7,865 research outputs found
The population of hot subdwarf stars studied with Gaia II. The Gaia DR2 catalogue of hot subluminous stars
Based on data from the ESA Gaia Data Release 2 (DR2) and several
ground-based, multi-band photometry surveys we compiled an all-sky catalogue of
hot subluminous star candidates selected in Gaia DR2 by means of
colour, absolute magnitude and reduced proper motion cuts. We expect the
majority of the candidates to be hot subdwarf stars of spectral type B and O,
followed by blue horizontal branch stars of late B-type (HBB), hot post-AGB
stars, and central stars of planetary nebulae. The contamination by cooler
stars should be about . The catalogue is magnitude limited to Gaia
and covers the whole sky. Except within the Galactic plane
and LMC/SMC regions, we expect the catalogue to be almost complete up to about
. The main purpose of this catalogue is to serve as input
target list for the large-scale photometric and spectroscopic surveys which are
ongoing or scheduled to start in the coming years. In the long run, securing a
statistically significant sample of spectroscopically confirmed hot subluminous
stars is key to advance towards a more detailed understanding of the latest
stages of stellar evolution for single and binary stars.Comment: 13 pages, A&A, accepte
The Mediational Role of Coping Strategies in the Relationship Between Self-Esteem and Risk of Internet Addiction
The aim of the present study is to explore, through a mediation model, the relationship among self-esteem, coping strategies, and the risk of Internet addiction in a sample of 300 Italian university students. We submitted the data to a descriptive, mediational comparison between variables (t-test), and correlational statistical analyses. The results confirmed the effect of self-esteem on the risk of Internet addiction. However, we found that the introduction of coping strategies as a mediator gives rise to partial mediation. A low level of self-esteem is a predictor of avoidance-oriented coping that, in turn, affects the risk of Internet addiction
Coherent Diffraction Imaging of Single 95nm Nanowires
Photonic or electronic confinement effects in nanostructures become
significant when one of their dimension is in the 5-300 nm range. Improving
their development requires the ability to study their structure - shape, strain
field, interdiffusion maps - using novel techniques. We have used coherent
diffraction imaging to record the 3-dimensionnal scattered intensity of single
silicon nanowires with a lateral size smaller than 100 nm. We show that this
intensity can be used to recover the hexagonal shape of the nanowire with a
28nm resolution. The article also discusses limits of the method in terms of
radiation damage.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure
Material Property Uncertainties versus Joint Structural Detailing: Relative Effect on the Seismic Fragility of Reinforced Concrete Frames
This paper investigates the relative effect of material properties and structural details in the joint panels on the seismic fragility of existing reinforced concrete (RC) frames. Five building classes with different structural details (particularly in the joint panels) and material characteristics are defined according to different past design codes, for a three-story and a six-story archetype geometry. Based on nonlinear static or nonlinear dynamic analysis procedures, results from the study show that the effect of structural details on seismic fragility of the considered structures is negligible for damage states involving an essentially elastic behavior. Conversely, it is much higher for life-safety and near-collapse damage states, and it is considerably higher than the effect due to materials. Therefore, in the diagnosis phase, higher emphasis should be given to on-site investigations of actual reinforcement content/layout rather than to invasive material testing. The uncertainty related to the structural details described here is practically related to exterior, rather than interior, joint panels. Cover removal for one of those joints may potentially eliminate this specific uncertainty. As a practical action, in situ testing of RC frames should involve the cover removal of at least one exterior joint panel regardless of the required target “level of knowledge” of the existing structure
A computational framework for selecting the optimal combination of seismic retrofit and insurance coverage
Economic earthquake losses can be mitigated through either building retrofit strategies and/or, to some extent, risk-transfer to the (re)insurance market. This paper proposes a computational framework to select the optimal combination of seismic retrofit and insurance policy parameters for buildings. First, a designer selects a suitable retrofit strategy. This is implemented incrementally to define interventions with increasing retrofit performance levels. The cost of each intervention is calculated, along with the cost of property rental while the retrofit is implemented. Alternative insurance options are considered. For each retrofit-insurance combination, the insured and uninsured economic losses within a given time horizon are estimated. The optimal retrofit and insurance combination minimizes the tail value at risk of the life cycle cost. The selected confidence level for this metric depends on the homeowner's risk aversion. The proposed framework is illustrated for a case-study archetype Italian reinforced concrete frame building retrofitted with concrete jacketing, also considering the Italian retrofit tax incentives/rebates called “Sismabonus.
