This site contains the following information about the meeting:
The Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory provided a new insight into the high energy window of the Universe. The EGRET instrument left as legacy its Third Catalog of High Energy Gamma-Ray Sources, providing so far one type of persistent extragalactic gamma-ray sources
-blazars- and one type of Galactic sources -pulsars. Most of the newly discovered objects are unidentified sources, with a clearly predominant Galactic population. Are all these radio-quiet pulsars, like Geminga, or is there a novel type of emitter, awaiting identification?
In spite of the limited angular resolution provided by EGRET and COMPTEL,
there is still much to learn about unidentified sources: correlation studies, multiwavelength observations and theoretical work can provide valuable clues, specially if these efforts are carried out in a coordinated manner.
The aim of this workshop is to gather most of the experts on the subject, including observational astronomers specialized in other regions of the electromagnetic spectrum, in an effort to address the question of the Nature
of Galactic high-energy gamma-ray sources, both from the theoretical and
observational perspective, and elaborate schemes for future identification
studies which can make use of existing and forthcoming facilities.
The workshop will take place from October 9 to 11, 2000, in the Instituto Nacional de Astrofísica Optica y Electrónica (INAOE), at Tonantzintla, site of the former Mexican Astrophysical Observatory.
In the last five years INAOE has organized several
international conferences, including an IAU Latin-American Regional Meeting.
Tonantzintla is located 5kms South of the prehispanic city of Cholula
and 12kms SW from the city of Puebla. With two million inhabitants, Puebla is one of the major cities in Mexico, both in size and in cultural life.
Puebla is located 120 kms East of Mexico City. A bus service links Mexico City airport with Puebla, every 30 minutes, ensuring easy travel to
INAOE visitors.
The contact data for INAOE and the workshop are:
Electronic communications:
You will be able to contact participants ringing +52(2)2663100, then (when
the recorded message starts) dial 2314. During coffee breaks and lunch time
participants might be near; at other times you will be able to leave a message.
Street address:
Postal Box address:
The workshop aim is to promote ample discussion. Talks will be
followed by ample discussion.
An updated program is now available.
Power-point projection facilities will be available.
Tuesday afternoon is left for social activities, with a visit to Cacaxtla organized by the LOC.
Scientific Organizing Committee: Local Organizing Committee:
Other hotel options are available, although practically all in Puebla, of which
we recommned:
There will be early registration at the hotel Posada Señorial from
Sunday afternoon (opening a couple of hours before the welcome cocktail).
If you are staying somewhere else (except Villas, which is in walking distance from Posada Señorial), i.e. in Puebla, it is convenient to rent a car. A drive between Puebla and Tonanztintla takes under 30 mins.
Best exchange rates are found in CASAS de CAMBIO (exchange houses) open only
on weekdays, usually from 9 am to 5 pm. Most banks open only on weekdays,
also from 9 am to 5 pm. The airport has 24 hour money exchange counters.
USA cash or travellers checks are easier to change into pesos than other
types of currency.
Fax: +52(2)2472231
Phone: +52(2)2663100 (x2314/x1324) -- automatic operator
Phone: +52(2)2472011 (x2314/x1324) -- human operator
Email: gamma00@inaoep.mx
Galactic Gamma-Ray Sources
Attn: Alberto Carramiñana / Divakara Mayya
Instituto Nacional de Astrofísica Optica y Electrónica
Luis Enrique Erro 1
Tonantzintla, Puebla 72840
MEXICO
Instituto Nacional de Astrofísica Optica y Electrónica
Apartado Postal 51 y 216
Puebla, Puebla 72000
MEXICO
. Monday 9-oct-2000 Tuesday 10-oct-2000 Wednesday 11-oct-2000
0900
INTRODUCTION
Unidentified sources and their gamma-ray properties
CANDIDATES 1
Theory & observations on SNRs and young objects
CANDIDATES 3
Interstellar gas, Galactic microquasars & exotic sources
1100 Coffee break Coffee break Coffee break
1130
UNIDENTIFIED SOURCE POPULATION
Correlations
PROSPECTS
Instruments and horizons
IDENTIFICATION STRATEGIES
Multiwavelength round table
WORKSHOP SUMMARY and highlights
1300 Lunch Lunch Lunch & end of workshop
1400
NEUTRON STARS
Theory & observations of high-energy pulsars
SOCIAL AFTERNOON
Planned (or unplanned) activities
1600 UNIDENTIFIED SOURCE POPULATION
multiwavelength properties
and perspectives
Alberto Carramiñana (INAOE),
Olaf Reimer (GSFC)
Gottfried Kanbach (MPE)
Dave Thompson (GSFC)
Matthew Baring (GSFC)
Michael Catanese (SAO)
Karen Brazier (Durham)
Gustavo Romero (IAR/UNLP)
Roger Romani (Stanford)
Dale Frail (NRAO)
Alberto Carramiñana
Divakara Mayya
Daniel Rosa
Gabriela López and Germán de Santos
At this stage participants are suppossed to have done their hotel arrangments,
either through us or by themselves. We have reserved rooms at the hotel Posada
Señorial in Cholula, some 5kms away from the conference site at
Tonantzintla. The rates are 345 pesos for an occupant on a single
room, 220 pesos for each occupant of a double room, including breakfast.
