328 research outputs found
Microlensing Halo Models with Abundant Brown Dwarfs
All previous attempts to understand the microlensing results towards the
Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) have assumed homogeneous present day mass
functions (PDMFs) for the lensing populations. Here, we present an
investigation into the microlensing characteristics of haloes with spatially
varying PDMFs and anisotropic velocity dispersion tensors. One attractive
possibility -- suggested by baryonic dark cluster formation in pregalactic and
protogalactic cooling flows -- is that the inner halo is dominated by stellar
mass objects, whereas low mass brown dwarfs become more prevalent on moving
outwards. The contribution to the microlensing rate must be dominated by dark
remnants (of about 0.5 solar masses) to recover the observed timescales of the
microlensing experiments. But, even though stellar remnants control the rate,
they do not dominate the mass of the baryonic halo, and so the well-known
enrichment and mass budget problems are much less severe. Using a simple ansatz
for the spatial variation of the PDMF, models are constructed in which the
contribution of brown dwarfs to the mass of the baryonic halo is 55 % and to
the total halo is 30 %. An unusual property of the models is that they predict
that the average timescale of events towards M31 is shorter than the average
timescale towards the LMC. This is because the longer line of sight towards M31
probes more of the far halo where brown dwarfs are the most common constituent.Comment: 17 pages, 1 figure, in press at The Astrophysical Journal (Letters
New Venture Opportunity Cost of Capital and Financial Contracting
Investments in new ventures involve financial contracts between an entrepreneur and outside investors. Investors, such as venture capital firms, represent well-diversified investors. In contrast, the entrepreneur must commit a substantial fraction of human and financial capital to the venture. Consequently, the entrepreneur's required rate of return depends on total risk, in the context of the entrepreneur’s other assets. In this paper, we use the Capital Asset Pricing Model as an approximation of the asset pricing model used by well-diversified investors. Accordingly, the entrepreneur faces the risk-return tradeoff of the CAPM as the opportunity cost of holding an under-diversified portfolio that includes investment in the venture. We model the required rate of return of the entrepreneur, assuming investment in the venture is one of two assets in the portfolio and that the other is the market portfolio. We explore opportunities for value creation when the parties to a financial contract have different costs of bearing risk. We also present empirical data on factors relevant to new venture cost of capital estimation.
A Phenomenology of the Job-Related Experiences of Early Career Catholic Elementary School Principals
This qualitative phenomenology investigated the job-related experiences of early career Catholic elementary school principals (N = 13) in the Mideastern region of the United States. Data were collected from an introductory survey, semi-structured interviews, two focus groups, and a participant designed plan for professional development. The findings indicated that Catholic elementary principals in their early career are motivated by a calling to a vocation in Catholic school leadership as well as the ability to develop and implement a vision for their school. Principals reported being challenged by limited resources, balancing the demands of the position, and navigating relationships. Finally, principals believed they are supported by diocesan administrators in the areas of human resources and student issues, particularly if the concerns have legal implications
New Venture Opportunity Cost of Capital and Financial Contracting
Investments in new ventures involve financial contracts between an entrepreneur and outside investors. Investors, such as venture capital firms, represent well-diversified investors. In contrast, the entrepreneur must commit a substantial fraction of human and financial capital to the venture. Consequently, the entrepreneur's required rate of return depends on total risk, in the context of the entrepreneur's other assets. In this paper, we use the Capital Asset Pricing Model as an approximation of the asset pricing model used by well-diversified investors. Accordingly, the entrepreneur faces the risk-return tradeoff of the CAPM as the opportunity cost of holding an under-diversified portfolio that includes investment in the venture. We model the required rate of return of the entrepreneur, assuming investment in the venture is one of two assets in the portfolio and that the other is the market portfolio. We explore opportunities for value creation when the parties to a financial contract have different costs of bearing risk. We also present empirical data on factors relevant to new venture cost of capital estimation
The Origin of Primordial Dwarf Stars and Baryonic Dark Matter
I present a scenario for the production of low mass, degenerate dwarfs of
mass via the mechanism of Lenzuni, Chernoff & Salpeter (1992).
