively cheap and reliable telescopes. The goal of future installation is to increase the sensitivity by a factor ten compared to current installations, and enlarge the energy domain from few tens of GeV to a hundred TeV. Gamma-ray spectra of astrophysical origin are rather soft thus hardly one single size telescope can cover more than 1.5 decades in energy, therefore an array of telescopes of 2,3 different sizes is required. Hereafter, we present design considerations for a Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA), a project for a new generation of highly automated telescopes for gamma-ray astronomy. The status of the project, technical solutions and an insight in the involved physics will be presented.

We present the identification of the most likely near-infrared/optical counterparts of five low-luminosity X-ray pulsators (AX J1700.1-4157, AX 1740.1-2847, AX J1749.2-2725, AX J1820.5-1434 and AX J1832.3-0840) which have long pulse periods (> 150 s). The X-ray properties of these systems suggest that they are likely members of persistent high mass X-ray binaries or intermediate polars. Using our Chandra observations, we detected the most likely counterparts of three sources (excluding AX J1820.5-1434 and AX J1832.3-0840) in their ESO - NTT near-infrared observations, and a possible counterpart for AX J1820.5-1434 and AX J1832.3-0840 in the 2MASS and DSS observations respectively. We also performed the X-ray timing and spectral analysis for all the sources using our XMM-Newton observations, which further helped us to constrain the nature of these systems. Our multiwavelength observations suggest that AX J1749.2-2725 and AX J1820.5-1434 most likely harbor accreting neutron stars while AX J1700.1-4157, AX J1740.1-2847 and AX J1832.3-0840 could be intermediate polars.

Sixteen pulsars have been discovered so far in blind searches of photons collected with the Large Area Telescope on the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. We here report the discovery of radio pulsations from two of them. PSR J1741-2054, with period P=413ms, was detected in archival Parkes telescope data and subsequently has been detected at the Green Bank Telescope (GBT). Its received flux varies greatly due to interstellar scintillation and it has a very small dispersion measure of DM=4.7pc/cc, implying a distance of ~0.4kpc and possibly the smallest luminosity of any known radio pulsar. At this distance, for isotropic emission, its gamma-ray luminosity above 0.1GeV corresponds to 25% of the spin-down luminosity of dE/dt=9.4e33erg/s. The gamma-ray profile occupies 1/3 of pulse phase and has three closely-spaced peaks with the first peak lagging the radio pulse by delta=0.29P. We have also identified a soft Swift source that is the likely X-ray counterpart. In many respects PSR J1741-2054 resembles the Geminga pulsar. The second source, PSR J2032+4127, was detected at the GBT. It has P=143ms, and its DM=115pc/cc suggests a distance of ~3.6kpc, but we consider it likely that it is located within the Cyg OB2 stellar association at half that distance. The radio emission is nearly 100% linearly polarized, and the main radio peak precedes by delta=0.15P the first of two narrow gamma-ray peaks that are separated by Delta=0.50P. Faint, diffuse X-ray emission in a Chandra image is possibly its pulsar wind nebula. PSR J2032+4127 likely accounts for the EGRET source 3EG J2033+4118, while its pulsar wind is responsible for the formerly unidentified HEGRA source TeV J2032+4130.

Context: Globular clusters (GCs) in the outer halo are important probes of the composition and origin of the Galactic stellar halo.
Aims: We derive chemical element abundance ratios in red giants belonging to the remote (R~90 kpc) GC Pal 3 and compare our measurements to those for red giant stars in both inner and outer halo GCs.
Methods: From high-resolution spectroscopy of four red giants, obtained with the Magellan/MIKE spectrograph at moderately high S/N, we derive chemical abundances for 25 alpha-, iron peak-, and neutron-capture elements. These abundance ratios are confirmed by co-adding low S/N HIRES spectra of 19 stars along the red giant branch.
Results: Pal 3 shows alpha-enhanced abundance patterns, and also its Fe-peak and neutron-capture element ratios, are fully compatible with those found in halo field stars and representative inner halo GCs of the same metallicity (such as M 13). The heavy elements in Pal 3 appear to be governed by r-process nucleosyn-thesis. Our limited sample does not show any significant star-to-star abundance variations in this cluster, although a weak Na-O anti-correlation cannot be ruled out by the present data.
Conclusions: Pal 3 thus appears as an archetypical GC with abundance ratios dissimilar to dwarf spheroidal stars, ruling out a direct connection to such external systems. This conclusion is underscored by the lack of significant abundance spreads in this GC, in contrast to the broad abundance distributions seen in the dwarf galaxies. Pal 3 appears to have evolved chemically coeval with the majority of GCs belonging to Galactic inner and outer halo, experiencing a similar enrichment history.

