Interactions between firms and universities in an immature system of innovation: a survey of industrial R&D-performers firms in Minas Gerais, Brazil

This paper presents preliminary results from a survey of R&D-performer industrial firms located in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The inspiration for this research comes from the Yale Survey (Klevorick et all, 1995) and from the Carnegie Mellon Survey (Cohen et all, 2002), for these Surveys are groundwork for the study of interactions between universities and firms. The objective of this Minas Gerais Survey (MG Survey, henceforth) is the investigation of specific characteristics of the interaction between universities and firms in an 'immature national system of innovation'. The first section summarizes the theoretical questions putted forward by this investigation, specially the role of universities in immature NSIs. The second section investigates the Brazilian NSI using data from the IBGE’s PINTEC, focusing the R&D performer firms in Brazil and the importance of universities and public research institutes as source of knowledge for industrial innovation. This second section presents data that highlight the position of Minas Gerais in the Brazilian NSI and helps to define the MG Survey research universe. The third section summarizes the issues involved in the adaptation of the Yale and the Carnegie Mellon questionnaires to the Brazilian reality and in the identification of the R&D-performer firms in Minas Gerais. The fourth section presents the MG Survey results. The fifth section concludes the paper.systems of innovations, interactions between science and technologies

Rapid X-ray variability of the gamma-ray binary LS I+61 303

The gamma-ray binary LS I+61 303 has been widely monitored at different wavelengths since its discovery more than sixty years ago. However, the nature of the compact object and the peculiar behavior of the system are still largely debated. Aimed at investigating the rapid X-ray variability of LS I+61 303, we have analysed all the archival RXTE/PCA data of the source, taken between 1996 and 2011. The timing analysis yields a periodicity of $P\sim 26.6\pm 0.3$ days, which is statistically compatible with several periodicities reported in the literature for LS I+61 303. Using this period, we performed a data phase-resolved analysis to produce a set of phase-bin-averaged energy spectra and power density spectra. These power density spectra are dominated by weak red noise below 0.1 Hz, and show no signal above this frequency. The amplitude of the red noise varies mildly with the phase, and shows a maximum that coincides with a dip of the X-ray flux and a softer photon index. Aside from low-frequency noise, this analysis does not provide any statistically significant periodic or quasi-periodic timing feature in the RXTE/PCA data of LS I+61 303.Comment: Accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (MNRAS

Was the soft X-ray flare in NGC 3599 due to an AGN disc instability or a delayed tidal disruption event?

We present unpublished data from a tidal disruption candidate in NGC 3599 which show that the galaxy was already X-ray bright 18 months before the measurement which led to its classification. This removes the possibility that the flare was caused by a classical, fast-rising, short-peaked, tidal disruption event. Recent relativistic simulations indicate that the majority of disruptions will actually take months or years to rise to a peak, which will then be maintained for longer than previously thought. NGC 3599 could be one of the first identified examples of such an event. The optical spectra of NGC 3599 indicate that it is a low-luminosity Seyfert/LINER with L_bol~10^40 ergs/s The flare may alternatively be explained by a thermal instability in the accretion disc, which propagates through the inner region at the sound speed, causing an increase of the disc scale height and local accretion rate. This can explain the <9 years rise time of the flare. If this mechanism is correct then the flare may repeat on a timescale of several decades as the inner disc is emptied and refilled.Comment: Resubmitted due to typo in author nam

Spots of interaction: an investigation on the relationship between firms and universities in Minas Gerais, Brazil

Spots of interaction summarize the nature of partial connections (between science and technology) operating in the Brazilian system of innovation. A pilot study in Minas Gerais, Brazil, uses two new research tools (for immature NSIs) and presents a database with research groups located in universities and a database built upon an adapted version of the pioneering Yale and Carnegie Mellon Surveys. These complementary databases identify spots of interaction, indicating how economic sectors use specific science and engineering fields. This investigation identifies a dual role of universities in immature NSIs, as substitutes and/or complements firms R&D.systems of innovation, underdevelopment, interactions between science and technology, surveys, universities

A systematic study of the high-frequency bump in the black-hole low-mass X-ray binary GX 339 -4

