758 research outputs found
Ethical issues in the use of in-depth interviews: literature review and discussion
This paper reports a literature review on the topic of ethical issues in in-depth interviews. The review returned three
types of article: general discussion, issues in particular studies, and studies of interview-based research ethics. Whilst
many of the issues discussed in these articles are generic to research ethics, such as confidentiality, they often had particular
manifestations in this type of research. For example, privacy was a significant problem as interviews sometimes
probe unexpected areas. For similar reasons, it is difficult to give full information of the nature of a particular interview
at the outset, hence informed consent is problematic. Where a pair is interviewed (such as carer and cared-for) there are
major difficulties in maintaining confidentiality and protecting privacy. The potential for interviews to harm participants
emotionally is noted in some papers, although this is often set against potential therapeutic benefit. As well as
these generic issues, there are some ethical issues fairly specific to in-depth interviews. The problem of dual role is noted
in many papers. It can take many forms: an interviewer might be nurse and researcher, scientist and counsellor, or
reporter and evangelist. There are other specific issues such as taking sides in an interview, and protecting vulnerable
groups. Little specific study of the ethics of in-depth interviews has taken place. However, that which has shows some
important findings. For example, one study shows participants are not averse to discussing painful issues provided they
feel the study is worthwhile. Some papers make recommendations for researchers. One such is that they should consider
using a model of continuous (or process) consent rather than viewing consent as occurring once, at signature, prior
to the interview. However, there is a need for further study of this area, both philosophical and empirical
Universality of electron-positron distributions in extensive air showers
Using a large set of simulated extensive air showers, we investigate
universality features of electron and positron distributions in
very-high-energy cosmic-ray air showers. Most particle distributions depend
only on the depth of the shower maximum and the number of particles in the
cascade at this depth. We provide multi-dimensional parameterizations for the
electron-positron distributions in terms of particle energy, vertical and
horizontal momentum angle, lateral distance, and time distribution of the
shower front. These parameterizations can be used to obtain realistic
electron-positron distributions in extensive air showers for data analysis and
simulations of Cherenkov radiation, fluorescence signal, and radio emission.Comment: 13 pages, 22 figures, 1 tabl
Late time cosmic acceleration from vacuum Brans-Dicke theory in 5D
We show that the scalar-vacuum Brans-Dicke equations in 5D are equivalent to
Brans-Dicke theory in 4D with a self interacting potential and an effective
matter field. The cosmological implication, in the context of FRW models, is
that the observed accelerated expansion of the universe comes naturally from
the condition that the scalar field is not a ghost, i.e., . We
find an effective matter-dominated 4D universe which shows accelerated
expansion if . We study the question of whether
accelerated expansion can be made compatible with large values of ,
within the framework of a 5D scalar-vacuum Brans-Dicke theory with variable,
instead of constant, parameter . In this framework, and based on a
general class of solutions of the field equations, we demonstrate that
accelerated expansion is incompatible with large values of .Comment: In V2 the summary section is expanded. To be published in Classical
and Quantum Gravity
Fluid Interpretation of Cardassian Expansion
A fluid interpretation of Cardassian expansion is developed. Here, the
Friedmann equation takes the form where contains
only matter and radiation (no vacuum). The function g(\rhom) returns to the
usual 8\pi\rhom/(3 m_{pl}^2) during the early history of the universe, but
takes a different form that drives an accelerated expansion after a redshift . One possible interpretation of this function (and of the right hand
side of Einstein's equations) is that it describes a fluid with total energy
density \rho_{tot} = {3 m_{pl}^2 \over 8 \pi} g(\rhom) = \rhom + \rho_K
containing not only matter density (mass times number density) but also
interaction terms . These interaction terms give rise to an effective
negative pressure which drives cosmological acceleration. These interactions
may be due to interacting dark matter, e.g. with a fifth force between
particles . Such interactions may be intrinsically four
dimensional or may result from higher dimensional physics. A fully relativistic
fluid model is developed here, with conservation of energy, momentum, and
particle number. A modified Poisson's equation is derived. A study of
fluctuations in the early universe is presented, although a fully relativistic
treatment of the perturbations including gauge choice is as yet incomplete.Comment: 25 pages, 1 figure. Replaced with published version. Title changed in
journa
On the origin of the large scale structures of the universe
We revise the statistical properties of the primordial cosmological density
anisotropies that, at the time of matter radiation equality, seeded the
gravitational development of large scale structures in the, otherwise,
homogeneous and isotropic Friedmann-Robertson-Walker flat universe. Our
analysis shows that random fluctuations of the density field at the same
instant of equality and with comoving wavelength shorter than the causal
horizon at that time can naturally account, when globally constrained to
conserve the total mass (energy) of the system, for the observed scale
invariance of the anisotropies over cosmologically large comoving volumes.
