Thinking fast, thinking badly

We test for the construct validity of the cognitive reflection test (CRT) by eliciting response times. We find that incorrect answers to the CRT are quicker than correct answers. At the individual level, we classify subjects into impulsive and reflective, depending on whether they choose the incorrect intuitive answer or the correct answer the majority of the time. We show that impulsive subjects complete the test quicker than reflective subjects

XMM-Newton view of the double-peaked Fe K-alpha complex in E1821+643

We present the results of the analysis of the hard band XMM-Newton spectra of the luminous, L(2-10keV)~3.4E+45 erg/s, radio-quiet quasar, E1821+643. Two emission features were observed in the 6-7 keV rest frame band, confirming previous Chandra detection of these structures. We interpret these features as two single emission lines, one consistent with the neutral Fe K-alpha line at 6.4 keV and the other most likely due to FeXXVI. If related to the quasar, the high-energy emission line should originate in highly ionised matter, i.e. the accretion disc or the clouds of the emission line regions. Alternatively, it may be related to the intergalactic medium of the rich galaxy cluster in which E1821+643 is embedded. A composite broad emission line in combination with an absorption line model, however, also fits the data well. We discuss the possible physical interpretations of the origin of these features.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A, 7 pages and 7 figure

Adjustment of model parameters to estimate distribution transformers remaining lifespan

Currently, the electrical system in Argentina is working at its maximum capacity, decreasing the margin between the installed power and demanded consumption, and drastically reducing the service life of transformer substations due to overload (since the margin for summer peaks is small). The advent of the Smart Grids allows electricity distribution companies to apply data analysis techniques to manage resources more efficiently at different levels (avoiding damages, better contingency management, maintenance planning, etc.). The Smart Grids in Argentina progresses slowly due to the high costs involved. In this context, the estimation of the lifespan reduction of distribution transformers is a key tool to efficiently manage human and material resources, maximizing the lifetime of this equipment. Despite the current state of the smart grids, the electricity distribution companies can implement it using the available data. Thermal models provide guidelines for lifespan estimation, but the adjustment to particular conditions, brands, or material quality is done by adjusting parameters. In this work we propose a method to adjust the parameters of a thermal model using Genetic Algorithms, comparing the estimation values of top-oil temperature with measurements from 315 kVA distribution transformers, located in the province of Tucumán, Argentina. The results show that, despite limited data availability, the adjusted model is suitable to implement a transformer monitoring system.Fil: Jimenez, Victor Adrian. Universidad Tecnológica Nacional. Facultad Regional Tucumán. Centro de Investigación en Tecnologías Avanzadas de Tucumán; ArgentinaFil: Will, Adrian L. E.. Universidad Tecnológica Nacional. Facultad Regional Tucumán. Centro de Investigación en Tecnologías Avanzadas de Tucumán; ArgentinaFil: Gotay Sardiñas, Jorge. Universidad Tecnológica Nacional. Facultad Regional Tucumán. Centro de Investigación en Tecnologías Avanzadas de Tucumán; ArgentinaFil: Rodriguez, Sebastian Alberto. Universidad Tecnológica Nacional. Facultad Regional Tucumán. Centro de Investigación en Tecnologías Avanzadas de Tucumán; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán; Argentin

The XMM-Newton view of PG quasars: II. Properties of the Fe K-alpha line

The properties of the fluorescence Fe K-alpha emission lines of a sample of 38 quasars (QSOs) observed with XMM-Newton are studied. These objects are included in the optically selected sample from the Palomar-Green (PG) Bright Quasar Survey with an X-ray luminosity 1.3E43<L(2-10 keV)<5.1E45 ergs/s and z<1.72. For each object in the sample, we investigated the presence of both narrow and broad iron lines in detail. A total of 20 out of the 38 QSOs show evidence of an Fe K-alpha emission line with a narrow profile. The majority of the lines are consistent with an origin in low ionization material, which is likely to be located in the outer parts of the accretion disk, the molecular torus, and/or the Broad Line Region. The average properties of the narrow Fe K-alpha emission line observed in the sample are similar to those of Seyfert type galaxies as inferred from recent XMM-Newton and Chandra studies. A broad line has been significantly detected in only three objects. Furthermore, we studied the relationship between the equivalent width (EW) of the iron line and the hard band X-ray luminosity for radio quiet quasars. The analysis indicates that no clear correlation between the strength of the line and the hard X-ray luminosity is present, and our results do not show compelling evidence for an anticorrelation between these two quantities, i.e. the so-called X-ray Baldwin effect.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures, accepted by A&