We investigate the possibility that stellar mass black holes, with masses in the range of $3.8M_{\odot}$ and $6M_{\odot}$, respectively, could be in fact quark stars in the Color-Flavor-Locked (CFL) phase. Depending on the value of the gap parameter, rapidly rotating CFL quark stars can achieve much higher masses than standard neutron stars, thus making them possible stellar mass black hole candidates. Moreover, quark stars have a very low luminosity and a completely absorbing surface - the infalling matter on the surface of the quark star is converted into quark matter. A possibility of distinguishing CFL quark stars from stellar mass black holes could be through the study of thin accretion disks around rapidly rotating quark stars and Kerr type black holes, respectively. Furthermore, we show that the radiation properties of accretion disks around black holes and CFL quark stars are also very similar. However, strange stars exhibit a low luminosity, but high temperature bremsstrahlung spectrum, which, in combination with the emission properties of the accretion disk, may be the key signature to differentiate massive strange stars from black hole.

We highlight how the downward revision in the distance to the star cluster associated with SGR1806-20 by Bibby et al. reconciles the apparent low contamination of BATSE short GRBs by intense flares from extragalactic magnetars without recourse to modifying the frequency of one such flare per 30 years per Milky Way galaxy. We also discuss the variety in progenitor initial masses of magnetars based upon cluster ages, ranging from ~50 Msun for SGR 1806-20 and 1E 1647-455 in Westerlund 1 to ~15 Msun for SGR 1900+14 and presumably 1E 1841-045 if it originated from one of the massive RSG clusters #2 or #3.

Type Ibc supernovae (SNe Ibc) mark the gravitational collapse of some massive stars (M > 20 Msun) propelling several solar masses of material to typical velocities of ~10,000 km/s. The closely-related but exceedingly rare class of long-duration gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) produce, in addition, a relativistic outflow powered by a central engine (accreting black hole or neutron star) and have been found exclusively through their gamma-ray signal. Here we report the discovery of luminous radio emission from the seemingly ordinary Type Ibc SN 2009bb which outshines that of all other SNe Ibc observed on a comparable timescale. These observations require a substantial mildly-relativistic outflow and indicate that the explosion was powered by a central engine, thus representing the first such event discovered without the aid of a gamma-ray trigger. A comparison with our extensive radio survey of SNe Ibc reveals that the fraction of such events is low (roughly 1 percent), measured independently from, and yet consistent with, the inferred rate of nearby GRBs. This discovery marks the observational realization that long-wavelength surveys will soon rival gamma-ray satellites in pinpointing nearby engine-driven explosions.

We observed the massive binary stellar system of Eta Carinae in the 0.3-10 keV energy range with the X-ray Telescope onboard the Swift satellite during the period 15 December 2008 - 11 March 2009, i.e. 1 month before to 2 months after the X-ray drop from maximum to minimum, thought to be associated with the periastron encounter of the primary star by the hot companion. Beginning a few months before eclipse, the interaction between the winds of the two stars intensifies and the X-ray flux reaches maximum. The flux drops dramatically thereafter, subsiding in about 20 days to a level that is at least a factor 10 lower than the 'high state', i.e. the X-ray emission state of the system during the largest fraction of its 5.52 yr orbit (~e-11 erg/s/cm2). Unlike in previous cycles, when the low state lasted about 2.5 months, observations with RXTE showed that the X-ray flux started its recovery to normal level about 1.5 months after the minimum. We suggest that this early recovery may be due to the fact that the companion wind reaches terminal velocity before encountering the shock.

Aims. Neutron stars (NSs) produced in the Milky Way are supposedly ten to the eighth - ten to the ninth, of which only $\sim 2 \times 10^{3}$ are observed. Constraining the phase space distribution of NSs may help to characterize the yet undetected population of stellar remnants. Methods. We perform Monte Carlo simulations of NS orbits, under different assumptions concerning the Galactic potential and the distribution of progenitors and birth velocities. We study the resulting phase space distributions, focusing on the statistical properties of the NS populations in the disk and in the solar neighbourhood. Results. It is shown that $\sim 80$ percent of NSs are in bound orbits. The fraction of NSs located in a disk of radius 20 kpc and width 0.4 kpc is $\lesssim 20$ percent. Therefore the majority of NSs populate the halo. Fits for the surface density of the disk, the distribution of heights on the Galactic plane and the velocity distribution of the disk, are given. We also provide sky maps of the projected number density in heliocentric Galactic coordinates (l, b). Our results are compared with previous ones reported in the literature. Conclusions. Obvious applications of our modelling are in the revisiting of accretion luminosities of old isolated NSs, the issue of the observability of the nearest NS and the NS optical depth for microlensing events. These will be the scope of further studies.

