2,638 research outputs found
The NOD3 software package: A graphical user interface-supported reduction package for single-dish radio continuum and polarisation observations
The venerable NOD2 data reduction software package for single-dish radio
continuum observations, developed for use at the 100-m Effelsberg radio
telescope, has been successfully applied over many decades. Modern computing
facilities call for a new design.
We aim to develop an interactive software tool with a graphical user
interface (GUI) for the reduction of single-dish radio continuum maps. Special
effort is given on the reduction of distortions along the scanning direction
(scanning effects) by combining maps scanned in orthogonal directions or dual-
or multiple-horn observations that need to be processed in a restoration
procedure. The package should also process polarisation data and offer the
possibility to include special tasks written by the individual user.
Based on the ideas of the NOD2 package we developed NOD3, which includes all
necessary tasks from the raw maps to the final maps in total intensity and
linear polarisation. Furthermore, plot routines and several methods for map
analysis are available. The NOD3 package is written in Python which allows to
extend the package by additional tasks. The required data format for the input
maps is FITS.
NOD3 is a sophisticated tool to process and analyse maps from single-dish
observations that are affected by 'scanning effects' due to clouds, receiver
instabilities, or radio-frequency interference (RFI). The 'basket-weaving' tool
combines orthogonally scanned maps to a final map that is almost free of
scanning effects. The new restoration tool for dual-beam observations reduces
the noise by a factor of about two compared to the NOD2 version. Combining
single-dish with interferometer data in the map plane ensures the full recovery
of the total flux density.Comment: 8 pages, 10 figures, Accepted for publication in A&
Synchrotron spectral index and interstellar medium densities of star-forming galaxies
The spectral index of synchrotron emission is an important parameter in
understanding the properties of cosmic ray electrons (CREs) and the
interstellar medium (ISM). We determine the synchrotron spectral index
() of four nearby star-forming galaxies, namely NGC 4736, NGC
5055, NGC 5236 and NGC 6946 at sub-kpc linear scales. The was
determined between 0.33 and 1.4 GHz for all the galaxies. We find the spectral
index to be flatter () in regions with total neutral (atomic +
molecular) gas surface density, , typically in the arms and inner parts of the galaxies. In regions
with , especially in the
interarm and outer regions of the galaxies, the spectral index steepens sharply
to . The flattening of is unlikely to be caused due to
thermal free--free absorption at 0.33 GHz. Our result is consistent with the
scenario where the CREs emitting at frequencies below GHz are
dominated by bremsstrahlung and/or ionization losses. For denser medium
(), having strong magnetic
fields (G), is seen to be flatter than ,
perhaps caused due to ionization losses. We find that, due to the clumpy nature
of the ISM, such dense regions cover only a small fraction of the galaxy
( percent). Thus, the galaxy-integrated spectrum may not show
indication of such loss mechanisms and remain a power-law over a wide range of
radio frequencies (between to 10 GHz).Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, 2 tables, Accepted to be published in MNRA
New tools and new tests in comparative political economy - the database of political institutions
This paper introduces a large new cross-country database on political institutions: the Database on Political Institutions (DPI). The authors summarize key variables (many of them new), compare this data set with others, and explore the range of issues for which the data should prove invaluable. Among the novel variables they introduce: 1) Several measures of tenure, stability, and checks and balances. 2) Identification of parties with the government coalition or the opposition. 3) Fragmentation of opposition and government parties in legislatures. The authors illustrate the application of DPI variables to several problems in political economy. Stepan and Skach, for example, find that democracy is more likely to survive under parliamentary governments than presidential systems. But this result is not robust to the use of different variables from the DPI, which raises puzzles for future research. Similarly, Roubini and Sachs, find that divided governments in the OECD run higher budget deficits after fiscal shocks. Replication of their work using DPI indicators of divided government indicates otherwise, again suggesting issues for future research. Among questions in political science and economics, that this database may illuminate: the determinants of democratic consolidation, the political conditions for economic reform, the political and institutional roots of corruption, and the elements of appropriate and institutionally sensitive design of economic policy.Decentralization,Parliamentary Government,National Governance,Information Technology,ICT Policy and Strategies,National Governance,Parliamentary Government,ICT Policy and Strategies,Information Technology,Governance Indicators
Megarian Moments. The Local World of an Ancient Greek City-State
Situated near the main traffic artery in Central Greece and surrounded by poleis that were more powerful, the ancient city-state of Megara was often a punching bag of others. In neighbouring Athens in particular, the Megarians were subject to all sorts of slander and expressions of chauvinism. The people of Megara, by default, had their own assessment of the world and their role in it. A highway to others, the Megarid, was a rich source of meaning and orientation to its inhabitants. This local backdrop, often misunderstood as petty or irrelevant, constituted a unique local discourse environment. Rather than telling a narrative history of Megara – unravelling its local history, as it were –, this volume delves into the local discourse of this ancient city. The various contributions all shed light on the prevailing identity of place, on what it meant to be from Megara. In doing so, the book unpacks the vibrant local life in a Greek city-state. In their endeavour to break the code of a local discourse and recreate its environment, the editors and authors also invite readers to rethink approximations toward the pluriverse of poleis in Greek Antiquity
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