885 research outputs found
Interrupting the social amplification of risk process: a case study in collective emissions reduction
One of the main approaches we have for studying the progressive divergence of understandings around a risk issue is that of social risk amplification. This article describes a case study of a particular environmental contaminant, a chemical flame retardant that could be interpreted as having produced a risk amplifying process. It describes in particular how a group of industrial organizations acted collectively to reduce emissions of this contaminant, in an apparent attempt to avert regulation and boycotts—that is, to intercept the social amplification process and avoid its secondary effects. The aim of the study was to investigate the constitutive qualities of this collective action: the qualities that defined it and made it effective in the eyes of those involved. These include institutionalisation and independence, the ability to confer individual as well as collective benefit, the capacity to attract (rather than avoid) criticism, and the ‘branding’ that helps communicate what otherwise appear to be a set of unconnected, local actions. Although the risk amplification framework has been criticised for implying that there is some externally given risk level that is subsequently amplified, it does appear to capture the mentality of actors involved in issues of this kind. They talk and act as though they believe they are participants in a risk amplification process
Considerations in the design of large space structures
Several analytical studies of topics relevant to the design of large space structures are presented. Topics covered are: the types and quantitative evaluation of the disturbances to which large Earth-oriented microwave reflectors would be subjected and the resulting attitude errors of such spacecraft; the influence of errors in the structural geometry of the performance of radiofrequency antennas; the effect of creasing on the flatness of tensioned reflector membrane surface; and an analysis of the statistics of damage to truss-type structures due to meteoroids
The properties of highly luminous IRAS galaxies
From a complete sample of 154 galaxies identified with IRAS sources in a 304 sq deg area centered on the South Galactic Pole, a subsample of 58 galaxies with L sub IR/L sub B > 3 was chosen. Low resolution spectra were obtained for 30% of the subsample and redshifts and relative emission line intensities were derived. As a class these galaxies are very luminous with = 2.9 x 10 to the 11th power L sub 0 and (L sub IR) max = 1.3 x 10 to the 12th power L sub 0. CCD images and JHK photometry were obtained for many of the subsample. The galaxies are for the most part newly identified and are optically faint, with a majority showing evidence of a recent interaction. Radio continuum observations of all galaxies of the subsample were recently obtained at 20 cm VLA with about 75% being detected in a typical integration time of about 10 minutes
The Opacity of Spiral Galaxy Disks VIII: Structure of the Cold ISM
The quantity of dust in a spiral disk can be estimated using the dust's
typical emission or the extinction of a known source. In this paper, we compare
two techniques, one based on emission and one on absorption, applied on
sections of fourteen disk galaxies. The two measurements reflect, respectively
the average and apparent optical depth of a disk section. Hence, they depend
differently on the average number and optical depth of ISM structures in the
disk. The small scale geometry of the cold ISM is critical for accurate models
of the overall energy budget of spiral disks. ISM geometry, relative
contributions of different stellar populations and dust emissivity are all free
parameters in galaxy Spectral Energy Distribution (SED) models; they are also
sometimes degenerate, depending on wavelength coverage. Our aim is to constrain
typical ISM geometry. The apparent optical depth measurement comes from the
number of distant galaxies seen in HST images through the foreground disk. We
measure the IR flux in images from the {\it Spitzer} Infrared Nearby Galaxy
Survey in the same section of the disk that was covered by HST. A physical
model of the dust is fit to the SED to estimate the dust surface density, mean
temperature, and brightness in these disk sections. The surface density is
subsequently converted into the average optical depth estimate. The two
measurements generally agree. The ratios between the measured average and
apparent optical depths of the disk sections imply optically thin clouds in
these disks. Optically thick disks, are likely to have more than a single cloud
along the line-of-sight.Comment: 31 pages, 5 figures, 4 tables, accepted for publication in A
The Opacity of Nearby Galaxies from Counts of Background Galaxies: II. Limits of the Synthetic Field Method
Recently, we have developed and calibrated the Synthetic Field Method (SFM)
to derive the total extinction through disk galaxies. The method is based on