If you have not arranged your accomodation you can contact us, or contact the
hotel directly at +52(2)2470059, asking for Beatriz Tlahuisca (mention the
workshop).
For Tuesday afternoon, the LOC is organizing a visit to the archeological site of Cacaxtla, one of the few Mexican sites with prehispanic paintings, apart from the ruins from the Olmecas-Xicalancas, dated between 600 and 900 AD. It is located some 30 kms NW from INAOE and getting there (by bus) should take around 30 mins. Soledad del Rio has a splendid page about Cacaxtla.
A registration fee of 100 US dollars will be charged (75 USD for students)
to all participants.
This is to be paid cash in pesos or US Dollars when registering.
The fee covers the proceedings, welcome cocktail (at Hotel Posada
Señorial), Tuesday tour to Cacaxtla,
coffee breaks, transport between hotel Posada Señorial and INAOE
(+ help us with extra expenses).
Note that the town of Tonantzintla has no restaurant. Lunch will be organized
at the workshop site on Monday to Wednesday. The cost is 12 US dollars per lunch and tickets need to be acquired at the registration desk. Menu includes vegetarian dishes.
We will provide transport between the hotel Posada Señorial ONLY and
the conference site. Taxis -free of charge- from the company "Taxi-Fam" will
be available at the hotel at 8:30am (at 8:20am on Monday). We recommend these
if you want to move around. Taxi-Fam phone number is 2445900 and 2337799.
The main gateway to the country is Mexico City airport, linked to Puebla
by a comfortable bus service that runs every 30 minutes. Puebla has its own
international airport, with daily flights to and from Dallas and Houston.
If you are flying to Mexico City or directly to Puebla, follow these
instructions, and have a look to the map.
If you plan to spend some extra days around, you can check
the Starburst local guide to Tonantzintla, Puebla and suroundings, Sole's page on Mexico or a more formal web guide of the country in Mexico-travel.
The Mexican currency is the peso represented by the symbol N$. The present
correct exchange rate with the U.S. dollar is about N$ 9.6 = 1 USD but this
changes with time. You can check the latest conversion factor at CNN.com.
Please
make sure you have some pesos with you BEFORE leaving the Mexico City airport,
where there are plenty of currency exchange offices. Once in Mexico, not all
places take US dollars or traveller's checks. Foreign credit cards are
accepted in major restaurents, stores and hotels.
The region of Puebla, Cholula and Tonantzintla is located at an altitude of 2200 meters (7100 feet). There is usually no rain at this time of the year. The average temperature varies from some 20 C (68 F) in the daytime to about 5 C (41 F) in the night/morning. Ocassionally the night time temperature can drop to about the freezing point. Note that the air is thin and dry.
Spanish is the official language in Mexico. Because Puebla is not overly
frequented by tourists, very few people speak English. We advise you to
have a good dictionary and a phrasebook when you venture out.
Come prepared if you have a medical condition that can be affected by
high altitude. The main health risk is traveller's diarrhea and precautions
can be taken to reduce this risk. Please refer to a good travel guide for
details.
Mexican cuisine is among the best in the world, but those visiting for
the first time should take some precautions. There are some spicy sauces
(salsas picantes) which could be very aggressive to unaware mouths: before
adding any sauce to your food, try a small amount of it on a piece of bread.
Also, to avoid traveller's diarrhea (or any other stomach disease), do not
drink tap water and do not eat raw fruits or vegetables without skin.
Drink only bottled water.
This event is supported by CONACyT: Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología. A limited amount of funding assistance is available.
Updated 2 of october 2000 by gamma00@inaoep.mx
