522 research outputs found
INTEGRAL - operating high-energy detectors for five years in space
The INTEGRAL satellite, which studies the Universe in the hard X-ray and soft
Gamma-ray domain, has been operational for 5 years now. The X-ray telescopes,
which use the coded mask technique, provide unprecedented spectral and imaging
resolution. This led to a number of discoveries, such as the distribution of
diffuse emission in the Galaxy, the discovery of highly absorbed sources and
fast X-ray transients in the Galactic Plane, localization of ~50 Gamma-ray
bursts, and the resolution of the cosmic X-ray background around its peak at 30
keV. About 300 previously known X-ray sources have been detected and in
addition more than 200 new sources have been discovered. INTEGRAL provides
spectra starting at 3 keV and ranging up to several hundred keV. This article
gives a brief overview about the major discoveries of INTEGRAL.Comment: 10 pages. Invited review to appear in the proceedings of the 10th
ICATPP conference, Como, Italy, October 8-12, 200
New results from the HRX BL Lac sample
We present results for the Hamburg BL Lac sample, based on data provided by
the RASS-BSC. By fitting a single power law to the X-ray data we find, in a
number of objects, an additional absorbing component to the galactic value of
NH, which might be attributed to intrinsic absorption. A more probable cause
seems however to be a curvature in the X-ray spectra in the sense that they are
more curved for steeper slopes. The known relation between the X-ray spectral
slope and the ratio between optical and X-ray flux alpha_ox also applies to
this BL Lac sample, even though less significant than in previous works. We
also find a dependence of X-ray luminosity on alpha_ox.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, Proceedings of the Conference X-ray Astronomy'99:
Stellar Endpoints, AGN and Diffuse Background. To appear in Astrophysical
Letters and Communication
The elusive radio loud Seyfert 2 galaxy NGC 2110
The AGN NGC 2110 presents a peculiar case among the Seyfert 2 galaxies, as it
displays also features of radio-loud objects and is classified as FR-I radio
galaxy. Here we analyse simultaneous INTEGRAL and Swift data taken in 2008 and
2009. We reconstruct the spectral energy distribution in order to provide
further insight. The combined X-ray spectrum is well represented by an absorbed
cut-off power law model plus soft excess. Combining all available data, the
spectrum appears flat (photon index 1.25 +- 0.04) with the high-energy cut-off
being at 82 +- 9 keV. The intrinsic absorption is moderate (NH = 4E22 1/cm**2),
the iron K-alpha line is weak (EW = 114 eV), and no reflection component is
detected in the INTEGRAL spectrum. The data indicate that the X-ray spectrum is
moderately variable both in flux and spectral shape. The 2008 spectrum is
slightly steeper (photon index 1.5, Ec = 90 keV) with the source being
brighter, and flatter in 2009 (photon index 1.4, Ec = 120 keV) in the lower
flux state. The spectral energy distribution gives a bolometric luminosity of L
= 2E44 erg/sec. NGC 2110 appears to be a borderline object between radio loud
narrow line Seyfert 1 and radio quiet Seyfert 2. Its spectral energy
distribution might indeed be dominated by non-thermal emission arising from the
jet.Comment: 6 pages, 1 figure, accepted for publication in PoS (contribution
PoS(INTEGRAL 2010)081), proceedings of the 8th INTEGRAL Workshop "The
Restless Gamma-ray Universe" (September 2010, Dublin, Ireland
New modes of governance of cooperative arrangements in agricultural markets: The case of Polish producer groups
The cooperative movement in Poland has a long but difficult history. The socialistic regime introduced a command and control system into cooperatives which was destructive to their self-governing functions and eventually led to a lack of member involvement. There was a mass neglecting and abandonment after the transformation in particular of rural cooperatives. Nonetheless, in the early 1990s the first farmers’ cooperative marketing organizations, called agricultural producer groups, appeared on the market. They are bottom-up, voluntary organizations whose main purpose is to jointly sell their members’ output Although producer groups functions similarly to marketing cooperatives, farmers establishing producer groups have been choosing other legal forms than cooperatives. In the paper we investigate why the new forms of governance of cooperative arrangements are chosen and what are the implication of these choices for the success of the groups on the market. We discuss the impact of invested capital, the impact of advisors, and the impact of institutional environment on this choice. The empirical data was collected on 62 producer groups functioning in one province of Poland.Co-operatives, Governance, Organizational choice, Poland, Producer groups, Socialist legacy, Agribusiness,
ASSESSING THE EFFICIENCY OF LOCAL ACTION GROUPS AND AUCTIONS FOR DESIGNING AND IMPLEMENTING AGRI-ENVIRONMENTAL MEASURES IN THE EU - RESULTS FROM AN EXPERT SURVEY
In this article the authors focus on two important innovations for agri-environmental measures in the new council regulation: The implementation of local action groups and a call for tenders. The article describes how relevant actors assess the innovations. The results are based on 276 interviews, carried out in 2006 in nine EU Member States. Generally, actors assume that measures designed in local action groups are not necessarily more economically efficient than current measures, but they do have potential to result in a higher ecological effectiveness and in a greater acceptance. However, the opinion on auctions is comparatively critical
ASSESSING THE EFFICIENCY OF LOCAL ACTION GROUPS AND AUCTIONS FOR DESIGNING AND IMPLEMENTING AGRI-ENVIRONMENTAL MEASURES IN THE EU - RESULTS FROM AN EXPERT SURVEY
In this article the authors focus on two important innovations for agri-environmental measures in the new council regulation: The implementation of local action groups and a call for tenders. The article describes how relevant actors assess the innovations. The results are based on 276 interviews, carried out in 2006 in nine EU Member States. Generally, actors assume that measures designed in local action groups are not necessarily more economically efficient than current measures, but they do have potential to result in a higher ecological effectiveness and in a greater acceptance. However, the opinion on auctions is comparatively critical.Agri-environmental policy, Decentralisation, Local action groups, Auctions, Environmental Economics and Policy,
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