Book Reviews

Pauline von Bornsdorff and Arto Haapala, eds. Aesthetics in the Human Environment James D. Proctor and David M. Smith, eds. Geography and Ethics: Journeys in a Moral Terrain G. Malcolm Lewis, ed. Cartographic Encounters: Perspectives on Native American Mapmaking and Map Use Richard Symanski, Blackhearts: Ecology in Outback Australia Donald W. Meinig, The Shaping of America: A Geographical Perspective on 500 Years of History Peter J. Taylor, Modernities: A Geohistorical Interpretation Keith Harries, Mapping Crime: Principle and Practice Leland T. Saito, Race and Politics: Asian Americans, Latinos, and Whites in a Los Angeles Suburb Frank McDonald, The Construction of Dublin Lisa M. Benton, The Presidio: From Army Post to National Park Bob R. O'Brien, Our National Parks and the Search for Sustainability Eric Damian Kelly and Barbara Becker Community Planning: An Introduction to the Comprehensive Plan Avinoam Meir As Nomadism Ends: The Israeli Bedouin of the Negev David Pinder, ed. The New Europe: Economy, Society, and Environment R. P. Misra and Kamlesh Misra Million Cities of India: Growth Dynamics, Internal Structure, Quality of Life, and Planning Perspectives. Vol 1     

Orbital motion of a massive object in a dense stellar system

In this paper we show the positional oscillation of a massive object in a dense stellar system by numerical N -body simulations. We found that the central massive object, which at first is placed at rest at the centre of the surrounding spherical stellar system, promptly departs from the centre and rotates in accordance with the rotation of the stellar system, if the stellar system has an appreciable rotation. This oscillatory motion continues for a long time because of the absence of dynamical friction. Such a long-lasting oscillation may explain the asymmetric structure observed in the centres of M31 and NGC 4486B, may cause the secular flow of gaseous elements distributed in the central regions of galaxies on to the massive object, and may ignite activity in the centres of galaxies.     

Computing the Light Periods of Blazars with the Periodogram Spectral Analysis Method

The periodogram spectral analysis method applicable to equallyspaced time series is discussed, and the method is tested first with a simulated data series. It is confirmed that this method is effective for noisy series. Then, applying this method to the analysis of the light periods of the quasars 3C 279 and 3C 345 as well as the BL Lac objects OJ 287 and ON 231, we obtain their light periods to be 7.14 yr, 10.00 yr, 11.76 yr and 6.80 yr, respectively. These results obtained by periodogram spectral analysis are consistent with those obtained by the Jurkevich method in the literature. We have analyzed the effects of different window functions, and commented on their correct selection in practical applications.     

Laboratory study of deep-water breaking waves

In an attempt to elucidate the mechanics of deep-water wave breaking, a variety of breaking waves, including spilling and plunging waves, of different length scales and geometries was studied. The waves were generated through wave-wave interactions using wave packets with constant-steepness components, constant-amplitude components, and also components following the Pierson-Moskowitz distribution. Wave steepening prior to breaking were found to cause an increase in the high frequency spectral slope of the wave spectrum. The slopes were correlated to the type of breaking and the intensity of the breaking. The energy loss through breaking varied with the spectral characteristics of the wave packet. On the other hand, it was also noted that, irrespective of the wave packet, the losses were from the higher frequency end of the first harmonics.     

Exploring Saturation of Themes and Spatial Locations in Qualitative Public Participation Geographic Information Systems Research

Use of public participation geographic information systems (PPGIS) studies that collect local knowledge in a spatial format is increasing as a tool in natural resources management. Qualitative PPGIS studies have been conducted as individual interviews, as workshops, and in focus groups. As the number of qualitative PPGIS studies increases, so does the need to understand their quality. Saturation, the point when the researcher determines that the collection of additional data will provide minimal new information as it relates to a particular issue, directly reflects on the validity of the study. While the concept of saturation is well established, it is still inconsistently assessed and reported. Furthermore, how saturation applies to qualitatively collected spatial data has not been addressed. A method is presented to assess spatial saturation of qualitative PPGIS data from 19 focus groups that were conducted to investigate important places for recreation, livelihoods, and the environment in the Florida Panhandle.     

星系的恒星速度弥散度的归算方法

星系的恒星视向速度分布是星系动力学模型的重要观测约束,其特征参数包括速度弥散度、分布轮廓以及红移。这些参数对研究星系的动力学、结构和演化以及中央黑洞的质量等都具有重要的价值。该文全面总结了从星系光谱归算星系的恒星视向速度分布及其弥散度的各种方法,以及对观测和处理的一些要求。这些方法都假设星系谱线可看作是模板星光谱经多普勒位移并加宽后的线性叠加。提取尽可能多的星系内部恒星运动信息、减少模板星失配的影响、简化误差分析,是这些方法追求的目标。     

Electron surfing acceleration in oblique magnetic fields

Initially, inhomogeneous plasma jets, ejected by active galactic nuclei and associated with gamma-ray bursts, are thermalized by the formation of internal shocks. Jet subpopulations can hereby collide at Lorentz factors of a few. As the resulting relativistic shock expands into the upstream plasma, a significant fraction of the upstream ions is reflected. These ions, together with downstream ions that leak through the shock, form relativistic beams of ions that outrun the shock. The thermalization of these beams via the two-stream instability is thought to contribute significantly to plasma heating and particle acceleration by the shock. Here, the capability of a two-stream instability to generate relativistic field-aligned and cross-field electron flow, is examined for a magnetized plasma by means of a particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation. The electrons interact with the developing quasi-electrostatic waves and oblique magnetic fields. The simulation results bring forward evidence that such waves, by their non-linear interactions with the plasma, produce a highly relativistic field-aligned electron flow and electron energies, which could contribute to the radio synchrotron emissions from astrophysical jets, to ultrarelativistic leptonic subpopulations propagating with the jet and to the halo particles surrounding the accretion disc of the black hole.