Effect of B-site Dopants on Magnetic and Transport Properties of LaSrCoRuO6_6

Effect of Co, Ru and Cu substitution at B and B' sites on the magnetic and transport properties of LaSrCoRuO$_6$ have been investigated. All the doped compositions crystallize in the monoclinic structure in the space group $P2_1/n$ indicating a double perovskite structure. While the magnetization and conductivity increase in Co and Ru doped compounds, antiferromagnetism is seen to strengthen in the Cu doped samples. These results are explained on the basis of a competition between linear Co-O-Ru-O-Co and perpendicular Co-O-O-Co antiferromagnetic interactions and due to formation of Ru-O-Ru ferromagnetic networks

The Kuiper Belt and Other Debris Disks

We discuss the current knowledge of the Solar system, focusing on bodies in the outer regions, on the information they provide concerning Solar system formation, and on the possible relationships that may exist between our system and the debris disks of other stars. Beyond the domains of the Terrestrial and giant planets, the comets in the Kuiper belt and the Oort cloud preserve some of our most pristine materials. The Kuiper belt, in particular, is a collisional dust source and a scientific bridge to the dusty "debris disks" observed around many nearby main-sequence stars. Study of the Solar system provides a level of detail that we cannot discern in the distant disks while observations of the disks may help to set the Solar system in proper context.Comment: 50 pages, 25 Figures. To appear in conference proceedings book "Astrophysics in the Next Decade

A Framework for Organizational Compliance Management Tactics

Abstract. Organizational compliance with laws, industrial standards, procedures and enterprise architectures has become a highly relevant topic for both practitio-ners and academics. However, both the fundamental insights into compliance as a concept and the tactics for bringing an organization into a compliant state have been described in a fragmented manner. Using literature from various disciplines, this paper presents two contributions. First, it describes the fundamental concepts regarding compliance. Second, it presents a framework in which the various tactics for achieving organizational compliance can be positioned

MARCO POLO: near earth object sample return mission

MARCO POLO is a joint European--Japanese sample return mission to a Near-Earth Object. This Euro-Asian mission will go to a primitive Near-Earth Object (NEO), which we anticipate will contain primitive materials without any known meteorite analogue, scientifically characterize it at multiple scales, and bring samples back to Earth for detailed scientific investigation. Small bodies, as primitive leftover building blocks of the Solar System formation process, offer important clues to the chemical mixture from which the planets formed some 4.6 billion years ago. Current exobiological scenarios for the origin of Life invoke an exogenous delivery of organic matter to the early Earth: it has been proposed that primitive bodies could have brought these complex organic molecules capable of triggering the pre-biotic synthesis of biochemical compounds. Moreover, collisions of NEOs with the Earth pose a finite hazard to life. For all these reasons, the exploration of such objects is particularly interesting and urgent. The scientific objectives of MARCO POLO will therefore contribute to a better understanding of the origin and evolution of the Solar System, the Earth, and possibly Life itself. Moreover, MARCO POLO provides important information on the volatile-rich (e.g. water) nature of primitive NEOs, which may be particularly important for future space resource utilization as well as providing critical information for the security of Earth. MARCO POLO is a proposal offering several options, leading to great flexibility in the actual implementation. The baseline mission scenario is based on a launch with a Soyuz-type launcher and consists of a Mother Spacecraft (MSC) carrying a possible Lander named SIFNOS, small hoppers, sampling devices, a re-entry capsule and scientific payloads. The MSC leaves Earth orbit, cruises toward the target with ion engines, rendezvous with the target, conducts a global characterization of the target to select a sampling site, and delivers small hoppers (MINERVA type, JAXA) and SIFNOS. The latter, if added, will perform a soft landing, anchor to the target surface, and make various in situ measurements of surface/subsurface materials near the sampling site. Two surface samples will be collected by the MSC using ``touch and go'' manoeuvres. Two complementary sample collection devices will be used in this phase: one developed by ESA and another provided by JAXA, mounted on a retractable extension arm. After the completion of the sampling and ascent of the MSC, the arm will be retracted to transfer the sample containers into the MSC. The MSC will then make its journey back to Earth and release the re-entry capsule into the Earth's atmosphere