THE CORPORATE INTERVIEW AS A RESEARCH METHOD IN ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY*

The open-ended corporate interview as a qualitative research method is proposed as a valuable component of an evidentiary strategy in economic geography. It is argued to be more sensitive than other survey methods to historical, institutional, and strategic complexity. The corporate interview method is particularly appropriate in periods of economic and social change that challenge traditional analytical categories and theoretical principles. Some problems inherent to the method, and strategies for minimizing their impact on the research project, are described.     

Particle-mesh simulations of the Lyα forest

We have analysed short-exposure high-resolution images obtained on the William Herschel Telescope (WHT), Big Telescope Azimuthal (BTA) and CanadaFranceHawaii Telescope (CFHT) in order to investigate mechanical vibrations that are capable of reducing the high angular resolution allowed by speckle-interferometric methods. After filtering the photon noise we have computed power spectra of the image centres of gravity. In these spectra we have found vibration features that differ from one telescope to another and that vary in particular with the zenith angle. In the case of the WHT we discuss these results in terms of possible causes and in terms of degradation of the transfer function. We present some means to improve the data.     

Forced oscillations in a hydrodynamical accretion disk and QPOs

This is the second of a series of papers aimed to look for an explanation on the generation of high frequency quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) in accretion disks around neutron star, black hole, and white dwarf binaries. The model is inspired by the general idea of a resonance mechanism in the accretion disk oscillations as was already pointed out by Abramowicz and Klu’zniak (2001). In a first paper (P'etri, 2005a, paper I), we showed that a rotating misaligned magnetic field of a neutron star gives rise to some resonances close to the inner edge of the accretion disk. In this second paper, we suggest that this process does also exist for an asymmetry in the gravitational potential of the compact object. We prove that the same physics applies, at least in the linear stage of the response to the disturbance in the system. This kind of asymmetry is well suited for neutron stars or white dwarfs possessing an inhomogeneous interior allowing for a deviation from a perfectly spherically symmetric gravitational field. After a discussion on the magnitude of this deformation applied to neutron stars, we show by a linear analysis that the disk initially in a cylindrically symmetric stationary state is subject to {three kinds of resonances: a corotation resonance, a Lindblad resonance due to a driven force and a parametric resonance}. In a second part, we focus on the linear response of a thin accretion disk in the 2D limit. {Waves are launched at the aforementioned resonance positions and propagate in some permitted regions inside the disk, according to the dispersion relation obtained by a WKB analysis}. In a last part, these results are confirmed and extended via non linear hydrodynamical numerical simulations performed with a pseudo-spectral code solving Euler's equations in a 2D cylindrical coordinate frame. {We found that for a weak potential perturbation, the Lindblad resonance is the only effective mechanism producing a significant density fluctuation}. In a last step, we replaced the Newtonian potential by the so called logarithmically modified pseudo-Newtonian potential in order to take into account some general-relativistic effects like the innermost stable circular orbit (ISCO). The latter potential is better suited to describe the close vicinity of a neutron star or a black hole. However, from a qualitative point of view, the resonance conditions remain the same. The highest kHz QPOs are then interpreted as the orbital frequency of the disk at locations where the response to the resonances are maximal. It is also found that strong gravity is not required to excite the resonances.