NGC 6522 has been the first metal-poor globular cluster identified in the bulge by W. Baade. Despite its importance, very few high resolution abundance analyses of stars in this cluster are available in the literature. The bulge metal-poor clusters may be important tracers of the early chemical enrichment of the Galaxy. The main purpose of this study is the determination of metallicity and elemental ratios in individual stars of NGC 6522. High resolution spectra of 8 giants of the bulge globular cluster NGC 6522 were obtained at the 8m VLT UT2-Kueyen telescope with the FLAMES+GIRAFFE spectrograph. Multiband V,I,J,Ks} photometry was used to derive effective temperatures as reference values. Spectroscopic parameters are derived from FeI and FeII lines, and adopted for the derivation of abundance ratios. The present analysis provides a metallicity [Fe/H] = -1.0+-0.2. The alpha-elements Oxygen, Magnesium and Silicon show [O/Fe]=+0.4, [Mg/Fe]=[Si/Fe]= +0.25, whereas Calcium and Titanium show shallower ratios of [Ca/Fe]=[Ti/Fe]=+0.15. The neutron-capture r-process element Europium appears to be overabundant by [Eu/Fe]=+0.4. The neutron-capture s-elements La and Ba are enhanced by [La/Fe]=+0.35 and [Ba/Fe]=+0.5. The large internal errors, indicating the large star-to-star variationin the Ba and Eu abundances, are also discussed. The moderate metallicity combined to a blue Horizontal Branch (BHB), are characteristics similar to those of HP~1 and NGC 6558, pointing to a population of very old globular clusters in the Galactic bulge. Also, the abundance ratios in NGC 6522 resemble those in HP 1 and NGC 6558. The ultimate conclusion is that the bulge is old, and went through an early prompt chemical enrichment.

We study the accretion/ejection processes (i.e. disc/jet coupling) in the neutron star X-ray binary Aquila X-1 via a multi-wavelength approach. We use in the radio band the publicly available VLA archive containing observations of the object between 1986-2005, in the X-ray band the archival RXTE data (PCA and HEXTE) between 1997-2008, and in optical (R band) observations with the SMARTS recorded between 1998-2007. In the combined data set we find three outbursts for which quasi-simultaneous radio, optical (R band) and X-ray data exist and focus on them to some extent. We provide evidence that the disc/jet coupling in Aquila X-1 is similar to what has been observed in black hole X-ray binaries, at least from the point of view of the behaviour in the hardness-intensity diagrams (the hysteresis effect included), when the phenomenology of the jet is taken into account. Although based on a very small number of observations, a radio/X-ray correlation seems to exist for this system, with a slope of alpha=0.40 +/- 0.07 (F_{radio} \propto F_{X}^{alpha}), which is different than the slope of alpha=1.40 +/- 0.25 found for another atoll source, 4U 1728-34, but interestingly enough is relatively close to the values obtained for several black hole X-ray binaries. No significant correlation is found between the radio and optical (R band) emissions. We also report a significant drop in the radio flux from Aql X-1 above an X-ray flux of ~ 5 X 10^{-9} erg cm^{-2} s^{-1}. This behaviour, also reported in the neutron star X-ray binary 4U 1728-34, may be analogous to the suppression of radio emission in black hole X-ray binaries in bright, soft X-ray states. It suggests that from this point of view neutron star X-ray binaries can mimic the behaviour of black hole X-ray binaries in suppressing the jet in soft/disc-dominated X-ray states.

I present a review of the main phenomenological properties at high energies related to massive gamma-ray binaries and I discuss some aspects of pulsar models for these objects.

