Intrinsic alignments in the cross-correlation of cosmic shear and CMB weak lensing

We demonstrate that the intrinsic alignment of galaxies with large-scale tidal fields sources an extra contribution to the recently-detected cross-correlation of galaxy shear and weak lensing of the microwave background. The extra term is the analogy of the 'GI' term in standard cosmic shear studies, and results in a reduction in the amplitude of the cross-correlation. We compute the intrinsic alignment contribution in linear and non-linear theory, and show that it can be at roughly the 15% level for the CFHT Stripe 82 redshift distribution, if the canonical amplitude of intrinsic alignments is assumed. The new term can therefore potentially reconcile the apparently low value of the measured cross-correlation with standard LCDM. We discuss various small-scale effects in the signal and the dependence on the source redshift distribution. We discuss the exciting possibility of self-calibrating intrinsic alignments with a joint analysis of cosmic shear and weak lensing of the microwave backgroundComment: 5 pages, 4 figures; Published by MNRAS Letters. Minor corrections to match the published versio

Number of Lobbyist-Fundraisers for Presidential Candidates Already Exceeds 2004 Totals

The number of lobbyists raising money for the 2008 presidential candidates already has eclipsed the total for the entire 2004 campaign. A new Public Citizen study shows that so far, candidates still in the race have recruited 142 federal lobbyists to raise money for their campaigns, compared to 136 lobbyist fundraisers in 2004. It underscores the need to update the presidential public financing system so that presidential candidates wont rely on influence peddlers to fuel their campaigns

Integrated financial supervision : lessons of Northern European experience

Drawing on Northern European experience - where three Scandinavian countries have practiced integrated supervision for the past 10 years - the authors address three policy-related issues associated with the integrated model: a) Under what conditions should (or should not) a country consider moving toward an integrated model of financial supervision? Clearly, for a small transition or developing economy, or an economy with a small financial sector, the economies of scale from establishing an integrated agency outweigh the costs of moving to such a model. A strong case can also be made for an integrated approach in a financial sector dominated by banks, with little role for capital markets or a highly integrated financial sector. b) How should an integrated agency be structured, organized, and managed? There is no single obviously correct organizational structure, and existing agencies are experimenting with a variety of forms. An institutionally based structure has the virtue of simplicity and can be implemented fairly quickly, but tends to preserve the cultures and identities of the predecessor agencies more than is optimal. Whatever the structure, integrated supervision requires active management to secure the potential benefits that the approach offers. C) How should the integration process be implemented? While the decision to move to an integrated agency must be carefully thought through in the context of the country concerned, the more difficult part is implementation, which must be sensitively managed. Once the decision has been made, implementation should take place as quickly as possible. A well-conceived"change management"process should aim to overcome the cultural barriers associated with the previous fragmented structure. The authors'review of Northern European experience with integration of financial supervision raises a range of questions relevant to developing and transition economies, which they discuss.Financial Intermediation,Banks&Banking Reform,Insurance&Risk Mitigation,Environmental Economics&Policies,National Governance

On kk-point configuration sets with nonempty interior

We give conditions for $k$-point configuration sets of thin sets to have nonempty interior, applicable to a wide variety of configurations. This is a continuation of our earlier work \cite{GIT19} on 2-point configurations, extending a theorem of Mattila and Sj\"olin \cite{MS99} for distance sets in Euclidean spaces. We show that for a general class of $k$-point configurations, the configuration set of a $k$-tuple of sets, $E_1,\,\dots,\, E_k$, has nonempty interior provided that the sum of their Hausdorff dimensions satisfies a lower bound, dictated by optimizing $L^2$-Sobolev estimates of associated generalized Radon transforms over all nontrivial partitions of the $k$ points into two subsets. We illustrate the general theorems with numerous specific examples. Applications to 3-point configurations include areas of triangles in $\mathbb R^2$ or the radii of their circumscribing circles; volumes of pinned parallelepipeds in $\mathbb R^3$; and ratios of pinned distances in $\mathbb R^2$ and $\mathbb R^3$. Results for 4-point configurations include cross-ratios on $\mathbb R$, triangle area pairs determined by quadrilaterals in $\mathbb R^2$, and dot products of differences in $\mathbb R^d$.Comment: 32 pages, no figure

Collective frequency variation in network synchronization and reverse PageRank

A wide range of natural and engineered phenomena rely on large networks of interacting units to reach a dynamical consensus state where the system collectively operates. Here we study the dynamics of self-organizing systems and show that for generic directed networks the collective frequency of the ensemble is {\it not} the same as the mean of the individuals' natural frequencies. Specifically, we show that the collective frequency equals a weighted average of the natural frequencies, where the weights are given by an out-flow centrality measure that is equivalent to a reverse PageRank centrality. Our findings uncover an intricate dependence of the collective frequency on both the structural directedness and dynamical heterogeneity of the network, and also reveal an unexplored connection between synchronization and PageRank, which opens the possibility of applying PageRank optimization to synchronization. Finally, we demonstrate the presence of collective frequency variation in real-world networks by considering the UK and Scandinavian power grids

The environmental behaviour of beryllium-7 and implications for its use as a sediment tracer

The use of cosmogenic beryllium-7 (7Be) as a soil and sediment tracer relies upon a number of important assumptions which to date have not been fully underpinned by supporting data. As a catchment management tool 7Be offers unique potential to assess the effects of recent land use or climate change but further research is required to provide confidence in key data and elucidate sources of uncertainty. Through a range of laboratory and field studies, this thesis aims to explore knowledge gaps relating to i) the temporal and spatial dynamics of 7Be activity in rainfall which has importance in the context of estimating fallout input during erosion studies ii) adsorption behaviour in soils which is of critical importance when considering tracer stability at the field and catchment-scale and iii) the reliability of erosion estimates using 7Be inventories at the slope-scale to address the current lack of model validation. Findings showed temporal and spatial variability of 7Be fallout emphasising the need for regular site-specific sampling to determine fallout flux during erosion studies. Data supported the assumption of rapid tracer adsorption upon fallout although highlighted the potential for 7Be mobility under changing environmental parameters, thus, raising questions with regard to tracer stability at the catchment-scale. Field investigations demonstrated the potential for current models to overestimate erosion rates by failing to accurately represent key model components, namely, 7Be depth distributions, particle size enrichment and fallout input dynamics. Where these factors cannot be determined directly, a range of erosion estimates should be given based upon realistic sensitivity analysis of model components. In this manner, reported uncertainties will reflect field processes rather than propagated analytical uncertainty alone.Westcountry Rivers Trus