Intermediate Mass Black Holes in Accreting Binaries: Formation, Evolution and Observational Appearance

We study the origin of the ultraluminous X-ray source M82-X1 in the nearby starburst galaxy M82. This X-ray source is of particular interest as it is currently the best candidate intermediate mass black hole; it is associated with a 54mHz quasi periodic oscillations with a relatively low (~1keV) black-body temperature. We perform detailed binary evolution calculations of 2--15Msun stars which transfer mass to a 100--2000Msun black hole and present an empirical model for the X-ray characteristics expected for such binaries. Based on the binary evolution calculations and the assumption in our simulations we conclude that the most likely candidate for the bright X-ray source M82-X1 is a 10-15Msun star near the end of its main-sequence or slightly evolved, which transfers mass to a ~1000Msun black hole. We expect the system to be in the high/soft state. In that case the binary will not be visible as a source of gravitational wave radiation, but other transient X-ray binaries with lower mass donors way be rather bright sources of gravitational wave radiation.Comment: in press: 2004, MNRAS volume 481 (erratum added

Death and organization: Heidegger’s thought on death and life in organizations

Mortality has not been given the attention it deserves within organization studies. Even when it has been considered, it is not usually in terms of its implications for own lives and ethical choices. In particular, Heidegger’s writing on death has been almost entirely ignored both in writing on death and writing on organizational ethics, despite his insights into how our mortality and the ethics of existence are linked. In this paper, we seek to address this omission by arguing that a consideration of death may yield important insights about the ethics of organizational life. Most important of these is that a Heideggerian approach to death brings us up against fundamental ethical questions such as what our lives are for, how they should be lived and how we relate to others. Heideggerarian thought also reconnects ethics and politics, as it is closely concerned with how we can collectively make institutions that support our life projects rather than thwart or diminish them