12,041 research outputs found
The Mutual Fund Industry and the Protection of Human Rights
This article considers the appropriate application of the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGP) to the mutual funds industry. Mutual funds can impact human rights by financially supporting oppressive states or abusive companies. Given the indirect nature of such impacts, along with the exclusively external management of the funds, this article argues that a unique approach to implementing the UNGP is necessary for this industry. Divided into five parts, the article outlines the governance structure of mutual funds and the expectations on states and businesses in the UNGP, before assessing the appropriateness of applying current guidance for banks and other financial actors to mutual funds. The article concludes with practical recommendations for both fund managers and states on the implementation of the UNGP in this industry
Models of magnetized neutron star atmospheres: thin atmospheres and partially ionized hydrogen atmospheres with vacuum polarization
Observed X-ray spectra of some isolated magnetized neutron stars display
absorption features, sometimes interpreted as ion cyclotron lines. Modeling the
observed spectra is necessary to check this hypothesis and to evaluate neutron
star parameters.We develop a computer code for modeling magnetized neutron star
atmospheres in a wide range of magnetic fields (10^{12} - 10^{15} G) and
effective temperatures (3 \times 10^5 - 10^7 K). Using this code, we study the
possibilities to explain the soft X-ray spectra of isolated neutron stars by
different atmosphere models. The atmosphere is assumed to consist either of
fully ionized electron-ion plasmas or of partially ionized hydrogen. Vacuum
resonance and partial mode conversion are taken into account. Any inclination
of the magnetic field relative to the stellar surface is allowed. We use modern
opacities of fully or partially ionized plasmas in strong magnetic fields and
solve the coupled radiative transfer equations for the normal electromagnetic
modes in the plasma. Spectra of outgoing radiation are calculated for various
atmosphere models: fully ionized semi-infinite atmosphere, thin atmosphere,
partially ionized hydrogen atmosphere, or novel "sandwich" atmosphere (thin
atmosphere with a hydrogen layer above a helium layer. Possibilities of
applications of these results are discussed. In particular, the outgoing
spectrum using the "sandwich" model is constructed. Thin partially ionized
hydrogen atmospheres with vacuum polarization are shown to be able to improve
the fit to the observed spectrum of the nearby isolated neutron star RBS 1223
(RX J1308.8+2127).Comment: Accepted for publications in Astronomy and Astrophysics, 9 pages, 12
figure
Radiative properties of highly magnetized isolated neutron star surfaces and approximate treatment of absorption features in their spectra
In the X-ray spectra of most X-ray dim isolated neutron stars (XDINSs)
absorption features with equivalent widths (EWs) of 50 -- 200 eV are observed.
We theoretically investigate different models to explain absorption features
and compare their properties with the observations. We consider various
theoretical models for the magnetized neutron star surface: naked condensed
iron surfaces and partially ionized hydrogen model atmospheres, including
semi-infinite and thin atmospheres above a condensed surface. The properties of
the absorption features (especially equivalent widths) and the angular
distributions of the emergent radiation are described for all models. A code
for computing light curves and integral emergent spectra of magnetized neutron
stars is developed. We assume a dipole surface magnetic field distribution with
a possible toroidal component and corresponding temperature distribution. A
model with two uniform hot spots at the magnetic poles can also be employed.
Light curves and spectra of highly magnetized neutron stars with parameters
typical for XDINSs are computed using different surface temperature
distributions and various local surface models. Spectra of magnetized model
atmospheres are approximated by diluted blackbody spectra with one or two
Gaussian lines having parameters, which allow us to describe the model
absorption features. To explain the prominent absorption features in the soft
X-ray spectra of XDINSs a thin atmosphere above the condensed surface can be
invoked, whereas a strong toroidal magnetic field component on the XDINS
surfaces can be excluded.Comment: 54 pages, 17 figures, accepted for publication in A&
Supermassive black holes do not correlate with dark matter halos of galaxies
Supermassive black holes have been detected in all galaxies that contain
bulge components when the galaxies observed were close enough so that the
searches were feasible. Together with the observation that bigger black holes
live in bigger bulges, this has led to the belief that black hole growth and
bulge formation regulate each other. That is, black holes and bulges
"coevolve". Therefore, reports of a similar correlation between black holes and
the dark matter halos in which visible galaxies are embedded have profound
implications. Dark matter is likely to be nonbaryonic, so these reports suggest
that unknown, exotic physics controls black hole growth. Here we show - based
in part on recent measurements of bulgeless galaxies - that there is almost no
correlation between dark matter and parameters that measure black holes unless
the galaxy also contains a bulge. We conclude that black holes do not correlate
directly with dark matter. They do not correlate with galaxy disks, either.
Therefore black holes coevolve only with bulges. This simplifies the puzzle of
their coevolution by focusing attention on purely baryonic processes in the
galaxy mergers that make bulges.Comment: 12 pages, 9 Postscript figures, 1 table; published in Nature (20
January 2011
A Study of the Direct-Fitting Method for Measurement of Galaxy Velocity Dispersions
We have measured the central stellar velocity dispersions of 33 nearby spiral
and elliptical galaxies, using a straightforward template-fitting algorithm
operating in the pixel domain. The spectra, obtained with the Double
Spectrograph at Palomar Observatory, cover both the Ca triplet and the Mg b
region, and we present a comparison of the velocity dispersion measurements
from these two spectral regions. Model fits to the Ca triplet region generally
yield good results with little sensitivity to the choice of template star. In
contrast, the Mg b region is more sensitive to template mismatch and to details
of the fitting procedure such as the order of a polynomial used to match the
continuum shape of the template to the object. As a consequence of the
correlation of the [Mg/Fe] ratio with velocity dispersion, it is difficult to
obtain a satisfactory model fit to the Mg b lines and the surrounding Fe blends
simultaneously, particularly for giant elliptical galaxies with large velocity
dispersions. We demonstrate that if the metallicities of the galaxy and
template star are not well matched, then direct template-fitting results are
improved if the Mg b lines themselves are excluded from the fit and the
velocity dispersion is determined from the surrounding weaker lines.Comment: 14 pages. To appear in A
"Cultural additivity" and how the values and norms of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism co-exist, interact, and influence Vietnamese society: A Bayesian analysis of long-standing folktales, using R and Stan
Every year, the Vietnamese people reportedly burned about 50,000 tons of joss
papers, which took the form of not only bank notes, but iPhones, cars, clothes,
even housekeepers, in hope of pleasing the dead. The practice was mistakenly
attributed to traditional Buddhist teachings but originated in fact from China,
which most Vietnamese were not aware of. In other aspects of life, there were
many similar examples of Vietnamese so ready and comfortable with adding new
norms, values, and beliefs, even contradictory ones, to their culture. This
phenomenon, dubbed "cultural additivity", prompted us to study the
co-existence, interaction, and influences among core values and norms of the
Three Teachings--Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism--as shown through
Vietnamese folktales. By applying Bayesian logistic regression, we evaluated
the possibility of whether the key message of a story was dominated by a
religion (dependent variables), as affected by the appearance of values and
anti-values pertaining to the Three Teachings in the story (independent
variables).Comment: 8 figures, 35 page
- …