Vortex Fluctuations in the Critical Casimir Effect of Superfluid and Superconducting Films

Vortex-loop renormalization techniques are used to calculate the magnitude of the critical Casimir forces in superfluid films. The force is found to become appreciable when size of the thermal vortex loops is comparable to the film thickness, and the results for T < Tc are found to match very well with perturbative renormalization theories that have only been carried out for T > Tc. When applied to a high-Tc superconducting film connected to a bulk sample, the Casimir force causes a voltage difference to appear between the film and bulk, and estimates show that this may be readily measurable.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures, Revtex 4, typo correctio

Photoelectrochemical electrodes

The surface of a moderate band gap semiconductor such as p-type molybdenum sulfide is modified to contain an adherent film of charge mediating ionene polymer containing an electroactive unit such as bipyridimium. Electron transport between the electrode and the mediator film is favorable and photocorrosion and recombination processes are suppressed. Incorporation of particles of catalyst such as platinum within the film provides a reduction in overvoltage. The polymer film is readily deposited on the electrode surface and can be rendered stable by ionic or addition crosslinking. Catalyst can be predispersed in the polymer film or a salt can be impregnated into the film and reduced therein

Trends in the Social [Ir]responsibility of American Multinational Corporations: Increased Power, Diminished Accountability

The purpose of this invited essay is to assess the future of the CSR performance of American multinationals in light of several ongoing trends. These trends include companies’ voluntary CSR programs and the global self-regulatory standards for responsible company activities that are developing in almost every industry. Moreover, the decade-long project at the United Nations to identify multinational companies’ responsibilities with respect to international human rights, ultimately spearheaded by Special Representative John Ruggie, has for the first time established global expectations of responsible corporate activity. At the same time, however, legal developments in the United States may be trending in the opposite direction, toward increased power and diminished accountability for corporations. Two legal developments that highlight this counter-trend will frame this discussion. The first, the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, 558 U.S. 310 (2010) recognizes a constitutional right for corporations to give financial support to a wide range of electioneering activities, including by using corporate funds to pay for and broadcast advertisements for specific candidates for office. The effect is to allow American companies to further consolidate their already substantial political power. The second, the opinion by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum, 621 F.3d 111 (2d Cir. 2010), reh’g en banc denied, 642 F.3d 379 (2011), aff’d, 569 U.S. __ , 133 S. Ct.1659(Apr. 17, 2013), denied the possibility of corporate liability under the Alien Tort Statute for Royal Dutch Shell’s employees’ alleged violations of Nigerian community members’ international human rights. A 2-1 majority held instead that violations of international law could only be asserted against natural persons or nations. The Supreme Court granted certiorari and in a decision handed down on April 17, 2013, the Court unanimously affirmed the judgment of the Second Circuit. The five-Justice opinion of the Court held that the ATS cannot be used to redress violations of the law of nations that occur outside the territory of the United States, except in exceptional circumstances not found in Kiobel. Neither the majority opinion nor the concurrence addressed the corporate liability issue, which means that the Second Circuit’s ruling on that issue remains the law of the Second Circuit — an important outcome, given the significance of the Second Circuit as a venue for ATS cases. Taken together, the overall effect of the Second Circuit’s rejection of corporate liability for human rights violations and the Supreme Court’s rejection of exterritorial application of the ATS to any defendant, corporate or otherwise, is the substantial evisceration of companies’ legal accountability for international human rights violations under the ATS. On a theoretical level, these decisions send mixed messages about corporate personhood and identity. But on a practical level, the two decisions work in unfortunate concert to increase the already considerable political power of U.S. corporations at home, even as they reduce the risk of legal accountability for their actions abroad. By doing so, they shrink the shadow of the law — the threat of hard legal regulation — that has been an important incentive to the adoption of voluntary, soft-law CSR standards. Thus, these legal developments, though ostensibly unrelated to the voluntary pursuit of CSR activity, may in fact act as a disincentive to that activity

A Very Large Array 3.6cm continuum survey of Galactic Wolf-Rayet stars

We report the results of a survey of radio continuum emission of Galactic Wolf-Rayet stars north of declination -46 degrees. The observations were obtained at 8.46 GHz (3.6cm) using the Very Large Array (VLA), with an angular resolution of about 6 x 9 arcsec and typical rms noise of 0.04 mJy/beam. Our survey of 34 WR stars resulted in 15 definite and 5 probable detections, 13 of these for the first time at radio wavelengths. All detections are unresolved. Time variations in flux are confirmed in the cases of WR98a, WR104, WR105 and WR125. WR79a and WR89 are also variable in flux and we suspect they are also non-thermal emitters. Thus, of our sample 20-30% of the detected stars are non-thermal emiters. Average mass loss rates determinations obtained excluding definite and suspected non-thermal cases give similar values for WN (all subtypes) and WC5-7 stars, while a lower value was obtained for WC8-9 stars. Uncertainties in stellar distances largely contribute to the observed scatter in mass loss rates. Upper limits to the mass loss rates were obtained in cases of undetected sources or for sources which probably show additional non-thermal emission.Comment: 21 pages, Latex, 21 postscript figures, to be published in The Astronomical Journal, May 200