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We present a fast and accurate method to select an optimal set of parameters in semi-analytic models of galaxy formation and evolution (SAMs). Our approach compares the results of a model against a set of observables applying a stochastic technique called Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), a self-learning algorithm for localizing regions of maximum likelihood in multidimensional spaces that outperforms traditional sampling methods in terms of computational cost. We apply the PSO technique to the SAG semi-analytic model combined with merger trees extracted from a standard $\Lambda$CDM N-body simulation. The calibration is performed using a combination of observed galaxy properties as constraints, including the local stellar mass function and the black hole to bulge mass relation. We test the ability of the PSO algorithm to find the best set of free parameters of the model by comparing the results with those obtained using a MCMC exploration. Both methods find the same maximum likelihood region, however the PSO method requires one order of magnitude less evaluations. This new approach allows a fast estimation of the best-fitting parameter set in multidimensional spaces, providing a practical tool to test the consequences of including other astrophysical processes in SAMs., Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures, 1 table. Accepted for publication in ApJ. Comments are welcome

We report on the discovery of methyl acetate, CH3COOCH3, through the detection of a large number of rotational lines from each one of the spin states of the molecule: AA species (A1 or A2), EA species (E1), AE species (E2), EE species (E3 or E4). We also report the detection, for the first time in space, of the $gauche$ conformer of ethyl formate, CH3CH2OCOH, in the same source. The trans conformer is also detected for the first time outside the galactic center source SgrB2. From the derived velocity of the emission of methyl acetate we conclude that it arises mainly from the compact ridge region with a total column density of (4.2+-0.5)E15 cm(-2). The derived rotational temperature is 150 K. The column density for each conformer of ethyl formate, trans and gauche, is (4.5+-1.0)E14 cm(-2). Their abundance ratio indicates a kinetic temperature of 135 K for the emitting gas and suggests that gas phase reactions could participate efficiently in the formation of both conformers in addition to cold ice mantle reactions on the surface of dust grains., Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJL

This work aims to study the unexplained sulfur depletion observed toward dense clouds and protostars. We made simulation experiments of the UV-photoprocessing and sublimation of H2S and H2S:H2O ice in dense clouds and circumstellar regions, using the Interstellar Astrochemistry Chamber (ISAC), a state-of-the-art ultra-high-vacuum setup. The ice was monitored in situ by mid-infrared spectroscopy in transmittance. Temperature-programmed desorption (TPD) of the ice was performed using a quadrupole mass spectrometer (QMS) to detect the volatiles desorbing from the ice. Comparing our laboratory data to infrared observations of protostars we obtained a more accurate upper limit of the abundance of H2S ice toward these objects. We determined the desorption temperature of H2S ice, which depends on the initial H2S:H2O ratio. UV-photoprocessing of H2S:H2O ice led to the formation of several species. Among them, H2S2 was found to photodissociate forming S2 and, by elongation, other species up to S8, which are refractory at room temperature. A large fraction of the missing sulfur in dense clouds and circumstellar regions could thus be polymeric sulfur residing in dust grains., Comment: 11 pages, 19 figures

We give a general method to construct MDS one-dimensional convolutional codes. Our method generalizes previous constructions of H. Gluesing-Luerssen and B. Langfeld. Moreover we give a classification of one-dimensional Convolutional Goppa Codes and propose a characterization of MDS codes of this type.

We define a new class of Convolutional Codes in terms of fibrations of algebraic varieties generalizaing our previous constructions of Convolutional Goppa Codes. Using this general construction we can give several examples of Maximum Distance Separable (MDS) Convolutional Codes., Comment: 10 pages

Using the technique of the Fourier-Mukai transform we give an explicit set of generators of the ideal defining an algebraic curve as a subscheme of its Jacobian. Essentially, these ideals are generated by the Fay's trisecant identities.

This paper is devoted to the study of the uniformization of the moduli space of pairs (X, E) consisting of an algebraic curve and a vector bundle on it. For this goal, we study the moduli space of 5-tuples (X, x, z, E, \phi), consisting of a genus g curve, a point on it, a local coordinate, a rank n degree d vector bundle and a formal trivialization of the bundle at the point. A group acting on it is found and it is shown that it acts (infinitesimally) transitively on this moduli space and an identity between central extensions of its Lie algebra is proved. Furthermore, a geometric explanation for that identity is offered.

We study the nature of the extended near-UV emission in the inner kiloparsec of a sample of 15 Seyfert galaxies which have both near-UV (F330W) and narrow band [OIII] high resolution Hubble images. For the majority of the objects we find a very similar morphology in both bands. From the [OIII] images we construct synthetic images of the nebular continuum plus the emission line contribution expected through the F330W filter, which can be subtracted from the F330W images. We find that the emission of the ionised gas dominates the near-UV extended emission in half of the objects. A further broad band photometric study, in the bands F330W (U), F547M (V) and F160W (H), shows that the remaining emission is dominated by the underlying galactic bulge contribution. We also find a blue component whose nature is not clear in 4 out of 15 objects. This component may be attributed to scattered light from the AGN, to a young stellar population in unresolved star clusters, or to early-disrupted clusters. Star forming regions and/or bright off-nuclear star clusters are observed in 4/15 galaxies of the sample., Comment: 23 pages, 6 figures, 3 tables; accepted for publication in MNRAS

In this paper the moduli space of Higgs pairs over a fixed smooth projective curve with extra formal data is defined and it is endowed with a scheme structure. We introduce a relative version of the Krichever map using a fibration of Sato Grassmannians and show that this map is injective. This fact and the characterization of the points of the image of the Krichever map allow us to prove that this moduli space is a closed subscheme of the product of the moduli of vector bundles (with formal extra data) and a formal anologue of the Hitchin base. This characterization also provide us the method to compute explicitely KP-type equations which describe the moduli space of Higgs pairs. Finally, for the case where the spectral cover is totally ramified at a fixed point of the curve, these equations are given in terms of the characteristic coefficients of the Higgs field.

