2,561 research outputs found
The probability of multidimensional poverty in the European Union
This paper evaluates multidimensional poverty in European countries introducing two main novelties compared with the previous literature: first, the dimensions of poverty are selected on the basis of the shared values included in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union; second, the whole space of feasible weights is used to summarise the multidimensional information, in order to remain agnostic about the importance given to the different deprivations. Using data from four waves of EU-SILC, the methodological innovations introduced here have allowed to produce a family of measures that capture the individual probability of being multidimensionally poor. Individual probabilities are then used to analyse the within and between distribution of multidimensional poverty in ten countries. Finally, they get combined with the generalised Lorenz dominance techniques in order to derive socially preferred distributions with the minimum load of value judgments. The novel methods proposed in this analysis allow to move from a dual definition of poverty, where poor and non-poor individuals are classified in a mutually exclusive context, to a continuous measure of deprivation, which allows to capture both the extensive and intensive margin of multidimensional poverty
Destruction of dimethyl ether and methyl formate by collisions with He
To correctly model the abundances of interstellar complex organic molecules
(iCOMS) in different environments, both formation and destruction routes should
be appropriately accounted for. While several scenarios have been explored for
the formation of iCOMs via grain and gas-phase processes, much less work has
been devoted to understanding the relevant destruction pathways, with special
reference to (dissociative) charge exchange or proton transfer reactions with
abundant atomic and molecular ions such as He, H and HCO. By
using a combined experimental and theoretical methodology we provide new values
for the rate coefficients and branching ratios (BRs) of the reactions of He
ions with two important iCOMs, namely dimethyl ether (DME) and methyl formate
(MF). We also review the destruction routes of DME and MF by other two abundant
ions, namely H and HCO. Based on our recent laboratory measurements
of cross sections and BRs for the DME/MF + He reactions over a wide
collision energy range, we extend our theoretical insights on the selectivity
of the microscopic dynamics to calculate the rate coefficients in the
temperature range from 10 to 298 K. We implement these new and revised kinetic
data in a general model of cold and warm gas, simulating environments where DME
and MF have been detected. Due to stereodynamical effects present at low
collision energies, the rate coefficients, BRs and temperature dependences here
proposed differ substantially from those reported in KIDA and UDfA, two of the
most widely used astrochemical databases. These revised rates impact the
predicted abundances of DME and MF, with variations up to 40% in cold gases and
physical conditions similar to those present in prestellar coresComment: accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysics (manuscript
no. AA/2018/34585), 10 pages, 3 figure
Il contratto a tempo determinato dopo la legge n. 92/2012 = The fixed-term contract after the law n. 92/2012. WP C.S.D.L.E. “Massimo D’Antona”.IT – 154/2012
Analyzing the new provisions concerning fixed-term contracts introduced by law n. 92/2012, the author distinguishes between flexibilizing innovations (first fixed-term contract without objective reason; larger continuation of the contract after expiry) and stiffening innovations, first of all the additional contribution to be paid for every non standard or atypical employment contract, then the increase of the time intervals between a stipulation and the other and yet the computability in the roof of the 36 months of periods of temporary work. In comparison to the previous legal and jurisdictional context, the evaluation of the overall impact of these contradictory provisions leads the author to highlight the risk of a severe limitation of the spread of the fixed-term contracts, in contrast with the aim to increase employment declared by the reform law
Array Antenna Power Pattern Analysis Through Quantum Computing
A method for the analysis of the power pattern of phased array antennas (PAs)
based on the quantum Fourier transform (QFT) is proposed. The computation of
the power pattern given the set of complex excitations of the PA elements is
addressed within the quantum computing (QC) framework by means of a customized
procedure that exploits the quantum mechanics principles and theory. A
representative set of numerical results, yielded with a quantum computer
emulator, is reported and discussed to assess the reliability of the proposed
method by pointing out its features in comparison with the classical approach
based on the discrete Fourier transform (DFT), as well.Comment: 35 pages, 12 figure
