The quasar epoch and the stellar ages of early-type galaxies

We investigate the hypothesis that quasars formed together with the stellar populations of early-type galaxies. This hypothesis – in conjunction with the stellar ages of early-type galaxies from population synthesis models, the relation of black hole mass to bulge velocity dispersion, and the velocity dispersion distribution of spheroids from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey – completely determines the cosmic accretion history of supermassive black holes and the redshift evolution of the characteristic luminosity. On the other hand, the precise shape of the luminosity function of quasars depends on the light curve of quasars and – in the optical, but not so much in X-rays – on the covering factor of the dust surrounding the active nucleus. We find a plausible set of assumptions for which the coeval formation of supermassive black holes and elliptical galaxies is in good agreement with the observed B -band and X-ray luminosity functions of quasars.     

Opposition Effect of Kuiper Belt Objects: preliminary estimations

Information on the surface structure of the Kuiper Belt objectscan be obtained from studies of their opposition brightening.Although KBOs are observed at a very limited phase angle rangethey represent a unique opportunity to study the backscatteringphenomenon down almost to zero phase angle. Preliminaryestimations of the opposition effect amplitude and width based oncomposite phase curves of four KBOs and two Centaurs showed theexistence of a very narrow opposition surge of about 0.1–0.2 mag at phase angles less than 0.1–0.2 deg. It may indicate a highporosity of the KBOs regoliths. Further observations are needed toconfirm this phenomenon.     

Results from the Eso Large Program on Transneptunian Objects and Centaurs

BVRI photometry of 107 TNOs and Centaurs establishes the range of spectral gradients to be between –5 to 55%/100 nm (with one exception). A cluster of very red Cubewanos is firmly identified in orbits of low inclination and eccentricity beyond 40 AU from the Sun. Further correlations between surface colours and dynamical parameters (inclination and perihelion distance) are suggested for Cubewanos and scattered disk objects, but lack complete confidence for their reality. Plutinos and Centaurs do not show any clear correlation between surface colours and orbital parameters. We present in this paper 12 spectra obtained in the visible region and nine of them for which we obtained also near infrared spectra up to 2.4 microns. A few other objects have been observed, but the data are still under reduction and analysis. The principal reported results obtained are: (i) a wide range of visible slopes; (ii) evidence for surface variations on 2001 PT₁₃; and (iii) possible detection of few percent of water ice (1999 TC_36}, 2000 EB₁₇₃, 1999 DE₉, 2001 PT₁₃, 2000 QC₂₄₃, 1998 SG₃₅).     

The growth history of supermassive black holes and the origin of the radio-loud–radio-quiet dichotomy

Monte Carlo simulations of the growth of supermassive black holes in semi-analytic models of galaxy formation are used to reconstruct characteristic merging and accretion histories. This paper shows that the growth pattern depends on the environment. In field galaxies black holes acquire most of their mass in a single accretion event. Refuellings and mergers with other black holes become important in groups and clusters. I also investigate whether the assumption that radio jets are powered by rotating black holes can explain the observed radio-loud–radio-quiet dichotomy. Wilson & Colbert speculated that rapidly rotating black holes are the natural product of major mergers, while normal accretion through a disc may not give rapidly spinning black holes if the conversion of rotational energy into electromagnetic energy is very efficient. Here I derive predictions for this model including the fraction of radio-loud quasars as a function of redshift and luminosity and compare these predictions with those of alternative proposals.     

Cosmological radiative transfer codes comparison project – I. The static density field tests

Radiative transfer (RT) simulations are now at the forefront of numerical astrophysics. They are becoming crucial for an increasing number of astrophysical and cosmological problems; at the same time their computational cost has come within reach of currently available computational power. Further progress is retarded by the considerable number of different algorithms (including various flavours of ray tracing and moment schemes) developed, which makes the selection of the most suitable technique for a given problem a non-trivial task. Assessing the validity ranges, accuracy and performances of these schemes is the main aim of this paper, for which we have compared 11 independent RT codes on five test problems: (0) basic physics; (1) isothermal H  ii region expansion; (2) H  ii region expansion with evolving temperature; (3) I-front trapping and shadowing by a dense clump and (4) multiple sources in a cosmological density field. The outputs of these tests have been compared and differences analysed. The agreement between the various codes is satisfactory although not perfect. The main source of discrepancy appears to reside in the multifrequency treatment approach, resulting in different thicknesses of the ionized-neutral transition regions and the temperature structure. The present results and tests represent the most complete benchmark available for the development of new codes and improvement of existing ones. To further this aim all test inputs and outputs are made publicly available in digital form.     

