197 research outputs found
Moving frontiers in the Amazon. Brazilian small-scale gold miners in Suriname
This article explores the national, local, and personal frontiers that Brazilian small-scale gold miners – called garimpeiros – cross in their quest for gold in the larger Amazon region. Ethnographic research was conducted among garimpeiros and mining service providers in Suriname. In the past three decades, thousands of Brazilian migrants have entered Suriname and consequently affected its society, economy, and culture. It is argued that in the absence of strong state control, these garimpeiros, along with local forest peoples and legal title holders, are traversing the fluctuating boundaries. These boundaries include national borders, customary and legal regulations, technological limitations, and personal livelihood goals. The continuous reformulation of these multiple boundaries drives the development of local mining cultures. Social networks increase the volatility of formal and informal borders, and are the key to these mining cultures as well. The authors conclude that while entering Suriname and its gold mines is relatively easy, financial and conceptual barriers often prevent miners from leaving.Resumen: Fronteras fluctuantes en el Amazonas: los mineros artesanales de oro en SurinameEste artículo explora las fronteras nacionales, locales y personales que cruzan los garimpeiros (como se llama a los mineros brasileños que trabajan explotaciones auríferas a pequeña escala) en su búsqueda de oro en la región amazónica. La investigación etnográfica en que se basa este artículo se realizó entre garimpeiros y proveedores de servicios para la minería en Suriname. En las últimas tres décadas, miles de inmigrantes brasileños han llegado a Suriname y afectado su sociedad, economía y cultura. En el artículo se sostiene que en ausencia de un control estatal fuerte, los garimpeiros, junto con grupos indígenas locales y tenedores de tierra legítimos, cruzan estas fronteras fluctuantes, que incluyen las fronteras nacionales, las regulaciones aduaneras y legales, las limitaciones tecnológicas y los objetivos de supervivencia personal. Esta continua reformulación de fronteras múltiples sostiene el desarrollo de las culturas mineras locales. Las redes sociales aumentan la volatilidad de las fronteras formales e informales, y son de crucial importancia para estas culturas mineras. Los autores concluyen que aunque entrar a Suriname y a sus minas de oro es relativamente fácil, las barreras conceptuales y económicas a menudo impiden que los mineros vuelvan a casa
HST Observations of the Gravitationally Lensed Cloverleaf Broad Absorption Line QSO H1413+1143: Modeling the Lens
We investigate gravitational lens models for the quadruply-lensed Cloverleaf
BAL QSO H1413+1143 based on the HST WFPC/WFPC2 astrometric and photometric data
of the system by Turnshek et al. and the HST NICMOS-2 data by Falco et al. The
accurate image positions and the dust-extinction-corrected relative
amplifications, along with a possible detection of the lensing galaxy in the
infrared, permit more accurate lens models than were previously possible. While
more recent models are qualitatively consistent with the HST data, none of the
previous models considered the dust-extinction-corrected relative
amplifications of the image components. We use the power-law elliptical mass
model to fit the HST data. We find that a single elliptical galaxy perturbed by
an external shear can fit the image positions within the observational
uncertainties; however, the predicted relative magnifications are only roughly
consistent with the observational relative amplifications. We find that a
primary galaxy combined with a secondary galaxy in the vicinity of the
Cloverleaf or a cluster centered (south-)west of the Cloverleaf can fit both
the image positions and relative amplifications within the observational
uncertainties. We discuss future observations which could be used to test
and/or further constrain lens models of the Cloverleaf.Comment: 23 pages (in aaspp.sty) including 5 tables and 3 figures, Accepted
for publication in the Astrophysical Journa
Cluster Ellipticities as a Cosmological Probe
We investigate the dependence of ellipticities of clusters of galaxies on
cosmological parameters using large-scale cosmological simulations. We
determine cluster ellipticities out to redshift unity for LCDM models with
different mean densities and amplitudes of mass fluctuation
. The mean ellipticity increases monotonically with redshift for
all models. Larger values of , i.e., earlier cluster formation
time, produce lower ellipticities. The dependence of ellipticity on
is relatively weak in the range for high mass
clusters. The mean ellipticity decreases linearly with the
amplitude of fluctuations at the cluster redshift , nearly independent of
; on average, older clusters are more relaxed and are thus less
elliptical. The distribution of ellipticities about the mean is approximated by
a Gaussian, allowing a simple characterization of the evolution of ellipticity
with redshift as a function of cosmological parameters. At , the mean
ellipticity of high mass clusters is approximated by . This relation opens up the
possibility that, when compared with future observations of large cluster
samples, the mean cluster ellipticity and its evolution could be used as a new,
independent tool to constrain cosmological parameters, especially the amplitude
of mass fluctuations, .Comment: 16 pages, 4 figure
Cluster Alignments and Ellipticities in LCDM Cosmology
The ellipticities and alignments of clusters of galaxies, and their evolution
with redshift, are examined in the context of a Lambda-dominated cold dark
matter cosmology. We use a large-scale, high-resolution N-body simulation to
model the matter distribution in a light cone containing ~10^6 clusters out to
redshifts of z=3. Cluster ellipticities are determined as a function of mass,
radius, and redshift, both in 3D and in projection. We find strong cluster
ellipticities: the mean ellipticity increases with redshift from 0.3 at z=0 to
0.5 at z=3, for both 3D and 2D ellipticities; the evolution is well-fit by
e=0.33+0.05z. The ellipticities increase with cluster mass and with cluster
radius; the main cluster body is more elliptical than the cluster cores, but
the increase of ellipticities with redshift is preserved. Using the fitted
cluster ellipsoids, we determine the alignment of clusters as a function of
their separation. We find strong alignment of clusters for separations <100
Mpc/h; the alignment increases with decreasing separation and with increasing
redshift. The evolution of clusters from highly aligned and elongated systems
at early times to lower alignment and elongation at present reflects the
hierarchical and filamentary nature of structure formation. These measures of
cluster ellipticity and alignment will provide a new test of the current
cosmological model when compared with upcoming cluster surveys.Comment: 29 pages including 13 figures, to appear in ApJ Jan. 2005 (corrected
typos, added reference
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