Project E

On Art Art, in its broadest sense, includes all human activities - carried out individually or collectively - that leads to creative forms of aesthetic expression, relying on technical, innate abilities and behavioural rules derived from study and experience. At its today’s art is closely related to the ability to convey emotion, so the artistic expressions, while aiming to transmit “messages”, not a real language, as it does not have a clear code shared between all users, but instead are interpreted subjectively. [ http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arte ] On Design In a larger sense for design means all stages of planning and scheduling of a set of activities that will lead to an expected result, which can be achieved in a total, partial or even be missed. Ultimately therefore almost all human activities occur, more or less effectively, to a design that means, strategies and actions necessary to achieve certain targets Nowadays the English word Design includes both aesthetic and technical aspects of industrial design. [ http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disegno_industriale ] Almost by definition the function of Art is to create an emotional reaction departing from an individual perception of events, culture, identity. And that’s imply that the function of Art can be philosophical, as well as political or social. In the contrary the function of an Industrial designed objects is mostly practical and aim to achieve an artefact that “works”. In my research I would like to attempt a product that contains both artistic and Design qualities in symbiosis with each other starting from a no functional input. Where is the border in between artistic expression and practical function? How can I express both qualities in one object? What if a product also contains features that are not necessarily related to its prime function but encourage a different perspective , a no precise function that can be used subjectively? The starting point will be an existing project called Embrace. Embrace is a lounge chair that attempted to explore those questions without fully investigating them. In fact Embrace has many inconsistencies that make the project incomplete and undefined. Those conditions are ideal to test my new research questions . The idea is to take this early project and go backward in through its designing process and try to enhance the already existing inner qualities but also add external inputs. Eventually Embrace will be considered a new project and its function and meanings should be improved and/or modified. Embrace will became project EMaster i produktdesig

H2/H∞ output information-based disturbance attenuation for differential linear repetitive processes

Repetitive processes propagate information in two independent directions where the duration of one is finite. They pose control problems that cannot be solved by application of results for other classes of 2D systems. This paper develops controller design algorithms for differential linear processes, where information in one direction is governed by a matrix differential equation and in the other by a matrix discrete equation, in an H2/H∞ setting. The objectives are stabilization and disturbance attenuation, and the controller used is actuated by the process output and hence the use of a state observer is avoided

Near-infrared spectroscopy of 20 new Chandra sources in the Norma Arm

We report on CTIO/NEWFIRM and CTIO/OSIRIS photometric and spectroscopic observations of 20 new X-ray (0.5-10 keV) emitters discovered in the Norma Arm Region Chandra Survey (NARCS). NEWFIRM photometry was obtained to pinpoint the near-infrared counterparts of NARCS sources, while OSIRIS spectroscopy was used to help identify 20 sources with possible high mass X-ray binary properties. We find that (1) two sources are WN8 Wolf-Rayet stars, maybe in colliding wind binaries, part of the massive star cluster Mercer 81; (2) two are emission-line stars, possibly in X-ray binaries, that exhibit near- and mid-infrared excesses either due to free-free emission from the decretion discs of Be stars or warm dust in the stellar winds of peculiar massive stars such as B[e] supergiants or luminous blue variables; (3) one is a B8-A3 IV-V star that could be in a quiescent high mass X-ray binary system; (4) two are cataclysmic variables including one intermediate polar; (5) three may be neutron star symbiotic binaries; (6) five are most likely white dwarf symbiotic binaries; and (7) five exhibit properties more consistent with isolated giant/dwarf stars. The possible detection of one to three high mass X-ray binaries is in good agreement with our predictions. However, our study illustrates the difficulty of clearly differentiating quiescent or intermediate X-ray luminosity systems from isolated massive stars, which may lead to an underestimation of the number of known high mass X-ray binaries.Comment: 17 pages, 14 figures, 7 tables. Accepted for publication in A&

An XMM-Newton and NuSTAR study of IGR J18214-1318: a non-pulsating high-mass X-ray binary with a neutron star

IGR J18214-1318, a Galactic source discovered by the International Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory, is a high-mass X-ray binary (HMXB) with a supergiant O-type stellar donor. We report on the XMM-Newton and NuSTAR observations that were undertaken to determine the nature of the compact object in this system. This source exhibits high levels of aperiodic variability, but no periodic pulsations are detected with a 90% confidence upper limit of 2% fractional rms between 0.00003-88 Hz, a frequency range that includes the typical pulse periods of neutron stars (NSs) in HMXBs (0.1-10$^3$ s). Although the lack of pulsations prevents us from definitively identifying the compact object in IGR J18214-1318, the presence of an exponential cutoff with e-folding energy $\lesssim30$ keV in its 0.3-79 keV spectrum strongly suggests that the compact object is an NS. The X-ray spectrum also shows a Fe K$\alpha$ emission line and a soft excess, which can be accounted for by either a partial-covering absorber with $N_{\mathrm{H}}\approx10^{23}$ cm$^{-2}$ which could be due to the inhomogeneous supergiant wind, or a blackbody component with $kT=1.74^{+0.04}_{-0.05}$ keV and $R_{BB}\approx0.3$ km, which may originate from NS hot spots. Although neither explanation for the soft excess can be excluded, the former is more consistent with the properties observed in other supergiant HMXBs. We compare IGR J18214-1318 to other HMXBs that lack pulsations or have long pulsation periods beyond the range covered by our observations.Comment: 15 pages, 12 figures, 4 table