Such objects meet the mass limit requirements for halo dark matter from
microlensing surveys while circumventing the chemical evolution constraints on
normal white dwarf stars. I describe methods to observationally constrain this
scenario and suggest that such objects may originate in small clusters formed
from the thermal instability of shocked, heated gas in dark matter haloes, such
as suggested by Fall & Rees (1985) for globular clusters.Comment: TeX, 4 pages plus 2 postscript figures. To appear in Astrophysical
Journal Letter
Gamma ray astronomy and baryonic dark matter
Recently, Dixon et al. have re-analyzed the EGRET data, finding a
statistically significant diffuse -ray emission from the galactic halo.
We show that this emission can naturally be explained within a
previously-proposed model for baryonic dark matter, in which -rays are
produced through the interaction of high-energy cosmic-ray protons with cold
clouds clumped into dark clusters - these dark clusters supposedly
populate the outer galactic halo and can show up in microlensing observations.
Our estimate for the halo -ray flux turns out to be in remarkably good
agreement with the discovery by Dixon et al. We also address future prospects
to test our predictions.Comment: 9 pages, 1 figure included, to appear in ApJ 510, L103 (1999
Indigenous Cultural and Natural Resource Management Futures
This paper has a specific focus on lessons we have learnt from working with Indigenous peoples engaged in cultural and natural resource management projects in northern Australia and New South Wales. It is based on action research currently being undertaken under the five-year research project People on Country, Healthy Landscapes and Indigenous Economic Futures (PoC) and a related three-year project investigating the socioeconomic benefits of Aboriginal people being involved in the sustainable management of their country in NSW
Search for exoplanets in M31 with pixel-lensing and the PA-99-N2 event revisited
Several exoplanets have been detected towards the Galactic bulge with the
microlensing technique. We show that exoplanets in M31 may also be detected
with the pixel-lensing method, if telescopes making high cadence observations
of an ongoing microlensing event are used. Using a Monte Carlo approach we find
that the mean mass for detectable planetary systems is about .
However, even small mass exoplanets () can cause
significant deviations, which are observable with large telescopes. We
reanalysed the POINT-AGAPE microlensing event PA-99-N2. First, we test the
robustness of the binary lens conclusion for this light curve. Second, we show
that for such long duration and bright microlensing events, the efficiency for
finding planetary-like deviations is strongly enhanced with respect to that
evaluated for all planetary detectable events.Comment: 14 pages, 8 figures. Paper presented at the "II Italian-Pakistani
Workshop on Relativistic Astrophysics, Pescara, July 8-10, 2009. To be
published in a special issue of General Relativity and Gravitation (eds. F.
De Paolis, G.F.R. Ellis, A. Qadir and R. Ruffini
Towards A Census of Earth-mass Exo-planets with Gravitational Microlensing
Thirteen exo-planets have been discovered using the gravitational
microlensing technique (out of which 7 have been published). These planets
already demonstrate that super-Earths (with mass up to ~10 Earth masses) beyond
the snow line are common and multiple planet systems are not rare. In this
White Paper we introduce the basic concepts of the gravitational microlensing
technique, summarise the current mode of discovery and outline future steps
towards a complete census of planets including Earth-mass planets. In the
near-term (over the next 5 years) we advocate a strategy of automated follow-up
with existing and upgraded telescopes which will significantly increase the
current planet detection efficiency. In the medium 5-10 year term, we envision
an international network of wide-field 2m class telescopes to discover
Earth-mass and free-floating exo-planets. In the long (10-15 year) term, we
strongly advocate a space microlensing telescope which, when combined with
Kepler, will provide a complete census of planets down to Earth mass at almost
all separations. Such a survey could be undertaken as a science programme on
Euclid, a dark energy probe with a wide-field imager which has been proposed to
ESA's Cosmic Vision Programme.Comment: 10 pages. White Paper submission to the ESA Exo-Planet Roadmap
Advisory Team. See also "Inferring statistics of planet populations by means
of automated microlensing searches" by M. Dominik et al. (arXiv:0808.0004
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