Dust Formation in the Wind of AGB Stars—The Effects of Mass, Metallicity and Gas-Dust Drift
Dust production in the wind of stars evolving through the asymptotic giant branch is investigated by using a stationary wind model, applied to results from stellar evolution modelling. Results regarding 1–8M⊙ stars of metallicities Z=0.014 (solar) and Z=2×10−3 are compared, to infer the role played by stellar mass and chemical composition on the dust formation process. We find a dichotomy in mass: stars of (initial) mass below ∼3M⊙ produce silicates and alumina dust before they become carbon stars, then carbonaceous dust; the higher mass counterparts produce only silicates and alumina dust, in quantities that scale with metallicity. The presence of drifts with average drift velocities ∼5 Km/s leads to higher dust formation rates owing to the higher growth rates of the dust grains of the different species. However, no significant changes are found in the overall optical depths, because the higher rate of dust formations favours a fast expansion of the wind, that prevents further significant production of dust. As far as oxygen-rich stars are concerned, the presence of drifts makes the main dust component to change from olivine to pyroxene. The release of the assumption that the number density of the seed particles is independent of the dust species considered affects dust formation in the wind of carbon stars: a factor 10 reduction in the density of the seeds of SiC leads to bigger sized SiC grains, and partly inhibits the formation of solid carbon, since the wind is accelerated and the densities in the carbon formation zone are smaller. No substantial differences are found in the winds of oxygen-rich stars
A Self-Replicating Single-Shape Tiling Technique for the Design of Highly Modular Planar Phased Arrays -- The Case of L-Shaped Rep-Tiles
The design of irregular planar phased arrays (PAs) characterized by a
highly-modular architecture is addressed. By exploiting the property of
self-replicating tile shapes, also known as rep-tiles, the arising array
layouts consist of tiles having different sizes, but equal shape, all being
generated by assembling a finite number of smaller and congruent copies of a
single elementary building-block. Towards this end, a deterministic
optimization strategy is used so that the arising rep-tile arrangement of the
planar PA is an optimal trade-off between complexity, costs, and fitting of
user-defined requirements on the radiated power pattern, while guaranteeing the
complete overlay of the array aperture. As a representative instance, such a
synthesis method is applied to tile rectangular apertures with L-shaped tromino
tiles. A set of representative results, concerned with ideal and real antenna
models, as well, is reported for validation purposes, but also to point out the
possibility/effectiveness of the proposed approach, unlike state-of-the-art
tiling techniques, to reliably handle large-size array apertures.Comment: 56 pages, 22 figure
Molecular growth of PAH-like systems induced by oxygen species: experimental and theoretical study of the reaction of naphthalene with HO (2Π3/2), O (3P), and O2(3Σ−g)
Single-Photon Avalanche Diodes in a 0.16 μm BCD Technology With Sharp Timing Response and Red-Enhanced Sensitivity
CMOS single-photon avalanche diodes (SPADs) have recently become an emerging imaging technology for applications requiring high sensitivity and high frame-rate in the visible and near-infrared range. However, a higher photon detection efficiency (PDE), particularly in the 700-950 nm range, is highly desirable for many growing markets, such as eye-safe three-dimensional imaging (LIDAR). In this paper, we report the design and characterization of SPADs fabricated in a 0.16 mu m BCD (Bipolar-CMOS-DMOS) technology. The overall detection performance is among the best reported in the literature: 1) PDE of 60% at 500 nm wavelength and still 12% at 800 nm; 2) very low dark count rate of < 0.2 cps/mu m(2) (in counts per second per unit area); 3) < 1% afterpulsing probability with 50 ns dead-time; and 4) temporal response with 30 ps full width at half-maximum and less than 50 ps diffusion tail time constant
Guided ion beam investigation of the reaction CO + + CO. C-O bond activation and C-C bond formation
Abstract We have investigated six different endothermic channels in the reaction of CO + ions with neutral CO. For each ionic product we have measured the kinetic energy dependence of the integral cross section and inferred the neutral products by the reaction energetics. The onset of the process producing C + , O, and CO, has been identified by a feature of the integral crosssection located at about 8.5 eV. Measurements of the product isotopic ratio suggest that C + originates from both the CO + ion and the neutral CO molecule. For the reaction channels producing C 2 + + O 2 and C 2 O + + O respectively, measurements of the reaction thresholds allow us to estimate the heats of formation of these two ionic products
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