Chandra Observations of Eight Sources Discovered by INTEGRAL

We report on 0.3-10 keV observations with the Chandra X-ray Observatory of eight hard X-ray sources discovered within 8 degrees of the Galactic plane by the INTEGRAL satellite. The short (5 ks) Chandra observations of the IGR source fields have yielded very likely identifications of X-ray counterparts for three of the IGR sources: IGR J14091-6108, IGR J18088-2741, and IGR J18381-0924. The first two have very hard spectra in the Chandra band that can be described by a power-law with photon indices of Gamma = 0.6+/-0.4 and -0.7(+0.4)(-0.3), respectively (90% confidence errors are given), and both have a unique near-IR counterpart consistent with the Chandra position. IGR J14091-6108 also displays a strong iron line and a relatively low X-ray luminosity, and we argue that the most likely source type is a Cataclysmic Variable (CV), although we do not completely rule out the possibility of a High Mass X-ray Binary. IGR J18088-2741 has an optical counterpart with a previously measured 6.84 hr periodicity, which may be the binary orbital period. We also detect five cycles of a possible 800-950 s period in the Chandra light curve, which may be the compact object spin period. We suggest that IGR J18088-2741 is also most likely a CV. For IGR J18381-0924, the spectrum is intrinsically softer with Gamma = 1.5(+0.5)(-0.4), and it is moderately absorbed, nH = (4+/-1)e22 cm-2. There are two near-IR sources consistent with the Chandra position, and they are both classified as galaxies, making it likely that IGR J18381-0924 is an Active Galactic Nucleus (AGN). For the other five IGR sources, we provide lists of nearby Chandra sources, which may be used along with further observations to identify the correct counterparts, and we discuss the implications of the low inferred Chandra count rates for these five sources.Comment: Accepted by ApJ, 14 page

L’evoluzione della Costituzione in Belgio e in Italia: un’analisi delle relazioni fiscali intergovernative

The discussion around the adequateness of the Constitution to the current economic setting is still ongoing. To see where, this discussion will lead eventually, it is interesting to compare the Italian decentralization process with a similar process undertaken in Belgium. This contribution compares Belgian and Italian decentralised processes and their outcome in terms of national fiscal settings. It is argued that political and economic factors are to be analysed jointly if one wants to understand decentralization trends. The potential for politico-fiscal conflicts seems lower in Italy, while the probability of secession might be higher in Belgium.

A First Look at the X-ray Population of the Young Massive Cluster VVV CL077

Multi-wavelength analysis of the young massive cluster VVV CL077 is presented for the first time. Our Chandra survey of this region enabled the detection of three X-ray emitting stellar members of the cluster, as well as a possible diffuse X-ray component that extends a few arcseconds from the cluster core with an intrinsic flux of (9+/-3)x10^-14 erg cm^-2 s^-1 in the 0.5-10 keV band. Infrared spectra we obtained for two of these X-ray point sources show absorption lines typical of the atmospheres of massive O stars. The X-ray spectrum from the visible extent of VVV CL077 i.e., a 15"-radius around the cluster, can be modeled with an absorbed power law with nH = (6+/-4)x10^22 cm^-2 and gamma = 2+/-1. In addition, the X-ray core of VVV CL077 coincides with diffuse emission seen in the infrared band and with a local maximum in the radio continuum map. A possible association with a neighboring H II region would place VVV CL077 at a distance of around 11 kpc; on the far side of the Norma Arm. At this distance, the cluster is 0.8 pc wide with a mass density of (1-4)x10^3 Msol pc^-3.Comment: accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal: 9 pages, 5 figure

The Norma Arm Region Chandra Survey: X-ray Populations in the Spiral Arms

We present a catalog of 1415 X-ray sources identified in the Norma arm region Chandra survey (NARCS), which covers a 2 deg x 0.8 deg region in the direction of the Norma spiral arm to a depth of $\approx$20 ks. Of these sources, 1130 are point-like sources detected with $\geq3\sigma$ confidence in at least one of three energy bands (0.5-10, 0.5-2, and 2-10 keV), five have extended emission, and the remainder are detected at low significance. Since most sources have too few counts to permit individual classification, they are divided into five spectral groups defined by their quantile properties. We analyze stacked spectra of X-ray sources within each group, in conjunction with their fluxes, variability, and infrared counterparts, to identify the dominant populations in our survey. We find that $\sim$50% of our sources are foreground sources located within 1-2 kpc, which is consistent with expectations from previous surveys. Approximately 20% of sources are likely located in the proximity of the Scutum-Crux and near Norma arm, while 30% are more distant, in the proximity of the far Norma arm or beyond. We argue that a mixture of magnetic and nonmagnetic CVs dominates the Scutum-Crux and near Norma arms, while intermediate polars (IPs) and high-mass stars (isolated or in binaries) dominate the far Norma arm. We also present the cumulative number count distribution for sources in our survey that are detected in the hard energy band. A population of very hard sources in the vicinity of the far Norma arm and active galactic nuclei dominate the hard X-ray emission down to $f_X\approx10^{-14}$ erg cm$^{-2}$ s$^{-1}$, but the distribution curve flattens at fainter fluxes. We find good agreement between the observed distribution and predictions based on other surveys.Comment: 27 pages, 19 figures, 12 tables, catalog will be made available in published ApJ version and by personal reques

Input-state-output representations and constructions of finite-support 2D convolutional codes

Two-dimensional convolutional codes are considered, with codewords having compact support indexed in N^2 and taking values in F^n, where F is a finite field. Input-state-output representations of these codes are introduced and several aspects of such representations are discussed. Constructive procedures of such codes with a designed distance are also presented. © 2010 AIMS-SDU