One-dimensional Photonic Crystal For The 1.3-1.5 μm Region

Multilayer of PbTe quantum dots embedded in SiO2 were fabricated by alternatively use of Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition and Laser Ablation techniques. The optimal growing parameters for both the SiO2 films and the PbTe quantum dots were obtained. The refractive index and optical absorption of the sample were studied. Multilayer X-ray diffraction patterns were used to estimate the nanoparticles diameter. Morphological properties of the nanostructured material were studied using Transmission Electron Microscopy. Both absorption spectra and X-ray diffraction patterns reveled the nanoparticles are 6-8 nm in diameter, consequently appropriate for developing optical devices in the infra red region. Finally the multilayer was grown inside a Fabry Perot cavity. The transmittance of the one-dimensional photonic crystal was measured.6129Tsunetomo, K., Shunsuke, S., Koyama, T., Tanaka, S., Sasaki, F., Kobayashi, S., Ultrafast nonlinear optical response of CdTe microcrystallite-doped glasses fabricated by laser evaporation (1995) Molecular Crystals and Liquid Crystals Science and Technology Section B, Nonlinear Optics, 13 (1-3), pp. 109-126Gleiter, H., (1989) Prog. Mater. Sci., 33, p. 223Tudury, G.E., Marquezini, M.V., Ferreira, L.G., Barbosa, L.C., Cesar, C.L., Effect of band anisotropy on electronic structure of PbS, PbSe, and PbTe quantum dots (2000) Phys. Rev. B, 62 (11), pp. 7357-7364Rodriguez, E., Jimenez, E., Padilha, L.A., Neves, A.A.R., Jacob, G.J., Cesar, C.L., Barbosa, L.C., SiO2/PbTe quantum dots multilayer production and characterization (2005) Appl. Phys. Lett., 86, pp. 113117-113120Rodriguez, E., Jimenez, E., Cesar, C.L., Barbosa, L.C., 1D photonic band gap silica doped PbTe quantum dot optical device (2005) Glass Technology, 46 (2), pp. 47-49Rodriguez, E., Jimenez, E., Neves, A.A.R., Jacob, G.J., Cesar, C.L., Barbosa, L.C., Fabrication and characterization of PbTe quantum dot multilayers for Photonic Fabry-Perot Devices (2005) Physica E, 26, pp. 361-36

A long hard look at the minimum state of PG 2112+059 with XMM-Newton

XMM-Newton successfully detected the minimum state of PG 2112+059 during a short snapshot observation and performed a long follow-up observation. The high signal-to-noise spectra are modelled assuming different emission scenarios and compared with archival spectra taken by XMM-Newton and Chandra. The PG 2112+059 X-ray spectra acquired in May 2007 allowed the detection of a weak iron fluorescent line, which is interpreted as being caused by reflection from neutral material at some distance from the primary X-ray emitting source. The X-ray spectra of PG 2112+059 taken at five different epochs during different flux states can be interpreted within two different scenarios. The first consists of two layers of ionised material with column densities of N_H ~5 x 10^22 cm^-2 and N_H ~3.5 x 10^23 cm^-2, respectively. The first layer is moderately ionised and its ionisation levels follow the flux changes, while the other layer is highly ionised and does not show any correlation with the flux of the source. The spectra can also be interpreted assuming reflection by an ionised accretion disk seen behind a warm absorber. The warm absorber ionisation is consistent with being correlated with the flux of the source, which provides an additional degree of self-consistency with the overall reflection-based model. We explain the spectral variability with light bending according to the models of Miniutti and Fabian and constrain the black hole spin to be a/M > 0.86. Both scenarios also assume that a distant cold reflector is responsible for the Fe K \alpha emission line. Light bending provides an attractive explanation of the different states of PG 2112+059 and may also describe the physical cause of the observed properties of other X-ray weak quasars.Comment: 15 pages, 12 figures, A&A latex, accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysic

Pbte Quantum Dots - Sio2 Multilayers For Optical Devices Produced By Laser Ablation

