Review of “Jurisdictional” Issues Under the Bumpers Amendment

The proposed Bumpers Amendment to the Administrative Procedure Act would encourage courts to be less deferential than they have previously been toward federal agencies\u27 views on issues of law. With regard to jurisdictional questions, the amendment would go further: it would invite courts not only to assert their independence, but also to disfavor agencies\u27 positions. Professor Levin regards this special rule of construction for jurisdictional questions as an attempt to achieve deregulation through judicial review. He criticizes this strategy as poorly conceived and calls attention to several weaknesses in the draftsmanship of the jurisdiction provision

Nonlegislative Rules and the Administrative Open Mind

The author\u27s main purpose here is to discuss the openmindedness that agencies are required to maintain towards the positions that they announce in nonlegislative rules. The author will offer a few observations about the circumstances in which this attitude is required, what agencies should do to maintain it, and how courts might police this obligation

Gluon saturation effects on J/Psi production in heavy ion collisions

We consider a novel mechanism for J/Psi production in nuclear collisions arising due to the high density of gluons. We calculate the resulting J/Psi production cross section as a function of rapidity and centrality. We evaluate the nuclear modification factor and show that the rapidity distribution of the produced J/Psi's is significantly more narrow in AA collisions due to the gluon saturation effects. Our results indicate that gluon saturation in the colliding nuclei is a significant source of J/Psi suppression that can be disentangled from the quark-gluon plasma effects.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures; v2: typos corrected; presentation improve

Double coset construction of moduli space of holomorphic bundles and Hitchin systems

We present a description of the moduli space of holomorphic vector bundles over Riemann curves as a double coset space which is differ from the standard loop group construction. Our approach is based on equivalent definitions of holomorphic bundles, based on the transition maps or on the first order differential operators. Using this approach we present two independent derivations of the Hitchin integrable systems. We define a "superfree" upstairs systems from which Hitchin systems are obtained by three step hamiltonian reductions. A special attention is being given on the Schottky parameterization of curves.Comment: 19 pages, Late

The flight demonstration program and selection process

The Orbital Refueling System (ORS); force torque sensor; Plasma Motor/Generator (PMG) proof of function; voice controlled system; infrared intercommunications; superfluid helium on orbit transfer; laser docking sensor; and the Small Expendable Deployment System (SEDS) are summarized

Thermoplastic waves in magnetars

Magnetar activity is generated by shear motions of the neutron star surface, which relieve internal magnetic stresses. An analogy with earthquakes and faults is problematic, as the crust is permeated by strong magnetic fields, which greatly constrain crustal displacements. We describe a new deformation mechanism that is specific to strongly magnetized neutron stars. The magnetically stressed crust begins to move because of a thermoplastic instability, which launches a wave that shears the crust and burns its magnetic energy. The propagating wave front resembles the deflagration front in combustion physics. We describe the conditions for the instability, the front structure and velocity, and discuss implications for observed magnetar activity.Comment: 5 pages, accepted to ApJ

"The Minimum Wage in Historical Perspective: Progressive Reformers and the Constitutional Jurisprudence of 'Liberty of Contract"

During the Progressive period of American history the debate over the minimum wage was often between those who clung to traditional economic theory as a reason for not having a minimum wage and those who saw the efficiency-wage benefits of adopting one. Although the latter argument proved quite effective in swaying many state legislatures, it may have also been a strategic argument for circumventing the Supreme Court's particular understanding of "liberty of contract." Under this doctrine, states could not pass any legislation mandating a minimum wage unless a compelling case could be made that such a wage would definitely serve the larger public interest. This paper argues that although efficiency-wage arguments might have been appealing to liberal reformers of that time, the arguments were ultimately used as a disingenuous means by which "liberty of contract" arguments could be circumvented.