Exploring the potential X-ray counterpart of the puzzling TeV gamma-ray source HESS J1507-622 with new Suzaku observations

The unidentified VHE (E>100 GeV) gamma-ray source HESS J1507-622 seems to not fit into standard models for sources related to young supernova remnants, pulsar wind nebulae, or young stellar populations in general. This is due to its intrinsically extended, but yet compact morphology, coupled with a relative large offset (~3.5 deg) from the Galactic plane. Therefore, it has been suggested that this object may be the first representative of a new distinct class of extended off-plane gamma-ray sources. The distance to HESS J1507-622 is the key parameter to constrain the source's most important properties, such as age and energetics of the relativistic particle population. In this article we report on results of follow-up observations of the potential X-ray counterpart with Suzaku. We present detailed measurements of its spectral parameters and find a high absorbing hydrogen column density, compatible with the total amount of Galactic gas in this direction. In comparisons to measurements and models of the Galactic three-dimensional gas distribution we show that the potential X-ray counterpart of HESS J1507-622 may be located at the far end of the Galaxy. If the gamma-ray source is indeed physically connected to this extended X-ray source, this in turn would place the object outside of the usual distribution of Galactic VHE gamma-ray emitters.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication by MNRA

Towards a change process planning tool

The relationship between a product and its design process is generally complex and not fully understood. When modifying a product, industry still rarely considers the implementation process and its consequences for other design activities in the company, which is hard to assess with conventional planning methods. Although change processes are highly constrained, product and process constraints are not usually considered together or traded off against each other when planning the change. Inadequate assessment and planning of the change implementation process can lead to costly knock-on effects across the product and the design process. This paper argues for a combination of change and process research and discusses requirements for a change process planning tool. It proposes a system for the analysis of the impact of change on the product as well as other company activities. Then, a more informed selection between change alternatives is possible

A functional analysis of change propagation

A thorough understanding of change propagation is fundamental to effective change management during product redesign. A new model of change propagation, as a result of the interaction of form and function is presented and used to develop an analysis method that determines how change is likely to propagate. The analysis produces a Design Structure Matrix, which clearly illustrates change propagation paths and highlights connections that could otherwise be ignored. This provides the user with an in-depth knowledge of product connectivity, which has the potential to support the design process and reduce the product's susceptibility to future change

Spatially Invariant Coding of Numerical Information in Functionally Defined Subregions of Human Parietal Cortex

Macaque electrophysiology has revealed neurons responsive to number in lateral (LIP) and ventral (VIP) intraparietal areas. Recently, fMRI pattern recognition revealed information discriminative of individual numbers in human parietal cortex but without precisely localizing the relevant sites or testing for subregions with different response profiles. Here, we defined the human functional equivalents of LIP (feLIP) and VIP (feVIP) using neurophysiologically motivated localizers. We applied multivariate pattern recognition to investigate whether both regions represent numerical information and whether number codes are position specific or invariant. In a delayed number comparison paradigm with laterally presented numerosities, parietal cortex discriminated between numerosities better than early visual cortex, and discrimination generalized across hemifields in parietal, but not early visual cortex. Activation patterns in the 2 parietal regions of interest did not differ in the coding of position-specific or position-independent number information, but in the expression of a numerical distance effect which was more pronounced in feLIP. Thus, the representation of number in parietal cortex is at least partially position invariant. Both feLIP and feVIP contain information about individual numerosities in humans, but feLIP hosts a coarser representation of numerosity than feVIP, compatible with either broader tuning or a summation cod

A Search for Diffuse X-ray Emission from GeV Detected Galactic Globular Clusters

Recently, diffuse and extended sources in TeV gamma-rays as well as in X-rays have been detected in the direction of the Galactic globular cluster (GC) Terzan 5. Remarkably, this is among the brightest GCs detected in the GeV regime. The nature of both the TeV and the diffuse X-ray signal from Terzan 5 is not settled yet. These emissions most likely indicate the presence of several non-thermal radiation processes in addition to these giving rise to the GeV signal. The aim of this work is to search for diffuse X-ray emission from the GeV detected GCs M 62, NGC 6388, NGC 6541, M 28, M 80 and NGC 6139 to compare the obtained results with the signal detected from Terzan 5. This study will help to determine whether Terzan 5 stands out amongst other GC or whether a whole population of globular clusters feature similar properties. None of the six GCs show significant diffuse X-ray emission on similar scales as observed from Terzan 5 above the particle and diffuse galactic X-ray background components. The derived upper limits allow to assess the validity of different models that were discussed in the interpretation of the multi-wavelength data of Terzan 5. A scenario based on synchrotron emission from relativistic leptons provided by the millisecond pulsar population can not be securely rejected if a comparable magnetic field strength as in Terzan 5 is assumed for every GC. However, such a scenario seems to be unlikely for NGC 6388 and M 62. An inverse-Compton scenario relying on the presence of a putative GRB remnant with the same properties as the one proposed for Terzan 5 can be ruled out for all of the six GCs. Finally, the assumption that each GC hosts a source with the same luminosity as in Terzan 5 is ruled out for all GCs but NGC 6139. (abridged)Comment: 8 pages, 1 Figure, accepted for publication by Astronomy & Astrophysics, final version after language editin

The Policy of Enforcement: Red Light Cameras and Racial Profiling

The article of record as published may be located at http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1098611115586174We explore the question of whether some of the often conflicting evidence of racial profiling can be cleared up using red light camera observations to measure racial disparities in traffic violations. Using data from cameras at intersections matched to census data, we find that although citations from the red light cameras are issued to a disproportionate number of minorities based on the racial composition of the surrounding location, the racial composition of the violator is consistent with the racial composition of the block group in which they reside. Our study indicates that red light cameras may have a present and future role in assisting public policy makers on issues of racial profiling thresholds

The ideal gas as an urn model: derivation of the entropy formula

The approach of an ideal gas to equilibrium is simulated through a generalization of the Ehrenfest ball-and-box model. In the present model, the interior of each box is discretized, {\it i.e.}, balls/particles live in cells whose occupation can be either multiple or single. Moreover, particles occasionally undergo random, but elastic, collisions between each other and against the container walls. I show, both analitically and numerically, that the number and energy of particles in a given box eventually evolve to an equilibrium distribution $W$ which, depending on cell occupations, is binomial or hypergeometric in the particle number and beta-like in the energy. Furthermore, the long-run probability density of particle velocities is Maxwellian, whereas the Boltzmann entropy $\ln W$ exactly reproduces the ideal-gas entropy. Besides its own interest, this exercise is also relevant for pedagogical purposes since it provides, although in a simple case, an explicit probabilistic foundation for the ergodic hypothesis and for the maximum-entropy principle of thermodynamics. For this reason, its discussion can profitably be included in a graduate course on statistical mechanics.Comment: 17 pages, 3 figure