Gamma-Ray Burst Detection with INTEGRAL/SPI

The spectrometer SPI, one of the two main instruments of the INTEGRAL spacecraft, has strong capabilities in the Field of Gamma-Ray Burst (GRB) detections. In its 16 degree Field of view (FoV) SPI is able to trigger and to localize GRBs. With its large anticoincidence shield (ACS) of 512 kg of BGO crystals SPI is able to detect GRBs quasi omnidirectionally with a very high sensitivity. The ACS GRB alerts will provide GRB arrival times with high accuracy but with no or very rough positional information. The expected GRB detection rate in SPI's FoV will be one per month and for the ACS around 300 per year. At MPE two SPI software contributions to the real-time INTEGRAL burst-alert system (IBAS) at the INTEGRAL science data centre ISDC have been developed. The SPI-ACS branch of IBAS will produce burst alerts and light-curves with 50 ms resolution. It is planned to use ACS burst alerts in the 3rd interplanetary network. The SPI-FoV branch of IBAS is currently under development at MPE. The system is using the energy and timing information of single and multiple events detected by the Germanium-camera of SPI. Using the imaging algorithm developed at the University of Birmingham the system is expected to locate strong bursts with an accuracy of better than 1 degree.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figure

Social and Economic Activity of the Elder Generation in Tomsk Region

Social and economic activity of the Russian elder generation has a contradictory nature. On the one hand, Russian pensioners often continue working beyond the existing comparatively low retirement age, on the other hand, in terms of involvement in volunteering, political activities, and even in care for children and grandchildren they lag significantly behind the average European level. Explaining it only by the lack of time does not seem plausible, since in many European countries, the employment rates, involvement in unpaid work and caring for other family members are all higher than in Russia. In our study we attempt to identify reasons for lower social and economic activity of older adults in Russia as compared with European countries. We use data of Tomsk regional survey (2015, N=400) for accessing older adults' social activity. Data analysis on Tomsk region suggests that employment (as an activity) and education (as a prerequisite) contribute to higher involvement in social interactions in later life

Multi-paradigm modelling for cyber–physical systems: a descriptive framework

The complexity of cyber–physical systems (CPSS) is commonly addressed through complex workflows, involving models in a plethora of different formalisms, each with their own methods, techniques, and tools. Some workflow patterns, combined with particular types of formalisms and operations on models in these formalisms, are used successfully in engineering practice. To identify and reuse them, we refer to these combinations of workflow and formalism patterns as modelling paradigms. This paper proposes a unifying (Descriptive) Framework to describe these paradigms, as well as their combinations. This work is set in the context of Multi-Paradigm Modelling (MPM), which is based on the principle to model every part and aspect of a system explicitly, at the most appropriate level(s) of abstraction, using the most appropriate modelling formalism(s) and workflows. The purpose of the Descriptive Framework presented in this paper is to serve as a basis to reason about these formalisms, workflows, and their combinations. One crucial part of the framework is the ability to capture the structural essence of a paradigm through the concept of a paradigmatic structure. This is illustrated informally by means of two example paradigms commonly used in CPS: Discrete Event Dynamic Systems and Synchronous Data Flow. The presented framework also identifies the need to establish whether a paradigm candidate follows, or qualifies as, a (given) paradigm. To illustrate the ability of the framework to support combining paradigms, the paper shows examples of both workflow and formalism combinations. The presented framework is intended as a basis for characterisation and classification of paradigms, as a starting point for a rigorous formalisation of the framework (allowing formal analyses), and as a foundation for MPM tool development

Visible-to-telecom quantum frequency conversion of light from a single quantum emitter

Quantum frequency conversion (QFC), a nonlinear optical process in which the frequency of a quantum light field is altered while conserving its non-classical correlations, was first demonstrated 20 years ago. Meanwhile, it is considered an essential tool for the implementation of quantum repeaters since it allows for interfacing quantum memories with telecom-wavelength photons as quantum information carriers. Here we demonstrate efficient (>30%) QFC of visible single photons (711 nm) emitted by a quantum dot (QD) to a telecom wavelength (1,313 nm). Analysis of the first and second-order coherence before and after wavelength conversion clearly proves that important properties, such as the coherence time and photon antibunching, are fully conserved during the frequency translation process. Our findings underline the great potential of single photon sources on demand in combination with QFC as a promising technique for quantum repeater schemes.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figure