QUBIC: The QU Bolometric Interferometer for Cosmology

One of the major challenges of modern cosmology is the detection of B-mode polarization anisotropies in the CMB. These originate from tensor fluctuations of the metric produced during the inflationary phase. Their detection would therefore constitute a major step towards understanding the primordial Universe. The expected level of these anisotropies is however so small that it requires a new generation of instruments with high sensitivity and extremely good control of systematic effects. We propose the QUBIC instrument based on the novel concept of bolometric interferometry, bringing together the sensitivity advantages of bolometric detectors with the systematics effects advantages of interferometry. Methods: The instrument will directly observe the sky through an array of entry horns whose signals will be combined together using an optical combiner. The whole set-up is located inside a cryostat. Polarization modulation will be achieved using a rotating half-wave plate and interference fringes will be imaged on two focal planes (separated by a polarizing grid) tiled with bolometers. We show that QUBIC can be considered as a synthetic imager, exactly similar to a usual imager but with a synthesized beam formed by the array of entry horns. Scanning the sky provides an additional modulation of the signal and improve the sky coverage shape. The usual techniques of map-making and power spectrum estimation can then be applied. We show that the sensitivity of such an instrument is comparable with that of an imager with the same number of horns. We anticipate a low level of beam-related systematics thanks to the fact that the synthesized beam is determined by the location of the primary horns. Other systematics should be under good control thanks to an autocalibration technique, specific to our concept, that will permit the accurate determination of most of the systematics parameters.Comment: 12 pages, 10 figures, submitted to Astronomy and Astrophysic

Crise de abastecimento de água em São Paulo e falta de planejamento estratégico

Embora a crise no abastecimento de água na Região Metropolitana de São Paulo (RMSP) tenha se manifestado de maneira mais intensa no verão de 2013-2014, ela revela um problema crônico que vem afetando toda a Região nos últimos dez anos. Esse problema foi gerado pela falta de um planejamento estratégico que considere questões climatológicas que podem indicar, com meses de antecedência, problemas de recomposição dos níveis dos mananciais, permitindo que ações sejam empreendidas com razoável antecedência, reduzindo os impactos para a população. Este estudo mostra como é possível utilizar informações climáticas na gestão estratégica do sistema de abastecimento da RMSP.Though the crisis in the water supplying system in the Metropolitan Region of São Paulo (RMSP) was more intensively felt in the 2013-2014 summer, it reveals a chronic problem that has been affecting the whole RMSP for the past ten years. This problem is originated from the lack of a strategic planning that takes into consideration climate issues that could, months before, foresee problems to restore the levels of water resources, allowing measures to be implemented within a reasonable anticipation, therefore reducing the impacts on the population. This study shows how it is possible to use climate information in the strategic management of the water supply in the RMSP

Modelagem da precipitação pluvial diária intra-anual da Bacia Hidrográfica Paraná III associada aos eventos ENOS

A região oeste do estado do Paraná, que abrange a Bacia Hidrográfica Paraná III, possui um sistema agrícola ainda muito dependente das condições climáticas. Diante disto, os aspectos que envolvem a construção de modelos probabilísticos, capazes de determinar parâmetros de ocorrência e quantificação da precipitação pluvial diária, têm-se destacado como fator necessário e fundamental para consecução dos projetos regionais, em todas as áreas. Portanto, o objetivo deste trabalho foi realizar a construção dos referidos modelos considerando-se a ocorrência dos fenômenos ENOS e se utilizando, para tal, os dados de 34 estações meteorológicas com séries superiores a 21 anos de registros diários, obtidos junto à Agência Nacional de Água. A modelagem da ocorrência da precipitação diária foi tratada por meio dos processos de Markov enquanto a modelagem da quantidade precipitada foi feita por meio do ajuste à função gama de probabilidade. Para a validação do ajuste utilizou-se o teste de Kolmogorov-Smirnov e a partir dos resultados obtidos foi possível constatar que a metodologia desenvolvida pode ser aplicada para a simulação de séries sintéticas de precipitação pluvial diária para a área de estudo

Re-designing the media in humanitarian interventions communicating with communities at times of crisis

When looking at the context of humanitarian interventions, a new approach to the use of the media and communication during conflict and other disasters has been emerging in recent years. Known in the humanitarian field under the term Communicating with Communities (CwC), this approach aims to address the short-term complexities and issues that arise in the immediate aftermath of a crisis, and seeks ways to provide a rapid response to emergencies through the use of the media. This chapter begins with a discussion of some of the literature that brings together concepts from Media & Communication and Peace Studies, highlighting what still needs to be examined from a communication perspective when we think more specifically about humanitarian interventions. The recent literature on CwC in the context of conflict, which still largely belongs to the grey sphere, is then explored. The implications and the potential that the adoption of this tool brings to international aid are also discussed; in particular, concepts and ideas related to its practice are considered in the light of the framework of ‘communicative ecology’ (Tacchi et al. 2003), which illustrates how different media and communication channels are embedded in people’s lives. Lastly, this chapter highlights the significance of this communication approach in connection with journalism, and how the two fields can work together for an improved aid effort. Within the specific milieu of this chapter, the words ‘disaster’, ‘emergency’ and ‘crisis’ indicate the incidence of violent conflict. The meaning connected to these terms is based on the definition provided by Simon et al. (2015), who consider disaster as ‘a state in which the social fabric is disrupted and becomes dysfunctional to a greater or lesser extent, causing maximum community disruption and dislocation’ (p. 610)