We estimate binary compact object merger detection rates for LIGO, including the binaries formed in ellipticals long ago. Specifically, we convolve hundreds of model realizations of elliptical- and spiral-galaxy population syntheses with a model for elliptical- and spiral-galaxy star formation history as a function of redshift. Our results favor local merger rate densities of 4\times 10^{-3} {Mpc}^{-3}{Myr}^{-1} for binary black holes (BH), 3\times 10^{-2} {Mpc}^{-3}{Myr}^{-1} for binary neutron stars (NS), and 10^{-2} {Mpc}^{-3}{Myr}^{-1} for BH-NS binaries. Mergers in elliptical galaxies are a significant fraction of our total estimate for BH-BH and BH-NS detection rates; NS-NS detection rates are dominated by the contribution from spiral galaxies. Using only models that reproduce current observations of Galactic NS-NS binaries, we find slightly higher rates for NS-NS and largely similar ranges for BH-NS and BH-BH binaries. Assuming a detection signal-to-noise ratio threshold of 8 for a single detector (as part of a network), corresponding to radii \Cv of the effective volume inside of which a single LIGO detector could observe the inspiral of two 1.4 M_\sun neutron stars of 14 Mpc and 197 Mpc, for initial and advanced LIGO, we find event rates of any merger type of 2.9* 10^{-2} -- 0.46 and 25-400 per year (at 90% confidence level), respectively. We also find that the probability P_{detect} of detecting one or more mergers with this single detector can be approximated by (i) P_{detect}\simeq 0.4+0.5\log (T/0.01{yr}), assuming \Cv=197 {Mpc} and it operates for T years, for T between 2 days and 0.1 {yr}); or by (ii) P_{detect}\simeq 0.5 + 1.5 \log \Cv/32{Mpc}, for one year of operation and for $\Cv$ between 20 and 70 Mpc. [ABRIDGED]

Long duration gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are thought to be produced by the core-collapse of a rapidly-rotating massive star. This event generates a highly relativistic jet and prompt gamma-ray and X-ray emission arises from internal shocks in the jet or magnetised outflows. If the stellar core does not immediately collapse to a black hole, it may form an unstable, highly magnetised millisecond pulsar, or magnetar. As it spins down, the magnetar would inject energy into the jet causing a distinctive bump in the GRB light curve where the emission becomes fairly constant followed by a steep decay when the magnetar collapses. We assume that the collapse of a massive star to a magnetar can launch the initial jet. By automatically fitting the X-ray lightcurves of all GRBs observed by the Swift satellite we identified a subset of bursts which have a feature in their light curves which we call an internal plateau -- unusually constant emission followed by a steep decay -- which may be powered by a magnetar. We use the duration and luminosity of this internal plateau to place limits on the magnetar spin period and magnetic field strength and find that they are consistent with the most extreme predicted values for magnetars.

We present radio timing measurements of six rotating radio transient (RRAT) sources discovered in the Parkes Multibeam Pulsar Survey. These provide four new phase-connected timing solutions and two updated ones, making a total of seven of the original 11 reported RRATs now with high-precision rotational and astrometric parameters. Three of these seven RRATs have magnetic fields greater than 10^13 G, with spin-down properties similar to those of the magnetars and X-ray detected isolated neutron stars. Another two of these RRATs have long periods and large characteristic ages, and lie near the `death-line' for radio pulsar emission. The remaining two RRATs with timing solutions have properties typical of the bulk of the pulsar population. The new solutions offer insights into what might be responsible for the unusual emission properties. We demonstrate that the RRATs have significantly longer periods and higher magnetic fields than normal radio pulsars, and find no correlation with other spin-down parameters. These solutions also provide precise positions, which will facilitate follow-up studies at high energies, crucial for relating these sources with other neutron star populations.

X-ray emission from the enigmatic Rotating RAdio Transients (RRATs) offers a vital clue to understanding these objects and how they relate to the greater neutron star population. An X-ray counterpart to J1819-1458 is known, and its properties are similar to those of other middle-aged (0.1 Myr) neutron stars. We have searched for X-ray emission with Chandra/ACIS at the positions of two RRATs with arcsecond (or better) localisation, J0847-4316 and J1846-0257. Despite deep searches (especially for J1847-0257) we did not detect any emission with 0.3-8 keV count-rate limits of 1 counts/ks and 0.068 counts/ks, respectively, at 3sigma confidence. Assuming thermal emission similar to that seen from J1819-1458 (a blackbody with radius of approximately 20 km), we derive effective temperature limits of 77 eV and 91 eV for the nominal values of the distances and column densities to both sources, although both of those quantities are highly uncertain and correlated. If we instead fix the temperature of the emission (a blackbody with kT=0.14 keV), we derive unabsorbed luminosity limits in the 0.3-8 keV range of 1e32 erg/s and 3e32 erg/s. These limits are considerably below the luminosity of J1819-1458 (4e33 erg/s), suggesting that RRATs J0847-4316 and J1846-0257 have cooled beyond the point of visibility (plausible given the differences in characteristic age). However, as we have not detected X-ray emission, it may also be that the emission from RRATs J0847-4316 and J1846-0257 has a different character from that of J1819-1458. The two non-detections may prove a counterpoint to J1819-1458, but more detections are certainly needed before we can begin to derive general X-ray emission properties for the RRAT populations.