The high-frequency bump, characterized by a frequency exceeding ∼30 Hz, represents a seldom-explored time-variability feature in the power density spectrum (PDS) of black-hole X-ray binaries. In the 2002, 2004, 2007, and 2010 outbursts of GX 339 -4, the bump has been occasionally observed in conjunction with type-C quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs). We systematically study the properties of the bump during these four outbursts observed by Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer ( RXTE ) in the 2-60 keV bands and detect the bump in 39 observations. While the frequencies of the type-C QPOs are in the range of ∼0.1-9 Hz, the root-mean-square (rms) amplitude of the bump shows an evolution in the hardness ratio versus the type-C QPO frequency plot. By comparing the rms amplitude of the bump with the corona temperature and simultaneous radio jet flux of the source, as previously studied in GRS 1915 + 105, we establish that in the hard state of GX 339 -4, the bump is al w ays strong, with the measurements of the rms amplitude in the range of 4-10 per cent. At the same time, the corona temperature is high and the radio flux is low. These findings indicate that, using the bump as a proxy, the majority of the accretion energy is directed towards the hot corona rather than being channeled into the radio jet. We discuss this phenomenon in terms of an inefficient energy transfer mechanism between the corona and jet in GX 339 -4.</p

A systematic study of the high-frequency bump in the black-hole low-mass X-ray binary GX 339 -4

The high-frequency bump, characterized by a frequency exceeding ∼30 Hz, represents a seldom-explored time-variability feature in the power density spectrum (PDS) of black-hole X-ray binaries. In the 2002, 2004, 2007, and 2010 outbursts of GX 339 -4, the bump has been occasionally observed in conjunction with type-C quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs). We systematically study the properties of the bump during these four outbursts observed by Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer ( RXTE ) in the 2-60 keV bands and detect the bump in 39 observations. While the frequencies of the type-C QPOs are in the range of ∼0.1-9 Hz, the root-mean-square (rms) amplitude of the bump shows an evolution in the hardness ratio versus the type-C QPO frequency plot. By comparing the rms amplitude of the bump with the corona temperature and simultaneous radio jet flux of the source, as previously studied in GRS 1915 + 105, we establish that in the hard state of GX 339 -4, the bump is al w ays strong, with the measurements of the rms amplitude in the range of 4-10 per cent. At the same time, the corona temperature is high and the radio flux is low. These findings indicate that, using the bump as a proxy, the majority of the accretion energy is directed towards the hot corona rather than being channeled into the radio jet. We discuss this phenomenon in terms of an inefficient energy transfer mechanism between the corona and jet in GX 339 -4.</p

A systematic study of the high-frequency bump in the black-hole low-mass X-ray binary GX 339 -4

The high-frequency bump, characterized by a frequency exceeding ∼30 Hz, represents a seldom-explored time-variability feature in the power density spectrum (PDS) of black-hole X-ray binaries. In the 2002, 2004, 2007, and 2010 outbursts of GX 339 -4, the bump has been occasionally observed in conjunction with type-C quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs). We systematically study the properties of the bump during these four outbursts observed by Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer ( RXTE ) in the 2-60 keV bands and detect the bump in 39 observations. While the frequencies of the type-C QPOs are in the range of ∼0.1-9 Hz, the root-mean-square (rms) amplitude of the bump shows an evolution in the hardness ratio versus the type-C QPO frequency plot. By comparing the rms amplitude of the bump with the corona temperature and simultaneous radio jet flux of the source, as previously studied in GRS 1915 + 105, we establish that in the hard state of GX 339 -4, the bump is al w ays strong, with the measurements of the rms amplitude in the range of 4-10 per cent. At the same time, the corona temperature is high and the radio flux is low. These findings indicate that, using the bump as a proxy, the majority of the accretion energy is directed towards the hot corona rather than being channeled into the radio jet. We discuss this phenomenon in terms of an inefficient energy transfer mechanism between the corona and jet in GX 339 -4.</p

X-ray dips and a complex UV/X-ray cross-correlation function in the black hole candidate MAXI J1820+070

MAXI J1820+070, a black hole candidate first detected in early 2018 March, was observed by XMM-Newton during the outburst rise. In this letter we report on the spectral and timing analysis of the XMM-Newton X-ray and UV data, as well as contemporaneous X-ray data from the Swift satellite. The X-ray spectrum is well described by a hard thermal Comptonization continuum. The XMM-Newton X-ray light curve shows a pronounced dipping interval, and spectral analysis indicates that it is caused by a moderately ionized partial covering absorber. The XMM-Newton/OM U-filter data do not reveal any signs of the 17 h orbital modulation that was seen later on during the outburst decay. The UV/X-ray cross-correlation function shows a complex shape, with a peak at positive lags of about 4 s and a precognition dip at negative lags, which is absent during the X-ray dipping episode. Such shape could arise if the UV emission comes partially from synchrotron self-Compton emission near the black hole, as well as from reprocessing of the X-rays in the colder accretion disc further out