A radio continuum survey of the southern sky at 1420 MHz. Observations and data reduction

We describe the equipment, observational method and reduction procedure of an absolutely calibrated radio continuum survey of the South Celestial Hemisphere at a frequency of 1420 MHz. These observations cover the area 0h < R.A. < 24h for declinations less than -10 degree. The sensitivity is about 50 mK T_B (full beam brightness) and the angular resolution (HPBW) is 35.4', which matches the existing northern sky survey at the same frequency.Comment: 9 pages with 9 figures, A&A, in pres

TRIS I: Absolute Measurements of the Sky Brightness Temperature at 0.6, 0.82 and 2.5 GHz

At frequencies close to 1 GHz the sky diffuse radiation is a superposition of radiation of Galactic origin, the 3 K Relic or Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation, and the signal produced by unresolved extragalactic sources. Because of their different origin and space distribution the relative importance of the three components varies with frequency and depends on the direction of observation. With the aim of disentangling the components we built TRIS, a system of three radiometers, and studied the temperature of the sky at $\nu =0.6$, $\nu = 0.82$ and $\nu = 2.5$ GHz using geometrically scaled antennas with identical beams (HPBW = $18^{\circ} \times 23^{\circ}$). Observations included drift scans along a circle at constant declination $\delta=+42^{\circ}$ which provided the dependence of the sky signal on the Right Ascension, and absolute measurement of the sky temperature at selected points along the same scan circle. TRIS was installed at Campo Imperatore (lat. = $42^{\circ}~26'$ N, long.= $13^{\circ}~33'$, elevation = 2000 m a.s.l.) in Central Italy, close to the Gran Sasso Laboratory.Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journa

ON SOME ISSUES OF ADMINISTRATIVE RESPONSIBILITY FOR VIOLATIONS OF PRE-ELECTION CAMPAIGN

The relevance of the article’s problems is determined by the adjustment of the content of the election campaign, which promptly responds to changes in the socio-political situation, as a special type of activity carried out during the election campaign in order to achieve a certain result in the elections. The absence of a requirement for the credibility of campaigning distorts the basic requirements for information disseminated during the election campaign. The main goal is to study the gaps in legislation in the field of implementing measures of administrative responsibility for violating the procedure for campaigning and making proposals for their settlement. Problems under consideration. Election campaigning as a stage of the electoral process, which directly reflects the competitive struggle and the alternativeness of elections, helps to reveal the political views of candidates and parties, and helps voters, based on the presented campaign materials, can make their conscious and informed choice. However, the lack of reliability requirements for the disseminated campaign materials leads to the possibility of misleading voters and forming an incorrect idea about candidates and parties. Based on the established restrictions and prohibitions during campaigning, the article discusses the most common offenses that entail administrative liability measures, with the provision of statistical data on administrative offenses for the election period that took place on a single voting day on September 11, 2022. Used methods. Along with general scientific methods, special legal methods were also used: comparative legal, systemic, functional, statistical analysis, etc. Conclusions. The authors come to the conclusion that, taking into account the demands of modern society formed by the current political agenda, there is a need to tighten the measures of administrative responsibility for violations during campaigning, as well as to further improve the very institution of election campaigning. A proposal is made to supplement the electoral legislation with provisions establishing the need to confirm the authenticity of campaign materials of candidates. These changes are aimed at broad and complete information support of the election campaign, holding open and competitive elections

A joint study of early and late spectral distortions of the cosmic microwave background and of the millimetric foreground

We have compared the absolute temperature data of the CMB spectrum with models for CMB spectra distorted by a single or two heating processes at different cosmic times. The constraints on the fractional energy injected in the radiation field, DE/E, are mainly provided by the FIRAS instrument aboard the COBE satellite. Under the hypothesis that two heating processes have occurred at different epochs, the limits on DE/E are relaxed by a factor 2 both for the earlier and the later process with respect to the case in which a single energy injection in the thermal history of the universe is considered. In general, the constraints on DE/E are weaker for early processes than for relatively late processes, because of the wavelength coverage of FIRAS data. We considered also the FIRAS calibration as revised by Battistelli et al. 2000, that, in the case of the favourite calibrator emissivity law proposed by the authors, implies significant deviations from a planckian spectrum. An astrophysical explanation of this, although intriguing, seems difficult, both in terms of CMB spectral distortions and in terms of a relevant millimetric foreground. Future precise measurements at longer wavelengths as well as current and future CMB anisotropy space missions will provide independent, direct or indirect, cross checks.Comment: 24 pages, 8 figures; includes improvements in response to refere report. Accepted for publication on MNRA

The unseen water: Experimentation with scientific photomicrography and creative coding

This research involves aesthetic approaches to scientific photomicrography. Specifically, this project investigates the reinterpretation of photomicrographic images of micro-scale drops of water made by a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), a tool that has expanded the boundaries of observation and representation of the micro world since it was introduced to scientific research in the mid-1960s. I was not aiming to produce scientific records through my use of the SEM; instead, like several artists before me, I used scientific photography methods to create aesthetic images. By exploring the interplay between the indexical and iconic modalities in the process of creating photomicrographs, I seek to imbue them with new meanings and re-appropriate scientific photography as a creative practice and a source of science communication to the general public. Building on the fact that scientific and digital tools have brought new ways of seeing the world, my artistic application of them seeks to extend our perception. This paper provides an explanation of the production of interactive artworks for my project. In these works, viewers are encouraged to engage with photomicrographs of water through touch and movement, which resembles human interaction with water