Hubble Space Telescope photometry of globular clusters in the Sombrero galaxy

We explore the rich globular cluster (GC) system of the nearby Sa galaxy M104, the 'Sombrero' (NGC 4594), using archive Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 data. The GC colour distribution is found to be bimodal at the >99 per cent confidence level, with peaks at     and     . The inferred metallicities are very similar to those of GCs in our Galaxy and M31. However, the Sombrero reveals a much enhanced number of red (metal-rich) GCs compared to other well-studied spirals. Because the Sombrero is dominated by a huge bulge and only has a modest disc, we associate the two subpopulations with the halo and bulge components, respectively. Thus our analysis supports the view that the metal-rich GCs in spirals are associated with the bulge rather than with the disc. The Sombrero GCs have typical effective (half-light) radii of ∼2 pc with the red ones being ∼30 per cent smaller than the blue ones. We identify many similarities between the GC system of the Sombrero and those of both late-type spirals and early-type galaxies. Thus both the GC system and the Hubble type of the Sombrero galaxy appear to be intermediate in their nature.     

Analysing temporal trends in the Indian Summer Monsoon and its variability at a fine spatial resolution

Temporal trends between 1951 and 2007 in annual Indian Summer Monsoon (ISM) precipitation, frequency of severe drought years and onset date of ISM were analysed on a 0.25°?×?0.25° grid cell basis across India using APHRODITE daily gridded precipitation data. Locations which experienced temporal trends of increasing or decreasing inter-annual variation in annual ISM precipitation and onset date of ISM were detected using the non-parametric Mann-Kendall test. A new method of defining local onset of ISM from daily precipitation data was developed to enable countrywide temporal trend analysis of onset date. India was characterised by a heterogeneous spatial distribution in the magnitude of inter-annual variation and location of significant temporal trends in the examined facets of ISM precipitation. A greater extent of the country experienced significant trends (p?<?0.05) of increasing inter-annual variation rather than simple increasing or decreasing trends in annual ISM precipitation and onset date of ISM. Field significance tests showed grid cells reporting significant trends were significant (p?<?0.05) at the global or field level (except trends of increasing, i.e. later, ISM onset date). This research provides finer spatial detail regarding trends and variation in annual ISM precipitation, severe drought years and onset date of ISM complementing recent studies on trends in extreme precipitation events over India to produce a comprehensive overview of recent behaviour of ISM precipitation. These findings will benefit water managers charged with managing water resources sustainably at a fine spatial scale (the watershed or basin level).     

An explanation for the soft X-ray excess in active galactic nuclei

We present a large sample of type 1 active galactic nuclei (AGN) spectra taken with XMM–Newton , and fit them with both the conventional model (a power law and blackbody) and the relativistically blurred photoionized disc reflection model of Ross & Fabian. We find that the disc reflection model is a better fit. The disc reflection model successfully reproduces the continuum shape, including the soft excess, of all the sources. The model also reproduces many features that would conventionally be interpreted as absorption edges. We are able to use the model to infer the properties of the sources, specifically that the majority of black holes in the sample are strongly rotating, and that there is a deficit in sources with an inclination >70°. We conclude that the disc reflection model is an important tool in the study of AGN X-ray spectra.