Thin films of glass doped with PbTe quantum dots were successfully fabricated. The semiconducting quantum dots were grown by laser ablation of a PbTe target (99.99%) using the second harmonic of a Q-Switched Quantel Nd:YAG laser under high purity argon atmosphere. The glass matrix was fabricated by a plasma chemical vapor deposition method using vapor of tetramethoxysilane (TMOS) as precursor. The QD's and the glass matrix were alternately deposited onto a Si (100) wafer for 60 cycles. Cross-section TEM image clearly showed QD's layer well separated from each other with glass matrix layers. The influence of the ablation time on the size distribution of the quantum dots is studied. HRTEM revealed anisotropy in the size of the QD's: they were about 9nm in the high and 3-5 in diameter. Furthermore HRTEM studies revealed that the QD's basically growth in the (200) and (220) directions. The thickness of the glass matrix layer was about 20 nm. Absorption, photo luminescence and relaxation time of the multilayer were also measured.5734116123Alivisatos, A.P., (1996) Sci., 271, p. 933Warnock, J., Awschalom, D.D., (1985) Phys. Rev. B, 32, p. 5529Borrelli, N.F., May, D.W., Holland, H.J., Smith, D.W., (1987) J. Appl. Phys., 61, p. 399Potter, B.G., Simmons, J.H., (1988) Phys. Rev. B, 37, p. 10838Gleiter, H., (1989) Prog. Mater. Sci., 33, p. 223Tsunetomo, K., Shunsuke, S., Koyama, T., Tanaka, S., Sasaki, F., Kobayashi, S., (1995) Nonlinear Opt., 13, p. 109Reynoso, V.C.S., De Paula, A.M., Cuevas, R.F., Neto, J.A.M., Alves, O.L., Cesar, C.L., Barbosa, L.C., (1995) Electr. Lett., 31 (12), pp. 1013-1015Jacob, G.J., Cesar, C.L., Barbosa, L.C., (2002) Chem. Phys. Glass, 43 C, pp. 250-252Singh, R.K., Narayan, J., (1990) Phys. Rev. B, 41, p. 8843Barnes, J.P., (2002) Nanotechnology, 13, p. 465Tudury, G.E., Marquezini, M.V., Ferreira, L.G., Barbosa, L.C., Cesar, C.L., (2000) Phys. Rev. B, 62 (11), pp. 7357-7364Cesar, C.L., Jacob, G.J., Tudury, G.E., Marquezini, M.V., Barbosa, L.C., (2004) Atti della Fondazione G. Ronchi Journal, (4), pp. 519-528. , Anno LI

A Measurement Study of Online Tracking and Advertising in Ibero-America

The ability of the online marketing industry to track and profile users’ Web-browsing activity is what enables effective, tailored-made advertising services. The intrusiveness of these practices and the increasing invasiveness of digital advertising, however, have raised serious concerns regarding user privacy. Although the level of ubiquity of tracking and advertising has been investigated in top-world sites based in North America and Western Europe, the extent to which those practices are carried out in territories with less or no legal coverage —in terms of data protection— has not been studied so far. In this work, we present the first detailed measurement of online tracking and advertising conducted to date in one of those regions, namely, Ibero-America, by analyzing local websites (e.g., education and government sites). In doing so, our measurement study aims to find out how user location as well as the type of publisher may impact on tracking and advertising and thus user privacy. Lastly, our thorough, extensive analysis also explores whether differences are appreciated between Latin America and the EU with regard to the third-party tracking conducted from and towards the corresponding countries

Symmetry-projected wave functions in quantum Monte Carlo calculations

We consider symmetry-projected Hartree-Fock trial wave functions in constrained-path Monte Carlo (CPMC) calculations. Previous CPMC calculations have mostly employed Hartree-Fock (HF) trial wave functions, restricted or unrestricted. The symmetry-projected HF approach results in a hierarchy of wave functions with increasing quality: the more symmetries that are broken and restored in a self-consistent manner, the higher the quality of the trial wave function. This hierarchy is approximately maintained in CPMC calculations: the accuracy in the energy increases and the statistical variance decreases when further symmetries are broken and restored. Significant improvement is achieved in CPMC with the best symmetry-projected trial wave functions over those from simple HF. We analyze and quantify the behavior using the two-dimensional repulsive Hubbard model as an example. In the sign-problem-free region, where CPMC can be made exact but a constraint is deliberately imposed here, spin-projected wave functions remove the constraint bias. Away from half filling, spatial symmetry restoration in addition to that of the spin leads to highly accurate results from CPMC. Since the computational cost of symmetry-projected HF trial wave functions in CPMC can be made to scale algebraically with system size, this provides a potentially general approach for accurate calculations in many-fermion systems