The Field White Dwarf Mass Distribution
We revisit the properties and astrophysical implications of the field white
dwarf mass distribution in preparation of Gaia applications. Our study is based
on the two samples with the best established completeness and most precise
atmospheric parameters, the volume-complete survey within 20 pc and the Sloan
Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) magnitude-limited sample. We explore the modelling of
the observed mass distributions with Monte Carlo simulations, but find that it
is difficult to constrain independently the initial mass function (IMF), the
initial-to-final-mass relation (IFMR), the stellar formation history (SFH), the
variation of the Galactic disk vertical scale height as a function of stellar
age, and binary evolution. Each of these input ingredients has a moderate
effect on the predicted mass distributions, and we must also take into account
biases owing to unidentified faint objects (20 pc sample), as well as unknown
masses for magnetic white dwarfs and spectroscopic calibration issues (SDSS
sample). Nevertheless, we find that fixed standard assumptions for the above
parameters result in predicted mean masses that are in good qualitative
agreement with the observed values. It suggests that derived masses for both
studied samples are consistent with our current knowledge of stellar and
Galactic evolution. Our simulations overpredict by 40-50% the number of massive
white dwarfs (M > 0.75 Msun) for both surveys, although we can not exclude a
Salpeter IMF when we account for all biases. Furthermore, we find no evidence
of a population of double white dwarf mergers in the observed mass
distributions.Comment: 15 pages, 16 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
Precision Measurement of the n-3He Incoherent Scattering Length Using Neutron Interferometry
We report the first measurement of the low-energy neutron-He incoherent
scattering length using neutron interferometry: fm. This is in good agreement with a
recent calculation using the AV18+3N potential. The neutron-He scattering
lengths are important for testing and developing nuclear potential models that
include three nucleon forces, effective field theories for few-body nuclear
systems, and neutron scattering measurements of quantum excitations in liquid
helium. This work demonstrates the first use of a polarized nuclear target in a
neutron interferometer.Comment: 4 figure
Discovery of a red quasar with recurrent activity
We report a new double-double radio quasar, DDRQ, J07464526 which exhibits
two cycles of episodic activity. From radio continuum observations at 607 MHz
using the GMRT and 1400 MHz from the FIRST survey we confirm its episodic
nature. We examine the SDSS optical spectrum and estimate the black hole mass
to be (8.20.3)10M from its observed MgII emission
line, and the Eddington ratio to be 0.03. The black hole mass is significantly
smaller than for the other reported DDRQ, J0935+0204, while the Eddington
ratios are comparable. The SDSS spectrum is significantly red continuum
dominated suggesting that it is highly obscured with
mag. This high obscuration further indicates the
existence of a large quantity of dust and gas along the line of sight, which
may have a key role in triggering the recurrent jet activity in such objects.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, 1 table. Accepted for publication in Ap
Non-linear analysis of RC masonry-infilled frames using the SLaMA method: part 1—mechanical interpretation of the infill/frame interaction and formulation of the procedure
The simple lateral mechanism analysis (SLaMA) is an analytical method to assess the force–displacement capacity curve of Reinforced Concrete (RC) structures composed of frames, cantilever walls or dual wall/frame systems. The current version of the method was proposed in the 2017 New Zealand guidelines for the seismic assessment (NZSEE in New Zealand Society for Earthquake Engineering, the seismic assessment of existing buildings—technical guidelines for engineering assessments, Wellington, 2017). Regarding frame structures, the possible influence of infill walls is currently considered locally with checks on the RC members. However, it is universally known that infills have a major effect on the global capacity curve of the frame. In this paper, a comprehensive SLaMA method for infilled frames is proposed, which allows considering the influence of the infills on the global force–displacement curve without any numerical algorithm. The extended SLaMA method is herein formalised and it is validated in a companion paper (part 2) through an extensive parametric analysis. The extended SLaMA is based on the possibility to separately calculate the base shear contributions of the frame and the infills, in turn based on global equilibrium considerations. Such considerations also allow defining a novel procedure to post-process the results of pushover or time-history analyses where infills are modelled as diagonal struts, or to interpret experimental tests. This allows, within a single numerical analysis, to decouple the frame and infills contributions to the base-shear capacity. The decoupling procedure is herein demonstrated for an ideal two-storey, one-bay masonry-infilled frame with different infills configurations
Energy-based procedures for seismic fragility analysis of mainshock-damaged buildings
In recent decades, significant research efforts have been devoted to developing fragility and vulnerability models for mainshock-damaged buildings, i.e., depending on the attained damage state after a mainshock ground motion (state-dependent fragility/vulnerability relationships). Displacement-based peak quantities, such as the maximum interstory drift ratio, are widely adopted in fragility analysis to define both engineering demands and structural capacities at the global and/or local levels. However, when considering ground-motion sequences, the use of peak quantities may lead to statistical inconsistencies (e.g., fragility curves’ crossings) due to inadequate consideration of damage accumulation. In this context, energy-based engineering demand parameters (EDPs), explicitly accounting for cumulative damage, can help address this issue. This paper provides an overview of recent findings on the development of aftershock-fragility models of mainshock-damaged buildings. Particular focus is given to state-of-the-art frameworks for fragility analyses based on cumulative damage parameters. Moreover, a literature review on damage indices and energy-based concepts and approaches in earthquake engineering is reported to better understand the main advantages of the mostly adopted energy-based parameters, as well as their limitations. Different refinement levels of seismic response analyses to derive fragility relationships of mainshock-damaged buildings are also discussed. Finally, the benefits of adopting energy-based EDPs rather than, or in addition to, peak quantities in state-dependent fragility analyses are demonstrated on a reinforced concrete frame building. Specifically, a refined lumped plasticity modeling approach is adopted, and sequential cloud-based time-history analyses of a Multi-Degree-of-Freedom (MDoF) model are carried out. The results highlight that energy-based approaches for fragility analysis effectively capture damage accumulation during earthquake sequences without inconsistencies in the obtained statistical models. On the other hand, estimating global or local structural capacity in terms of cumulative EDPs is still challenging. Further experimental data are needed to better calibrate the quantification of energy-based damaged states
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