Circumnuclear HI disks in radio galaxies: The case of Cen A and B2 0258+35

New HI observations of the nearby radio-loud galaxies Centaurus A and B2 0258+35 show broad absorption (Delta_v=400km/s) against the unresolved nuclei. Both sources belong to the cases where blue- and redshifted absorption is observed at the same time. In previous Cen A observations only a relative narrow range of redshifted absorption was detected. We show that the data suggest in both cases the existence of a circumnuclear disk. For Cen A the nuclear absorption might be the atomic counterpart of the molecular circumnuclear disk that is seen in CO and H_2. Higher resolution observations are now needed to locate the absorption and to further investigate the structure and kinematics of the central region of the AGN and the way the AGN are fueled.Comment: Talk given at "The Central Kiloparsec: Active Galactic Nuclei and Their Hosts", Ierapetra, Crete, 4-6 June, 2008. To appear in Volume 79 of the Memorie della Societa Astronomica Italiana. 4 pages, 2 figure

Classical radio source propagating into outer HI disc in NGC 3801

We present observations of a large-scale disc of neutral hydrogen (HI) in the nearby Fanaroff & Riley type-I radio galaxy NGC 3801 with the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope. The HI disc (34 kpc in diameter and with M_HI = 1.3 x 10^9 M_sun) is aligned with the radio jet axis. This makes NGC 3801 an ideal system for investigating the evolution of a small radio source through its host galaxy's cold ISM. The large-scale HI disc is perpendicular to a known inner CO disc and dust-lane. We argue that the formation history of the large-scale HI disc is in agreement with earlier speculation that NGC 3801 was involved in a past gas-rich galaxy-galaxy merger (although other formation histories are discussed). The fact that NGC 3801 is located in an environment of several HI-rich companions, and shows indications of ongoing interaction with the nearby companion NGC 3802, strengthens this possibility. The large amounts of ambient cold ISM, combined with X-ray results by Croston et al (2007) on the presence of over-pressured radio jets and evidence for an obscuring torus, are properties that are generally not, or no longer, associated with more evolved FR-I radio sources. We do show, however, that the HI properties of NGC 3801 are comparable to those of a significant fraction of nearby low-power compact radio sources, suggesting that studies of NGC 3801 may reveal important insight into a more general phase in the evolution of at least a significant fraction of nearby radio galaxies.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS (6 figure, 2 tables

The Role of Neutral Hydrogen in the Evolution of Nearby Radio Galaxies

Most, if not all, galaxies harbour a super-massive black hole in their centre with masses up to a few billion times the mass of the Sun. In some cases, gas and matter from large distances (>3000 light years) reaches the circumnuclear environment (< a few light years) and feeds the black hole. Such black holes are called "Active Galactic Nuclei" (AGN). During this process, large amounts of radio-plasma can get ejected by jets forming giant radio lobes. Simulations show that mechanical "feedback" from AGN strongly regulates the growth of galaxies. Hence, AGN are crucial for the evolution of their hosts. However, how AGN work in detail and why a black hole becomes active is not yet entirely clear. Nuclear gas reservoirs seem to play an important role. Different mechanisms have been proposed for transporting the gas down to the central region. For instance, gas-rich galaxy mergers and interactions may be particularly important. This thesis examines the importance of cold gas in AGN host galaxies: gas structures at a scale of one million light years are observed in order to investigate the importance of interactions with companion galaxies, the gas disk dynamics is studied on a scale of 100,000 light years in order to search for gas which may be moving inwards, and the circumnuclear environment is probed on a 300 light year scale to address the question whether cold gas is indeed fuelling the AGN. Our results indicate that gas-rich interactions are likely not the main mechanism causing radio activity.

The logic of the CAP: Politics or Economics?

Distorted incentives, agricultural and trade policy reforms, national agricultural development, Agricultural and Food Policy, International Relations/Trade, F13, F14, Q17, Q18,

INSTITUTIONAL FOUNDATION OF AGRICULTURAL PROTECTION: THE CASE OF EU-ACCESSION AND AGRICULTURAL POLICY IN EASTERN EUROPEAN COUNTRIES

The literature on political economy analyses of agricultural protection mainly focus on the impact of economic and demographic structures on the level of agricultural protection (Tyers/Anderson 1992, Swinnen 1994, Rausser et al. 1974), although it is commonly accepted that beyond economic and demographic structures political institutions do have an impact on the political power of different interest groups and hence on agricultural policy output (Gardner 1987 as well as Binswanger et al. 1997). The impact of political institutions, e.g. the organization of legislature, election and party systems, on agricultural protection has hardly been taken into account explicitly in theoretical and empirical studies, yet. In this framework the paper investigates to what extent political institutions explain observed variances in the political power of the agrarian population in the ten Central and Eastern European Countries/Candidates (CEEC) applying for an accession of the EU. Moreover, it is analyzed to what extent EU-accession will be politically feasible given the specific political and economic framework conditions of the individual states. In particular, empirical analyses imply the following results: (i) the political power of the agrarian population varies significantly among the analyzed countries ranging from a relative low political weight of 0.115 of the agrarian population in Lativa up to an absolute political dominance of the agrarian population in Slovenia given a weight of 0.887. (ii) The political weights are significantly determined by political institutions. In particular, the more the election systems corresponds to a proportional representation and the more the parliamentary organization allows for a specialized representation of agrarian interests, e.g. bicameralism where a second chamber representing regional interests, and the more efficient the organization of agrarian interests, e.g. existence of a peasent party, the higher is the political weight of the agrarian population. (iii) Analyzing to what extent EU-accession is politically feasible in the CEEC-states we can show that, assuming national financing of EU-policy, EU-accession would be hardly politically feasible in any CEEC-countries. An exception might be seen in Slovenia. Thus political feasibility of EU-accession crucially depends on keeping the rule of financial solidarity. Moreover, assuming a comprehensive pre-accession CAP-reform will take place, possible options to achieve political feasibility in the CEEC-states under these conditions would be undertaking constitutional reforms. In particular, the implementation of electorate system corresponding closer to a proportional representation or the establishment of bicameralism would be, at least theoretically, possible options.Agricultural and Food Policy,

Economic Impact of the Mid-Term Review on Agricultural Production, Farm Income and Farm Survival: A Quantitative Analysis for Local Sub-Regions of Schleswig-Holstein in Germany

This study analyzes the impact of the Mid-Term Review (MTR) on the agricultural sector in Schleswig-Holstein, a federal state in Germany. First, a very detailed farm group linear programming model is built to quantify the effects on agricultural production and farm incomes. The production adjustment to the MTR and its impact on farm profit vary significantly between individual farms. These results depend mainly on the farm type and the resource endowments of the farms. Second, the impact on structural change is examined with a farm survival model. Although the MTR clearly reduces the incomes of several farm types, it accelerates the structural change only gradually.policy reform; modeling production adjustment; farm income; structural change