We report the first detailed chemical abundances for 5 globular clusters (GCs) in M31 from high-resolution (R ~ 25,000) spectroscopy of their integrated light. These GCs are the first in a larger set of clusters observed as part of an ongoing project to study the formation history of M31 and its globular cluster population. The data presented here were obtained with the HIRES echelle spectrograph on the Keck I telescope, and are analyzed using a new integrated light spectra analysis method that we have developed. In these clusters, we measure abundances for Mg, Al, Si, Ca, Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Y, and Ba, ages >10 Gyrs, and a range in [Fe/H] of -0.9 to -2.2. As is typical of Milky Way GCs, we find these M31 GCs to be enhanced in the alpha-elements Ca, Si, and Ti relative to Fe. We also find [Mg/Fe] to be low relative to other [alpha/Fe], and [Al/Fe] to be enhanced in the integrated light abundances. These results imply that abundances of Mg, Al (and likely O, Na) recovered from integrated light do display the inter- and intra-cluster abundance variations seen in individual Milky Way GC stars, and that special care should be taken in the future in interpreting low or high resolution integrated light abundances of globular clusters that are based on Mg-dominated absorption features. Fe-peak and the neutron-capture elements Ba and Y also follow Milky Way abundance trends. We also present high-precision velocity dispersion measurements for all 5 M31 GCs, as well as independent constraints on the reddening toward the clusters from our analysis.

We present a detailed study of the X-ray energy and power spectral properties of the neutron star transient IGR J17191-2821. We discovered four instances of pairs of simultaneous kilohertz quasi-periodic oscillations (kHz QPOs). The frequency difference between these kHz QPOs is between 315 Hz and 362 Hz. We also report on the detection of five thermonuclear type-I X-ray bursts and the discovery of burst oscillations at ~294 Hz during three of them. Finally, we report on a faint and short outburst precursor, which occurred about two months before the main outburst. Our results on the broadband spectral and variability properties allow us to firmly establish the atoll source nature of IGR J17191-2821.

4U 2206+54 is a high mass X-ray binary which has been suspected to contain a neutron star accreting from the wind of its companion BD +53 2790. Reig et al. have recently detected 5560 s period pulsations in both RXTE and INTEGRAL observations which they conclude are due to the spin of the neutron star. We present observations made with Suzaku which are contemporaneous with their RXTE observation of this source. We find strong pulsations at a period of 5554 +/- 9 s in agreement with their results. We also present a reanalysis of BeppoSAX observations of 4U 2206+54 made in 1998, in which we find strong pulsations at a period of 5420 +/- 28 seconds, revealing a spin-down trend in this long-period accreting pulsar. Analysis of these data suggests that the neutron star in this system is an accretion-powered magnetar.

A concise and critical review of Balmer-dominated shocks (BDSs) is presented, summarizing the state of theory and observations, including models with/without shock precursors and their synergy with atomic physics. Observations of BDSs in supernova remnants are reviewed on an object-by-object basis. The relevance of BDSs towards understanding the acceleration of cosmic rays in shocks is emphasized. Probable and possible detections of BDSs in astrophysical objects other than supernova remnants, including pulsar wind nebulae and high-redshift galaxies, are described. The case for the continued future of studying BDSs in astrophysics is made, including their relevance towards understanding electron-ion temperature equilibration in collisionless shocks.

We demonstrate that there exists a new mechanism for dissipating the energy of stellar oscillations. For neutron stars, in particular, we show that the mechanical energy of density perturbations is not only dissipated to heat via bulk viscosity, but also that energy is radiated away via neutrinos. This energy dissipation will be associated with a viscosity coefficient, the radiative viscosity, which is larger than the bulk viscosity in the case of non-strange quark matter and nuclear matter.

Precision measurements of neutron star radii can provide a powerful probe of the properties of cold matter beyond nuclear density. Beginning in the late 1970s it was proposed that the radius could be obtained from the apparent or inferred emitting area during the decay portions of thermonuclear (type I) X-ray bursts. However, this apparent area is generally not constant, preventing reliable measurement of the source radius. Here we report for the first time a correlation between the variation of the inferred area and the burst properties, measured in a sample of almost 900 bursts from 43 sources. We found that the rate of change of the inferred area during decay is anticorrelated with the burst decay duration. A Spearman rank correlation test shows that this relation is significant at the <10^{-45} level for our entire sample, and at the 7x10^{-37} level for the 625 bursts without photospheric radius expansion. This anticorrelation is also highly significant for individual sources exhibiting a wide range of burst durations, such as 4U 1636-536 and Aql X-1. We suggest that variations in the colour factor, which relates the colour temperature resulted from the scattering in the neutron star atmosphere to the effective temperature of the burning layer, may explain the correlation. This in turn implies significant variations in the composition of the atmosphere between bursts with long and short durations.