8,217 research outputs found
Signatures of the Youngest Starbursts: Optically-thick Thermal Bremsstrahlung Radio Sources in Henize 2-10
VLA radio continuum imaging reveals compact (<8 pc) ~1 mJy radio sources in
the central 5" starburst region of the blue compact galaxy Henize 2-10. We
interpret these radio knots as extremely young, ultra-dense HII regions. We
model their luminosities and spectral energy distributions, finding that they
are consistent with unusually dense HII regions having electron densities, 1500
cm^-3 < n_e < 5000 cm^-3, and sizes of 3-8 pc. Since these H II regions are not
visible in optical images, we propose that the radio data preferentially reveal
the youngest, densest, and most highly obscured starforming events. Energy
considerations imply that each of the five \HII regions contains ~750 O7V
equivalent stars, greater than the number found in 30 Doradus in the LMC. The
high densities imply an over-pressure compared to the typical interstellar
medium so that such objects must be short-lived (<0.5 Myr expansion
timescales). We conclude that the radio continuum maps reveal the very young
(<0.5 Myr) precursors of ``super starclusters'' or ``proto globular clusters''
which are prominent at optical and UV wavelengths in He 2-10. If the
ultra-dense HII regions are typical of those which we predict will be found in
other starbursting systems, then super starclusters spend 15% of their lifetime
in heavily-obscured environments, similar to Galactic ultra-compact HII
regions. This body of work leads us to propose that massive extragalactic star
clusters (i.e. proto globular clusters) with ages <10^6 yr may be most easily
identified by finding compact radio sources with optically-thick thermal
bremsstrahlung spectral signatures.Comment: AASTeX, 8 figures 2 included with psfig in text; other 6 in jpeg
format; Postscript versions of figures may be found at
http://zem.ucolick.org/chip/Research/young_clusters.html -- Accepted for
publication in the Astrophysical Journa
Herbert Simon's decision-making approach: Investigation of cognitive processes in experts
This is a post print version of the article. The official published can be obtained from the links below - PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved.Herbert Simon's research endeavor aimed to understand the processes that participate in human decision making. However, despite his effort to investigate this question, his work did not have the impact in the “decision making” community that it had in other fields. His rejection of the assumption of perfect rationality, made in mainstream economics, led him to develop the concept of bounded rationality. Simon's approach also emphasized the limitations of the cognitive system, the change of processes due to expertise, and the direct empirical study of cognitive processes involved in decision making. In this article, we argue that his subsequent research program in problem solving and expertise offered critical tools for studying decision-making processes that took into account his original notion of bounded rationality. Unfortunately, these tools were ignored by the main research paradigms in decision making, such as Tversky and Kahneman's biased rationality approach (also known as the heuristics and biases approach) and the ecological approach advanced by Gigerenzer and others. We make a proposal of how to integrate Simon's approach with the main current approaches to decision making. We argue that this would lead to better models of decision making that are more generalizable, have higher ecological validity, include specification of cognitive processes, and provide a better understanding of the interaction between the characteristics of the cognitive system and the contingencies of the environment
A new capacitive sensor for displacement measurement in a surface force apparatus
We present a new capacitive sensor for displacement measurement in a Surface
Forces Apparatus (SFA) which allows dynamical measurements in the range of
0-100 Hz. This sensor measures the relative displacement between two
macroscopic opaque surfaces over periods of time ranging from milliseconds to
in principle an indefinite period, at a very low price and down to atomic
resolution. It consists of a plane capacitor, a high frequency oscillator, and
a high sensitivity frequency to voltage conversion. We use this sensor to study
the nanorheological properties of dodecane confined between glass surfaces.Comment: 7 pages, 8 figure
The eventization of leisure and the strange death of alternative Leeds
The communicative potential of city spaces as leisure spaces is a central assumption of political activism and the creation of alternative, counter-cultural and subcultural scenes. However, such potential for city spaces is limited by the gentrification, privatization and eventization of city centres in the wake of wider societal and cultural struggles over leisure, work and identity formation. In this paper, we present research on alternative scenes in the city of Leeds to argue that the eventization of the city centre has led to a marginalization and of alternative scenes on the fringes of the city. Such marginalization has not caused the death of alternative Leeds or political activism associated with those scenes—but it has changed the leisure spaces (physical, political and social) in which alternative scenes contest the mainstream
Gravito-magnetic amplification in cosmology
Magnetic fields interact with gravitational waves in various ways. We
consider the coupling between the Weyl and the Maxwell fields in cosmology and
study the effects of the former on the latter. The approach is fully analytical
and the results are gauge-invariant. We show that the nature and the outcome of
the gravito-magnetic interaction depends on the electric properties of the
cosmic medium. When the conductivity is high, gravitational waves reduce the
standard (adiabatic) decay rate of the B-field, leading to its superadiabatic
