Two-sided radio emission in ON231 (W Comae)

Recent radio images of the BL Lac object ON231 (W Com, 1219+285) show remarkable new features in the source structure compared to those previously published. The images were obtained from observations made with the European VLBI Network plus MERLIN at 1.6 GHz and 5 GHz after the exceptional optical outburst occurred in Spring 1998. The up-to-date B band historic light curve of ON231 is also presented together with the R band luminosity evolution in the period 1994--1999. We identify the source core in the radio images with the brightest component having the flattest spectrum. A consequence of this assumption is the existence of a two--sided emission in ON231 not detected in previous VLBI images. A further new feature is a large bend in the jet at about 10 mas from the core. The emission extends for about 20 mas after the bend, which might be due to strong interaction with the environment surrounding the nucleus. We suggest some possible interpretations to relate the changes in the source structure with the optical and radio flux density variation in the frame of the unification model.Comment: 8 pages, 8 figure

Multi-frequency VLBA observations of compact sources from the Peacock & Wall catalogue

VLBA observations are presented for 6 compact radio sources selected from the Peacock & Wall catalogue. From the new morphological and spectral information 2 objects that in the Peacock and Wall catalogue are flat spectrum (alpha < 0.5) sources, appear to be double sided objects with linear sizes of the order of one kpc. Three are core-jet sources and the last one is still an ``enigmatic'' object. These data complete the sample of small double compact sources in the Peacock & Wall catalogue and the complete list is given.Comment: 11 pages, 14 figures, aa.cls Accepted by A&

Hotel Resort Di Merauke ‘Organik Arsitektur'

Merauke merupakan Kabupaten yang terletak pada bagian selatan dari Provinsi Papua dan paling timur dari wilayah Republik Indonesia. Kekayaan dan aset wisatanya yang merupakan gabungan dari pemandangan alam dan keunikan kebudayaan pun melimpah ruah. Di Kota Merauke juga terdapat beberapa tempat-tempat wisata bahari. Diantaranya adalah Pantai Buti dan Pantai Nasem. Pantai Buti adalah pantai yang terletak tidak jauh dari batas kota Merauke. Pantai ini yang karena letaknya pada bagian timur kota Merauke sehingga sangat indah jika melihat terbenamnya mentari jika hari mulai petang dan juga dapat dibuat sebagai tempat rekreasi yang sangat menyenangkan. Pantai Buti merupakan Lokasi terpilih dalam perancangan Objek Hotel Resort di Merauke. Dengan penerapan tema Organik Arsitektur, yang mana perencanaan dan perancangan dengan mengambil sumber dari alam yang berupa mahluk hidup atau yang berhubungan dengan mahluk hidup, sebagai pokok dari bentuk dan fungsi bangunan. Berdasarkan data dan informasi yang diperoleh dari pemerintah Kabupaten Merauke yang menetapkan daerah pengembangan dan kawasan pariwisata adalah daerah pesisir pantai, kawasan lindung taman nasional wasur yang menjadi objek wisata di Kabupaten Merauke. Kondisi Tapak pada lokasi tidak berkontur, terletak dipersisir pantai dan sangat luas cocok untuk penempatan objek Hotel Resort. Pantai Lampu satu juga bisa menjadi salah satu aspek yang mendapat perhatian dari pemeritah Kabupaten untuk dikembangkan dan ditetapkan sebagai lokasi perencanaan dan pengembangan wisata. Kata Kunci : Hotel, Resort, Organik Arsitektu

Magnetic Fields and Faraday Rotation in Clusters of Galaxies

We present a numerical approach to investigate the relationship between magnetic fields and Faraday rotation effects in clusters of galaxies. We can infer the structure and strength of intra-cluster magnetic fields by comparing our simulations with the observed polarization properties of extended cluster radio sources such as radio galaxies and halos. We find the observations require a magnetic field which fluctuates over a wide range of spatial scales (at least one order of magnitude). If several polarized radio sources are located at different projected positions in a galaxy cluster, as is the case for A119, detailed Faraday rotation images allow us to constrain both the magnetic field strength and the slope of the power spectrum. Our results show that the standard analytic expressions applied in the literature overestimate the cluster magnetic field strengths by a factor of about 2. We investigate the possible effects of our models on beam depolarization of radio sources whose radiation traverses the magnetized intracluster medium. Finally, we point out that radio halos may provide important information about the spatial power spectrum of the magnetic field fluctuations on large scales. In particular, different values of the index of the power spectrum produce very different total intensity and polarization brightness distributions.Comment: 19 pages, 11 figures. Accepted for publication in A&

