Fortino v. Quasar Co.: Parent-Right Invocation of Rights for U.S. Subsidiaries of Japanese Companies Under U.S.-Japan Treaty of Friendship, Commerce, and Navigation

This Comment argues that the Seventh Circuit\u27s decision in Fortino undermined the U.S. Supreme Court\u27s holding in Sumitomo Shoji Am., Inc. v. Avigliano. In Sumitomo, the Supreme Court rejected the right to assign defense and unanimously held that U.S. subsidiaries of Japanese companies can not take advantage of the parent\u27s rights conferred by Article VIII(1). Although not explicit in the Court\u27s published opinion, the Supreme Court precluded the subsidiary\u27s use of Article VIII(1) upon virtually identical facts and arguments as those before the Seventh Circuit and, more specifically, upon the subsidiary\u27s contention that the parent dictated its discriminatory conduct. Part I describes the background of the parent-right invocation principle in the context of an Article VIII(1) defense to Title VII claims against Japanese companies. Part I of this Comment sets forth a detailed analysis of the Sumitomo decision. Finally, Part I discusses the cases which bear on the issue of whether a U.S. subsidiary can invoke its parent\u27s Article VIII(1) rights. Part II discusses the background and holding of the Seventh Circuit\u27s decision Fortino. Part III demonstrates that the Seventh Circuit erred in both finding an Article VIII(1) right to assign and in permitting the subsidiary to invoke its parent\u27s rights to defeat the Title VII claim because neither the FCN Treaty nor the Sumitomo decision permits this result. Part III further illustrates that after finding an Article VIII(1) right to assign, the court erroneously assumed that the parent\u27s system of assignment, rather than the subsidiary\u27s independent conduct, caused the Title VII violation. Finally, Part III demonstrates that the principle of parent-right invocation rests upon inapposite theories, violates fundamental principles of U.S. corporate law, and results in illogical consequences. This Comment concludes that courts should not permit Japanese companies to ignore the corporate form of their U.S. subsidiaries by allowing subsidiaries to invoke their parents\u27 FCN Treaty rights in defense of Title VII claims

Defining Discrimination on the Basis of National Origin Under Article VIII(1) of the Friendship Treaty Between the United States and Japan

This Note argues that the Third Circuit\u27s definition for unpermitted national origin discrimination best balances the purposes of the FCN Treaty and Title VII, and that U.S. courts should focus on factors such as visa status and differential treatment of executives in applying this definition. Part I discusses the interaction of the FCN Treaty with Title VII. Additionally, Part I focuses on the prevailing doctrine articulated by U.S. circuit courts that the FCN Treaty\u27s “of their choice” provision grants a right to discriminate only on the basis of citizenship, not on the basis of national origin. Part II analyzes the conflicting attempts by U.S. circuit courts to define the scope of national origin discrimination not protected by the FCN Treaty. Part III argues that the Third Circuit has developed the best definition for national origin discrimination and discusses factors that U.S. courts should consider in applying this definition. This Note concludes that U.S. courts evaluating Title VII claims against Japanese companies must focus on the circumstances surrounding employment decisions as well as the companies\u27 decision-making processes in order to effectuate the purposes of the FCN Treaty and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act

Reverberation Mapping of High-z, High-luminosity Quasars

We present Reverberation Mapping results after monitoring a sample of 17 high-z, high-luminosity quasars for more than 10 years using photometric and spectroscopic capabilities. Continuum and line emission flux variability is observed in all quasars. Using cross-correlation analysis we successfully determine lags between the variations in the continuum and broad emission lines for several sources. Here we present a highlight of our results and the determined radius--luminosity relations for Ly_alpha and CIV.Comment: Contributed talk at conference "Quasars at all cosmic epochs", held in Padova 2-7 April 2017, published in Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Science

Studying the spectral properties of Active Galactic Nuclei in the JWST era

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), due to launch in 2014, shall provide an unprecedented wealth of information in the near and mid-infrared wavelengths, thanks to its high-sensitivity instruments and its 6.5 m primary mirror, the largest ever launched into space. NIRSpec and MIRI, the two spectrographs onboard JWST, will play a key role in the study of the spectral features of Active Galactic Nuclei in the 0.6-28 micron wavelength range. This talk aims at presenting an overview of the possibilities provided by these two instruments, in order to prepare the astronomical community for the JWST era.Comment: 8 pages, 1 figure, accepted for publication in New Astronomy Reviews (proceedings of 7th Serbian Conference on Spectral Line Shapes in Astrophysics