the number counts and colors of distant background field galaxies that can be
seen through the foreground object, and has been successfully applied to NGC
4536 and NGC 3664, two late-type galaxies located, respectively, at 16 and 11
Mpc. Here, we study the applicability of the SFM to HST images of galaxies in
the Local Group, and show that background galaxies cannot be easily identified
through these nearby objects, even with the best resolution available today. In
the case of M 31, each pixel in the HST images contains 50 to 100 stars, and
the background galaxies cannot be seen because of the intrinsic granularity due
to strong surface brightness fluctuations. In the LMC, on the other hand, there
is only about one star every six linear pixels, and the lack of detectable
background galaxies results from a ``secondary'' granularity, introduced by
structure in the wings of the point spread function. The success of the SFM in
NGC 4536 and NGC 3664 is a natural consequence of the reduction of the
intensity of surface brightness fluctuations with distance. When the dominant
confusion factor is structure in the PSF wings, as is the case of HST images of
the LMC, and would happen in M 31 images obtained with a 10-m diffraction-
limited optical telescope, it becomes in principle possible to improve the
detectability of background galaxies by subtracting the stars in the foreground
object. However, a much better characterization of optical PSFs than is
currently available would be required for an adequate subtraction of the wings.
Given the importance of determining the dust content of Local Group galaxies,
efforts should be made in that direction.Comment: 45 pages, 10 Postscript figure
Theoretical Study of Fast Light with Short sech Pulses in Coherent Gain Media
We investigate theoretically the phenomenon of so-called fast light in an
unconventional regime, using pulses sufficiently short that relaxation effects
in a gain medium can be ignored completely. We show that previously recognized
gain instabilities, including superfluorescence, can be tolerated in achieving
a pulse peak advance of one full peak width.Comment: 7 pages, 8 figures; Replaced with revised version accepted by JOSA
Spatial and kinematic alignments between central and satellite halos
Based on a cosmological N-body simulation we analyze spatial and kinematic
alignments of satellite halos within six times the virial radius of group size
host halos (Rvir). We measure three different types of spatial alignment: halo
alignment between the orientation of the group central substructure (GCS) and
the distribution of its satellites, radial alignment between the orientation of
a satellite and the direction towards its GCS, and direct alignment between the
orientation of the GCS and that of its satellites. In analogy we use the
directions of satellite velocities and probe three further types of alignment:
the radial velocity alignment between the satellite velocity and connecting
line between satellite and GCS, the halo velocity alignment between the
orientation of the GCS and satellite velocities and the auto velocity alignment
between the satellites orientations and their velocities. We find that
satellites are preferentially located along the major axis of the GCS within at
least 6 Rvir (the range probed here). Furthermore, satellites preferentially
point towards the GCS. The most pronounced signal is detected on small scales
but a detectable signal extends out to 6 Rvir. The direct alignment signal is
weaker, however a systematic trend is visible at distances < 2 Rvir. All
velocity alignments are highly significant on small scales. Our results suggest
that the halo alignment reflects the filamentary large scale structure which
extends far beyond the virial radii of the groups. In contrast, the main
contribution to the radial alignment arises from the adjustment of the
satellite orientations in the group tidal field. The projected data reveal good
agreement with recent results derived from large galaxy surveys. (abridged)Comment: accepted for publication in Ap
Systematic identification of IRAS point sources
A large scale program was initiated to identify IRAS point sources. At ROE the ideal facilities are at hand to undertake such a large program, viz. the rapid scanning capabilities of the COSMOS measuring machine to exploit the depth and resolution of the U.K. Schmidt Telescope J survey plates. Sources in 44 Schmidt plate areas were identified including 1300 sources and covering 1100 square degrees. The identification comprise 700 galaxy identifications and 600 stellar identifications. There are also about 40 sources with no obvious identification but which can be most easily explained by cirrus, confusion between two sources or sources just outside the 2 sigma error box. A major aim with the galaxy identification is to provide a data base from which sound statistical analyses can be made. Accurate blue magnitudes and morphological classifications for each identification were produced
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