We present an atlas of the central regions of 75 Seyfert galaxies imaged in the near-UV with the Advanced Camera for Surveys of the Hubble Space Telescope at an average resolution of ~10pc. These data complement archival high resolution data from the Space Telescope at optical and near-IR wavelengths, creating an extremely valuable dataset for astronomers with a broad range of scientific interests. Our goal is to investigate the nature of the near-UV light in these objects, its relation to the circumnuclear starburst phenomenon, and the connection of this to the evolution and growth of the galaxy bulge and central black hole. In this paper, we describe the near-UV morphology of the objects and characterize the near-UV emission. We estimate the size and the luminosity of the emitting regions and extract the luminosity profile. We also determine the presence of unresolved compact nuclei. In addition, the circumnuclear stellar cluster population is identified, and the contribution of the stellar clusters to the total light, at this wavelength, is estimated. The size of the sample allows us to draw robust statistical conclusions. We find that {Seyfert 1} galaxies are completely dominated by its bright and compact nucleus, that remains point-like at this resolution, while we find almost no unresolved nucleus in Seyfert 2. The Seyfert types 1 and 2 are quite segregated in an asymmetry vs compactness plot. Stellar clusters are found somewhat more frequently in Sy2 (in ~70% of the galaxies) than in Sy1 (~57%), and contribute more to the total light in Sy2, but this two differences seem to be mostly due to the large contribution of the compact nucleus in Sy1, as the luminosity distribution of the clusters is similar in both Sy types., Comment: Accepted for publication in AJ, 58 pages, 20 figures. High-resolution figures for all the objects are available at http://www.iaa.es/~manuel/publications/paper01.html

In this series of lectures a method is developed to compute one-loop shifts to classical masses of kinks, multi-component kinks, and self-dual vortices. Canonical quantization is used to show that the mass shift induced by one-loop quantum fluctuations is the trace of the square root of the differential operator governing these fluctuations. Standard mathematical techniques are used to deal with some powers of pseudo-differential operators. Ultraviolet divergences are tamed by using generalized zeta function regularization methods and, then performing zero-point energy and mass renormalizations., Comment: 99 pages. Lecture notes on three two-hour lectures given by JMG during the third week of July 2005 in the Department of Physics of the Universidade Federal de Paraiba (Joao Pessoa, Brazil)

In this paper we study the Hurwitz scheme in terms of the Sato Grassmannian and the algebro-geometric theory of solitons. We will give a characterization, its equations and a show that there is a group of Virasoro type which uniformizes it., Comment: 21 pages

A new kind of Convolutional Codes generalizing Goppa Codes is proposed. This provides a systematic method for constructing convolutional codes with prefixed properties. In particular, examples of Maximum-Distance Separable (MDS) convolutional codes are obtained., Comment: 9 pages, submitted to AAECC

We define Convolutional Goppa Codes over algebraic curves and construct their corresponding dual codes. Examples over the projective line and over elliptic curves are described, obtaining in particular some Maximum-Distance Separable (MDS) convolutional codes., Comment: 8 pages, submitted to IEEE Trans. Inform. Theory

The aim of the paper is twofold. First, some results of Shiota and Plaza-Martin on Prym varieties of curves with an involution are generalized to the general case of an arbitrary automorphism of prime order. Second, the equations defining the moduli space of curves with an automorphism of prime order as a subscheme of the Sato Grassmannian are given., Comment: 32 pages. Final version to appear in Mathematische Annalen

The main result proved in the paper is the computation of the explicit equations defining the Hurwitz schemes of coverings with punctures as subschemes of the Sato infinite Grassmannian. As an application, we characterize the existence of certain linear series on a smooth curve in terms of soliton equations., Comment: 33 pages. An incomplete reference has been fixed

We consider a relative Fourier-Mukai transform defined on elliptic fibrations over an arbitrary normal base scheme. This is used to construct relative Atiyah sheaves and generalize Atiyah's and Tu's results about semistable sheaves over elliptic curves to the case of elliptic fibrations. Moreover we show that this transform preserves relative (semi)stability of sheaves of positive relative degree., Comment: 11 pages, Latex. v2 corrects an error in Proposition 2.9. The statement of the main theorem remains unaltered but the proof needs to be slightly modified

This paper is concerned with the formulation of a non-pertubative theory of the bosonic string. We introduce a formal group $G$ which we propose as the ``universal moduli space'' for such a formulation. This is motivated because $G$ establishes a natural link between representations of the Virasoro algebra and the moduli space of curves. Among other properties of $G$ it is shown that a ``local'' version of the Mumford formula holds on $G$., Comment: 29 pages