PMN J1838-3427: A new gravitationally lensed quasar

We report the discovery of a new double-image quasar that was found during a search for gravitational lenses in the southern sky. Radio source PMN J1838-3427 is composed of two flat-spectrum components with separation 1", flux density ratio 14:1 and matching spectral indices, in VLA and VLBA images. Ground-based BRI images show the optical counterpart (total I=18.6) is also double with the same separation and position angle as the radio components. An HST/WFPC2 image reveals the lens galaxy. The optical flux ratio (27:1) is higher than the radio value probably due to differential extinction of the components by the lens galaxy. An optical spectrum of the bright component contains quasar emission lines at z=2.78 and several absorption features, including prominent Ly-alpha absorption. The lens galaxy redshift could not be measured but is estimated to be z=0.36 +/- 0.08. The image configuration is consistent with the simplest plausible models for the lens potential. The flat radio spectrum and observed variability of PMN J1838-3427 suggest the time delay between flux variations of the components is measurable, and could thus provide an independent measurement of H_0.Comment: 23 pages, incl. 6 figures, to appear in A.J.; replaced with accepted version; minor changes to text, improved figure

Quasar Jets and their Fields

Observations of jets from quasars and other types of accreting black hole are briefly summarized. The importance of beaming and $\gamma$-ray observations for understanding the origin of these jets is emphasised. It is argued that both the power source and the collimation are likely to be magnetic in origin, although the details remain controversial. Ultrarelativistic jets may be formed by the spinning hole and collimated by a hydromagnetic disc wind. Progress in understanding jets has been handicapped by our inadequate knowledge of how magnetic field really behaves under cosmic conditions. Fortunately, significant insights are coming from solar observations, numerical simulation and laboratory plasma experiments. Some possible, evolutionary ramifications are briefly discussed and it is suggested that it is the mass of the black hole relative to that of the galaxy which determines the eventual galaxy morphology.Comment: Latex. 17pages Proc Discusison Meeting on Magnetic Activity in Stars, Discs and Quasars. Ed. D. Lynden-Bell, E. R. Priest and N. O. Weiss. To appear in Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc.

Production and Detection of Cosmic Gravitational Wave Background in String Cosmology

String cosmology models predict a cosmic background of gravitational waves produced during a period of dilaton-driven inflation. I describe the background, present astrophysical and cosmological bounds on it, and discuss in some detail how it may be possible to detect it with large operating and planned gravitational wave detectors. The possible use of smaller detectors is outlined.Comment: 21 pages, 3 figures, Revtex. Invited paper to appear in the special issue of the Journal of Chaos, Solitons and Fractals on "Superstrings, M, F, S... Theory", eds. C. Castro and M.S. El Naschi

Observations of Feedback from Radio-Quiet Quasars - II. Kinematics of Ionized Gas Nebulae

The prevalence and energetics of quasar feedback is a major unresolved problem in galaxy formation theory. In this paper, we present Gemini Integral Field Unit observations of ionized gas around eleven luminous, obscured, radio-quiet quasars at z~0.5 out to ~15 kpc from the quasar; specifically, we measure the kinematics and morphology of [O III]5007 emission. The round morphologies of the nebulae and the large line-of-sight velocity widths (with velocities containing 80% of the emission as high as 1000 km/s combined with relatively small velocity difference across them (from 90 to 520 km/s) point toward wide-angle quasi-spherical outflows. We use the observed velocity widths to estimate a median outflow velocity of 760 km/s, similar to or above the escape velocities from the host galaxies. The line-of-sight velocity dispersion declines slightly toward outer parts of the nebulae (by 3% per kpc on average). The majority of nebulae show blueshifted excesses in their line profiles across most of their extents, signifying gas outflows. For the median outflow velocity, we find a kinetic energy flow between 4x10^{44} and 3x10^{45} erg/s and mass outflow rate between 2000 and 20000 Msun/yr. These values are large enough for the observed quasar winds to have a significant impact on their host galaxies. The median rate of converting bolometric luminosity to kinetic energy of ionized gas clouds is ~2%. We report four new candidates for "super-bubbles" -- outflows that may have broken out of the denser regions of the host galaxy.Comment: 23 pages, 10 figures, 2 tables, accepted for publication in MNRA