Studies of the Mexican Deltocephalinae -1, 2 Aligia and Some New Allied Genera and Species (Homoptera: Cicadellidae)

Author Institution: Entomology Research Division, Agr. Res. Serv., U. S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C., Professor Emeritus, Department of Zoology and Entomology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OhioThe Mexican species of Aligia Ball and related genera are largely unknown or undescribed. Hepner (1942) published a study of the 32 species of Aligia known to occur in the United States, and some of these will undoubtedly be found in Mexico eventually. In this paper we describe three new species of Aligia; one new species of Frequenamia DeLong; and two new genera, one with two new species and the other with a single new species. All holotypes and allotypes are in the DeLong Collection; paratypes will be deposited in the collection of the United States National Museum

Fairness, Self-Interest, and the Politics of the Progressive Income Tax

All advanced democracies have adopted income taxes with considerable progression in marginal tax rates. To explain this we examine the nature of individual and collective preferences over alternative tax schedules, in the context of a simple two-sector model. We first consider the case of altruistic or "sociotropic" citizens who view the income tax as a means of achieving a fairer or more egalitarian distribution of income. We show that greater marginal-rate progressivity may well be less fair; that a "fairest" tax, however defined, is always a linear or "flat-rate" schedule in which all incomes are taxed at the same marginal rate; and that with a purely sociotropic electorate there exists a flat-rate schedule which is a majority equilibrium. We then show that with "self-interested" voters who seek to minimize their own tax burdens, greater marginal-rate progression may well be preferred by middle-and upper-income voters; that for middle-income citizens the optimal schedule is a sharply progressive one; and that within the set of individually optimal schedules there exists a majority equilibrium, which is a progressive schedule which minimizes the burden on median-income or middle class citizens, at the expense of lower-and upper-income taxpayers

Linearity of the Optimal Income Tax: A Generalization

In an earlier paper, we examined the nature of individual and collective preferences over alternative income tax schedules in the context of a simple model in which individuals respond to high tax rates by working in an untaxed "sheltered" sector of the economy. There we established the social optimality of a linear income tax among the set of tax schedules that are continuous, nondecreasing convex functions of income. Here we relax the restrictions on tax schedules, most importantly allowing schedules to have concave (decreasing marginal tax rate) as well as convex (increasing marginal tax rate) regions. In fact, we prove that a linear income tax is socially preferred to any nonlinear lower semi-continuous tax schedule

NEOWISE: Observations of the Irregular Satellites of Jupiter and Saturn

We present thermal model fits for 11 Jovian and 3 Saturnian irregular satellites based on measurements from the WISE/NEOWISE dataset. Our fits confirm spacecraft-measured diameters for the objects with in situ observations (Himalia and Phoebe) and provide diameters and albedo for 12 previously unmeasured objects, 10 Jovian and 2 Saturnian irregular satellites. The best-fit thermal model beaming parameters are comparable to what is observed for other small bodies in the outer Solar System, while the visible, W1, and W2 albedos trace the taxonomic classifications previously established in the literature. Reflectance properties for the irregular satellites measured are similar to the Jovian Trojan and Hilda Populations, implying common origins.Comment: 17 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in Astrophysical Journa

Dust emissivity in the Submm/Mm: SCUBA and SIMBA observations of Barnard 68

We have observed the dark cloud Barnard 68 with SCUBA at 850 um and with SIMBA at 1.2 mm. The submillimetre and millimetre dust emission correlate well with the extinction map of Alves, Lada and Lada (2001).The A_V/850um correlation is clearly not linear and suggests lower temperatures for the dust in the inner core of the cloud. Assuming a model for the temperature gradient, we derive the cloud-averaged dust emissivities (normalised to the V-Band extinction efficiency) at 850 um and 1.2 mm. We find k_850um/k_V = 4.0 +/- 1.0 x 10^-5 and k_1.2mm/k_V = 9.0 +/- 3.0 x 10^-6. These values are compared with other determinations in this wavelength regime and with expectations for models of diffuse dust and grain growth in dense clouds.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, A&A accepted (Letter), referee forma

New Pulsars from an Arecibo Drift Scan Search

We report the discovery of pulsars J0030+0451, J0711+0931, and J1313+0931 that were found in a search of 470 square degrees at 430 MHz using the 305m Arecibo telescope. The search has an estimated sensitivity for long period, low dispersion measure, low zenith angle, and high Galactic latitude pulsars of ~1 mJy, comparable to previous Arecibo searches. Spin and astrometric parameters for the three pulsars are presented along with polarimetry at 430 MHz. PSR J0030+0451, a nearby pulsar with a period of 4.8 ms, belongs to the less common category of isolated millisecond pulsars. We have measured significant polarization in PSR J0030+0451 over more than 50% of the period, and use these data for a detailed discussion of its magnetospheric geometry. Scintillation observations of PSR J0030+0451 provide an estimate of the plasma turbulence level along the line of sight through the local interstellar medium.Comment: 21 pages, 4 figures, Accepted for Publication in Ap

Quasi-local energy-momentum and energy flux at null infinity

The null infinity limit of the gravitational energy-momentum and energy flux determined by the covariant Hamiltonian quasi-local expressions is evaluated using the NP spin coefficients. The reference contribution is considered by three different embedding approaches. All of them give the expected Bondi energy and energy flux.Comment: 14 pages, accepted by Phys.Rev.