Impact of groundwater withdrawals on the interaction of multi-layered aquifers in the Viterbo geothermal area (central Italy)

The impact of groundwater withdrawals on the interaction between multi-layered aquifers with different water qualities in the Viterbo geothermal area (central Italy) was studied. In this area, deep thermal waters are used to supply thermal spas and public pools. A shallow overlying aquifer carries cold and fresh water, used for irrigation and the local drinking-water supply. Starting with a conceptual hydrogeological model, two simplified numerical models were implemented: a steady-state flow model of the entire groundwater system, and a steady-state flow and heat transport model of a representative area, which included complex interactions between the aquifers. The impact of increased withdrawals associated with potential future development of the thermal aquifer must be considered in terms of the water temperature of the existing thermal sources. However, withdrawals from the shallow aquifer might also influence the discharge of thermal sources and quality of the water withdrawn from the shallow wells. The exploitation of the two aquifers is dependent on the hydraulic conductivity and thickness of the intervening aquitard, which maintains the delicate hydrogeological equilibrium. Effective methods to control this equilibrium include monitoring the vertical gradient between the two aquifers and the residual discharge of natural thermal springs.     

Numerical Investigation of the Impact of Ethanol on Flow in the Vadose Zone

There is a need to elucidate the impact of ethanol on the subsurface environment because of the application of ethanol as automotive fuel. This study quantifies the effects of changes in surface tension, viscosity, and density induced by ethanol on the transmission and retention of water in the vadose zone. The HYDRUS‐1D model was modified to simulate two different scenarios of flow in a sandy loam involving ponding (constant head) or spillage with a subsequent rainfall event (constant flux). Solutions containing different amounts of the highly miscible ethanol (10, 50, and 100% by weight) as well as pristine water were considered. During ponding, ethanol reduced the amount of fluid entering the soil and slowed down the advancement of the wetting front. Viscosity effects were predominant for this scenario, reducing the average depth of the infiltrating liquid up to 44%. The total amount of pure ethanol that entered the soil was 11.38 vs. 17.64 cm for pure water. For the spillage scenario, the results suggest that density has little impact on the liquid movement. Surface tension effects are predominant in the upper portion of the soil. The changes in hydraulic conductivity due to ethanol‐induced modifications of solution viscosity are responsible for the slower advancement of the moisture front. The 10% ethanol solution moved 43.1% faster than pure ethanol during the first 2 d because of viscosity and surface tension effects.     

Sedimentary diatoms along a temporal and spatial gradient of metal contamination

We examined changes at the community and population level of sedimentary diatoms over a wide temporal and spatial gradient of metal pollution encountered in cores from three lakes in the Abitibi mining region (Québec, Canada). Diatom communities on the whole appeared to be very tolerant of metal contamination, as shown by diatom cell accumulation rates decreasing only under the most severe conditions of contamination, which were found from the 1930s to the 1980s in Lac Dufault (cadmium, up to 94 μg/g dry sediment; Cu, up to 8600 μg/g; Zn, up to 9000 μg/g). Under the moderate conditions of contamination observed in the other two lakes and in the most recent sediment of Lac Dufault, diatom cell accumulation rates tended to increase over values typical of the pre-mining period. However, there were increasing rearrangements of the community composition along the contamination gradient. Under moderate metal enrichment, the diatom community of Lac Vaudray experienced only subtle changes, with Cyclotella stelligera, albeit decreasing, remaining the dominant taxon. In the intermediately contaminated Lac Caron, several benthic taxa, noticeably Cymbella silesiaca and several Fragilaria species, rose in taxonomic importance. The most extreme contamination observed in Lac Dufault led to a severely impoverished community almost entirely represented by Achnanthes minutissima and Brachysira vitrea. With increasing levels of contamination, there was a shift from planktonic to benthic taxa and morphotypes and a consistent decrease in the siliceous stomatocysts/diatom frustules ratio. These trends suggest that littoral zones may represent an important refugium under conditions of high contamination. Responses to metal stress were in general more evident at the population than at the community level. Cyclotella stelligera and B. vitrea had a consistent negative and positive response, respectively, along the gradient and are the most promising indicators of metal pollution for this region.     

The ITalian ACcelerometric Archive (ITACA): processing of strong-motion data

The Italian strong-motion database was created during a joint project between Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV, Italian Institute for Geophysics and Vulcanology) and Dipartimento della Protezione Civile (DPC, Italian Civil Protection). The aim of the project was the collection, homogenization and distribution of strong motion data acquired in Italy in the period 1972–2004 by different institutions, namely Ente Nazionale per l’Energia Elettrica (ENEL, Italian electricity company), Ente per le Nuove tecnologie, l’Energia e l’Ambiente (ENEA, Italian energy and environment organization) and DPC. Recently the strong-motion data relative to the 23th December 2009, Parma (Mw = 5.4 and Mw = 4.9) and to the April 2009 L’Aquila sequences (13 earthquakes with 4.1 ≤ Mw ≤ 6.3) were included in the Italian Accelerometric Archive (ITACA) database (beta release). The database contains 7,038 waveforms from analog and digital instruments, generated by 1.019 earthquakes with magnitude up to 6.9 and can be accessed on-line at the web site . The strong motion data are provided in the unprocessed and processed versions. This article describes the steps followed to process the acceleration time series recorded by analogue and digital instruments. The procedures implemented involve: baseline removal, instrumental correction, band pass filtering with acausal filters, integration of the corrected acceleration in order to obtain velocity and displacement waveforms, computation of acceleration response spectra and strong motion parameters. This procedure is applied to each accelerogram and it is realised to preserve the low frequency content of the records.