Statistical systems with similar features are generically known as glass-like
or lattice-like. Obviously, these conclusions conflict with the widely accepted
understanding of the primordial structures reported in the literature, which
requires an epoch of inflationary cosmology to precede the standard expansion
of the universe. The origin of the conflict must be found in the widespread,
but unjustified, claim that scale invariant mass (energy) anisotropies at the
instant of equality over comoving volumes of cosmological size, larger than the
causal horizon at the time, must be generated by fluctuations in the density
field with comparably large comoving wavelength.Comment: New section added; final version to appear in Physical Review D;
discussion extended and detailed with new calculations to support the claims
of the paper; statistical properties of vacuum fluctuations now discussed in
the context of FRW flat universe; new important conclussions adde
Application of a Self-Similar Pressure Profile to Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Effect Data from Galaxy Clusters
We investigate the utility of a new, self-similar pressure profile for
fitting Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) effect observations of galaxy clusters. Current
SZ imaging instruments - such as the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Array (SZA) - are
capable of probing clusters over a large range in physical scale. A model is
therefore required that can accurately describe a cluster's pressure profile
over a broad range of radii, from the core of the cluster out to a significant
fraction of the virial radius. In the analysis presented here, we fit a radial
pressure profile derived from simulations and detailed X-ray analysis of
relaxed clusters to SZA observations of three clusters with exceptionally high
quality X-ray data: A1835, A1914, and CL J1226.9+3332. From the joint analysis
of the SZ and X-ray data, we derive physical properties such as gas mass, total
mass, gas fraction and the intrinsic, integrated Compton y-parameter. We find
that parameters derived from the joint fit to the SZ and X-ray data agree well
with a detailed, independent X-ray-only analysis of the same clusters. In
particular, we find that, when combined with X-ray imaging data, this new
pressure profile yields an independent electron radial temperature profile that
is in good agreement with spectroscopic X-ray measurements.Comment: 28 pages, 6 figures, accepted by ApJ for publication (probably April
2009
QUaD: A High-Resolution Cosmic Microwave Background Polarimeter
We describe the QUaD experiment, a millimeter-wavelength polarimeter designed
to observe the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) from a site at the South Pole.
The experiment comprises a 2.64 m Cassegrain telescope equipped with a
cryogenically cooled receiver containing an array of 62 polarization-sensitive
bolometers. The focal plane contains pixels at two different frequency bands,
100 GHz and 150 GHz, with angular resolutions of 5 arcmin and 3.5 arcmin,
respectively. The high angular resolution allows observation of CMB temperature
and polarization anisotropies over a wide range of scales. The instrument
commenced operation in early 2005 and collected science data during three
successive Austral winter seasons of observation.Comment: 23 pages, author list and text updated to reflect published versio
Classical Stabilization of Homogeneous Extra Dimensions
If spacetime possesses extra dimensions of size and curvature radii much
larger than the Planck or string scales, the dynamics of these extra dimensions
should be governed by classical general relativity. We argue that in general
relativity, it is highly nontrivial to obtain solutions where the extra
dimensions are static and are dynamically stable to small perturbations. We
also illustrate that intuition on equilibrium and stability built up from
non-gravitational physics can be highly misleading. For all static, homogeneous
solutions satisfying the null energy condition, we show that the Ricci
curvature of space must be nonnegative in all directions. Much of our analysis
focuses on a class of spacetime models where space consists of a product of
homogeneous and isotropic geometries. A dimensional reduction of these models
is performed, and their stability to perturbations that preserve the spatial
symmetries is analyzed. We conclude that the only physically realistic examples
of classically stabilized large extra dimensions are those in which the
extra-dimensional manifold is positively curved.Comment: 25 pages; minor changes, improved reference
Adiabatic perturbations in pre big bang models: matching conditions and scale invariance
At low energy, the four-dimensional effective action of the ekpyrotic model
of the universe is equivalent to a slightly modified version of the pre big
bang model. We discuss cosmological perturbations in these models. In
particular we address the issue of matching the perturbations from a collapsing
to an expanding phase in full generality. We show that, generically, one
obtains for the spectrum of scalar perturbations in the original pre big
model (with vanishing potential). When an exponential potential for the dilaton
is included, a scale invariant spectrum () of adiabatic scalar
perturbations is produced under very generic matching conditions, both in a
modified pre big bang and ekpyrotic scenario. We also derive general results
valid for power law scale factors matched to a radiation dominated era.Comment: 11 pages, 1 figure, revised version with small corrections to match
version in print. Results and conclusions unchange
Characterization of the Millimeter-Wave Polarization of Centaurus A with QUaD
Centaurus (Cen) A represents one of the best candidates for an isolated,
compact, highly polarized source that is bright at typical cosmic microwave
background (CMB) experiment frequencies. We present measurements of the 4
degree by 2 degree region centered on Cen A with QUaD, a CMB polarimeter whose
absolute polarization angle is known to 0.5 degrees. Simulations are performed
to assess the effect of misestimation of the instrumental parameters on the
final measurement and systematic errors due to the field's background structure
and temporal variability from Cen A's nuclear region are determined. The total
(Q, U) of the inner lobe region is (1.00 +/- 0.07 (stat.) +/- 0.04 (sys.),
-1.72 +/- 0.06 +/- 0.05) Jy at 100 GHz and (0.80 +/- 0.06 +/- 0.06, -1.40 +/-
0.07 +/- 0.08) Jy at 150 GHz, leading to polarization angles and total errors
of -30.0 +/- 1.1 degrees and -29.1 +/- 1.7 degrees. These measurements will
allow the use of Cen A as a polarized calibration source for future millimeter
experiments.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figures, v2 matches version published in Ap
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