Crystallization in a model glass: influence of the boundary conditions

Using molecular dynamics calculations and the Voronoi tessellation, we study the evolution of the local structure of a soft-sphere glass versus temperature starting from the liquid phase at different quenching rates. This study is done for different sizes and for two different boundary conditions namely the usual cubic periodic boundary conditions and the isotropic hyperspherical boundary conditions for which the particles evolve on the surface of a hypersphere in four dimensions. Our results show that for small system sizes, crystallization can indeed be induced by the cubic boundary conditions. On the other hand we show that finite size effects are more pronounced on the hypersphere and that crystallization is artificially inhibited even for large system sizes.Comment: 11 pages, 2 figure

New specimen of the rare requiem shark Eogaleus bolcensis from the Bolca Lagerst\ue4tte, Italy

A rare carcharhinid specimen (slab and counter-slab, MSNPV 24625-24626) from the world-renowned Eocene Bolca locality was recently rediscovered during a restoration project started in 1989 by the Museo di Storia Naturale di Pavia. The individual, the largest Eogaleus bolcensis known from Bolca, is disarticulated and lies in a massive limestone matrix, suggesting its provenience from the Monte Postale site. While assessing its taxonomic status, multiple morphological affinities and ontogenetic trends within the Bolca Carcharhiniformes assemblage where documented. Eogaleus bolcensis is here distinguished from the school shark Galeorhinus cuvieri exclusively according to dermal denticle morphology, suggesting partial overlap of ecologic and trophic niches between the two species. Further, measurements and meristic counts taken on different traits of E. bolcensis (two individuals) and G. cuvieri (five individuals) specimens show high degree of similarities. The ratios "trunk length/total length"and "sum of vertebral centra (head region)/total length"of four complete individuals of the fossil assemblage were averaged and employed to estimates the total length of MSNPV 24625-24626. Here, the total length of MSNPV 24625-24626 is estimated in about 172.1\ub10.1 cm. The same approach is applied to MCSNV T.311 (E. bolcensis, holotype) and MNHN F.Bol.516 (G. cuvieri, holotype), two partially-preserved fossil individuals from Bolca locality. To support the ontogenetic variability among the Bolca shark assemblage, the age of the fossil individuals was estimated following the Von Bertalanffy Growth Function, using the modern chondrichthyans growth parameters as a reference. Data presented here suggest that all G. cuvieri specimens are juvenile individuals, whereas the E. bolcensis specimens were young-adult

ISO observations of a sample of Compact Steep Spectrum and GHz Peaked Spectrum Radio Galaxies

We present results from observations obtained with ISOPHOT, on board the ISO satellite, of a representative sample of seventeen CSS/GPS radio galaxies and of a control sample of sixteen extended radio galaxies spanning similar ranges in redshift (0.2 = 10^26 W/Hz). The observations have been performed at lambda = 60, 90, 174 and 200 microns. Seven of the CSS/GPS sources have detections >= 3 sigma at one or more wavelengths, one of which is detected at >= 5 sigma. By co-adding the data we have obtained average flux densities at the four wavelengths. We found no evidence that the FIR luminosities of the CSS/GPS sources are significantly different from those of the extended objects and therefore there is not any support for CSS/GPS sources being objects "frustrated" by an abnormally dense ambient medium. The two samples were then combined, providing FIR information on a new sample of radio galaxies at intermediate redshifts. We compare this information with what previously known from IRAS and discuss the average properties of radio galaxies in the redshift range 0.2 - 0.8. The FIR emission cannot be accounted for by extrapolation of the synchrotron radio spectrum and we attribute it to thermal dust emission. The average FIR luminosity is >= 6*10^11 L_sun. Over the observed frequency range the infrared spectrum can be described by a power law with spectral index alpha >~1.0 +/- 0.2. Assuming the emission to be due to dust, a range of temperatures is required, from >=80 K to \~25 K. The dust masses required to explain the FIR emission range from 5*10^5 M_sun for the hotter component up to 2*10^8 M_sun for the colder one. (abridged)Comment: Astronomy & Astrophysics, in press, 16 pages, 2 Figure

Development of a Novel Piezoelectric Harvester Excited by Raindrops

The impact of raindrops on a dry surface leads to a splashing phenomenon that dissipates a lot of energy. To improve energy collection, a novel piezoelectric raindrop energy harvester equipped with a spoonful of water was developed. The advantages and the drawbacks of this solution were analyzed with the aid of numerical simulations. A series of experimental tests were carried out in a laboratory with simulated raindrops. Experimental results showed that the negative effect of the added water mass was exceeded by the positive effects related to the impact of the raindrop on a liquid surface. Tests carried out connecting the harvester to a resistive load showed that the prototype was able to collect more energy than a simple cantilever harvester