amplification. In poorly conductive environments, on the other hand,
Weyl-curvature distortions can result into the resonant amplification of
large-scale cosmological magnetic fields. Driven by the gravitational waves,
these B-fields oscillate with an amplitude that is found to diverge when the
wavelengths of the two sources coincide. We present technical and physical
aspects of the gravito-magnetic interaction and discuss its potential
implications.Comment: Typos corrected, clarifications added, published in PR
Beyond motivation: Job and work design for development, health, ambidexterity, and more
Much research shows it is possible to design motivating work, which has positive consequences for individuals and their organizations. This article reviews research that adopts this motivational perspective on work design, and it emphasizes that it is important to continue to refine motivational theories. In light of continued large numbers of poor-quality jobs, attention must also be given to influencing practice and policy to promote the effective implementation of enriched work designs. Nevertheless, current and future work-based challenges mean that designing work for motivation is necessary but insufficient. This review argues that work design can be a powerful vehicle for learning and development, for maintaining and enhancing employees' physical and mental health, and for achieving control and flexibility simultaneously (for example, in the form of ambidexterity); all these outcomes are important given the challenges in today's workplaces. The review concludes by suggesting methodological directions
Resurrecting melancholia
Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/65798/1/j.1600-0447.2007.00958.x.pd
Molecular dynamics simulation of the order-disorder phase transition in solid NaNO
We present molecular dynamics simulations of solid NaNO using pair
potentials with the rigid-ion model. The crystal potential surface is
calculated by using an \emph{a priori} method which integrates the \emph{ab
initio} calculations with the Gordon-Kim electron gas theory. This approach is
carefully examined by using different population analysis methods and comparing
the intermolecular interactions resulting from this approach with those from
the \emph{ab initio} Hartree-Fock calculations. Our numerics shows that the
ferroelectric-paraelectric phase transition in solid NaNO is triggered by
rotation of the nitrite ions around the crystallographical c axis, in agreement
with recent X-ray experiments [Gohda \textit{et al.}, Phys. Rev. B \textbf{63},
14101 (2000)]. The crystal-field effects on the nitrite ion are also addressed.
Remarkable internal charge-transfer effect is found.Comment: RevTeX 4.0, 11 figure
Effect of maternal panic disorder on mother-child interaction and relation to child anxiety and child self-efficacy
To determine whether mothers with panic disorder with or without agoraphobia interacted differently with their children than normal control mothers, 86 mothers and their adolescents (aged between 13 and 23 years) were observed during a structured play situation. Maternal as well as adolescent anxiety status was assessed according to a structured diagnostic interview. Results showed that mothers with panic disorder/agoraphobia showed more verbal control, were more criticizing and less sensitive during mother-child interaction than mothers without current mental disorders. Moreover, more conflicts were observed between mother and child dyadic interactions when the mother suffered from panic disorder. The comparison of parenting behaviors among anxious and non-anxious children did not reveal any significant differences. These findings support an association between parental over-control and rejection and maternal but not child anxiety and suggest that particularly mother anxiety status is an important determinant of parenting behavior. Finally, an association was found between children’s perceived self-efficacy, parental control and child anxiety symptoms
The turbulent destruction of clouds - I. A k-epsilon treatment of turbulence in 2D models of adiabatic shock-cloud interactions
The interaction of a shock with a cloud has been extensively studied in the
literature, where the effects of magnetic fields, radiative cooling and thermal
conduction have been considered. However, the formation of fully developed
turbulence has often been prevented by the artificial viscosity inherent in
hydrodynamical simulations, and a uniform post-shock flow has been assumed in
all previous single-cloud studies. In reality, the flow behind the shock is
also likely to be turbulent, with non-uniform density, pressure and velocity
structure created as the shock sweeps over inhomogenities upstream of the
cloud. To address these twin issues we use a sub-grid compressible k-epsilon
turbulence model to estimate the properties of the turbulence generated in
shock-cloud interactions and the resulting increase in the transport
coefficients that the turbulence brings. A detailed comparison with the output
from an inviscid hydrodynamical code puts these new results into context.
We find that cloud destruction in inviscid and k-epsilon models occurs at
roughly the same speed when the post-shock flow is smooth and when the density
contrast between the cloud and inter-cloud medium is less than 100. However,
there are increasing and significant differences as this contrast increases.
Clouds subjected to strong ``buffeting'' by a highly turbulent post-shock
environment are destroyed significantly quicker. Additional calculations with
an inviscid code where the post-shock flow is given random, grid-scale, motions
confirms the more rapid destruction of the cloud.
Our results clearly show that turbulence plays an important role in
shock-cloud interactions, and that environmental turbulence adds a new
dimension to the parameter space which has hitherto been studied (abridged).Comment: 31 pages, 22 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
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