State cartel theory

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_cartel_theory

State cartel theory is a new concept in the field of international relations theory (IR) and belongs to the group of institutionalist approaches. Up to now the theory has mainly been specified with regard to the European Union (EU), but could be made much more general. Hence state cartel theory should consider all international governmental organizations (IGOs) as cartels made up by states.

Terminology

The term cartel in state cartel theory means – in very short words – an alliance of rivals. It is used in a neutral, strictly analytical way, not as a degradation. The terminology has been predominantly adopted from the old historical cartel theory of pre-World War II Europe. But additionally these terms have been checked and sometimes adjusted in their meanings to be able to incorporate political and governmental functions as cartel functions of the combined states.

Methodical base and scientific background

State cartel theory is a hybrid design made up of two or more theories, assembled in an adequate way.

The method of theory creation consists of three steps:

1. The starting material of a state cartel theory is the intellectual corpus of a broad existing theory of international relations. For instance the following theories might be adaptable: the realism, the neofunctionalist Europe-science, or even a Marxist imperialism theory. Their statements on the relationships between the industrialized nation states are called into question as these are thought to be ideologically biased and therefore these are marked up for revision and change.
2. The losses and vacancies are now to be refilled by another theory, the classical cartel theory of economic enterprises. This theory, made up mainly in Germany, was authoritative in Europe till the end of World War II and was pushed aside globally by the American anti-trust policy up to the 1960s. The classical cartel theory comprised an elaborate organizational theory of the cartel institution. Its knowledge of the relationships among the cartelized enterprises and between them and the common cartel institutions are now to be applied. Hence, the classical economic cartel theory serves as a tool kit for repairing the ideological deformations and corruptions of the existing theories of IR.
3. In a third step the transfer results were rechecked in the light of available facts of international relations and they were stated more precisely and with greater differentiation.

In the final outcome a theory gets built, which – like the cartel theory of economic enterprises – based on the utilitarian image of man. Thus, state cartel theory is strictly determined by socio-economic factors. Since this approach prevents ideological influences it is not – neither evidently nor in a hidden or subtle manner – connected with the interests of any existing great power.

The philosophical precondition of the specified knowledge transfer from cartel theory is the – one century old – insight, that there are striking analogies between combinations of states and combinations of economic enterprises (i.e. the cartels formerly legal and of a great number in Europe).^[1] These analogies are both institutionally and functionally adept.

History of the state cartel conception

The conception of international relations as potential cartel phenomena has a long tradition:

• John Atkinson Hobson, a left-liberal British economist, suggested between 1902 and 1938, imperial antagonisms could be pacified in a system of 'inter-imperialism', if the great powers would "learn the art of combination" ('combination' or 'combine' were at those times used to designate cartels).^[2]
• Karl Kautsky, the leading theoretician of social democracy before World War I, hoped since 1912, the great powers – beginning with the British Empire and the Deutsche Reich – would unite into a 'state cartel' giving them organization and reconciliation within an ultra-imperialism – an idea, that was an illusion at that time.^[3]
• Early Commentators of the European unification described the organizational system of the Schuman Plan in 1950 as 'cartel-like'; the Corriere della Sera, a respected Italian newspaper, understood the aim of the proposal as to build a cartello anticartello, i.e., a states’ cartel to eliminate the private cartels in the coal and steel sectors.^[4]

The cartel concept for closer forms of inter-state cooperation was counteracted by just a range of actors: by Leninism, American anti-trust policy and European federalists (e.g., Jean Monnet). This conception was first blamed, then ignored, and by the 1960s increasingly forgotten.

Central conclusions and basic instruments

The breakthrough phase: The historical origin of a wider political cartelization is identified in the crisis of the capitalist system after World War II.^[5] The breakdown of the anarchic – or imperialistic – world system in 1945 marks the beginning of the comprehensive inter-state cartelization of the western world. The extreme material, political and human losses and sacrifices led the nations – or more precisely: their ruling classes – to the conclusion that war and protectionism should not be used any more as weapons against each other to assure the survival of the free western world. This culminated in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade coming into force rather than in service of mankind on 1 January 1948.

The cartel relationship: The analysis of relations among the combined states is a basic instrument of state cartel theory. The aim is to identify the extent of their cooperation, of common interests on the one hand, and the amount of their competition, the dimension of divergence of their interests on the other hand. This is carried out essentially contrary to existing statements of the conventional theories of IR, e.g. the argument of interstate 'friendship' – which is the idealist or functionalist position – or a human drive for power – which is the realist position. This way, the basic relationship between the cooperation seeking capitalist states can be recognized as a quite rational, but also difficult friendship-rivalry, a relationship of cooperation and antagonism.^[5] The Franco-German friendship can be seen as a paradigm for this and many examples of its ambivalence have been quoted.^[6]

Hegemony analysis: The supremacy of the greater states – like that of the bigger enterprises – leads to overproportional assertiveness and thus to privileges for these actors obtained by persuasion or by force. On the other hand, integration brings about dependencies binding all participants. So there is a structure of symmetric and asymmetric connections, which can be found both inside and outside of the respective state cartels. The analysis of these complex forms of international relations is in the focus of state cartel theory and can lead to a global analysis of state cartels and state cartel effects. A not considered aspect is the "disrupter", often manifesting itself in opposition to real or perceived grievance brought to bear, at little relative cost, to its effect such as the attacks on the World Trade Center where two aircraft as weapons brought to sharp focus world attention the power of a new terror.

Institutions and theory of ideology

The organizational structure: In enterprise cartels the members' assembly was always the historically first and main institution of the combination. All further institutions had serving functions (secretary, bodies for market regulation, arbitration board) and were the result of the will and the needs of the members. This structure can be found alike in the combinations of states: the council of ministers or delegates is the members' assembly of the participating states (e.g. the Council of the European Union), it has a secretariat, there are operative commissions (e.g. the European Commission), and there can be an arbitration board/court (e.g. the European Court).^[7] Additional institutions could be developed – in enterprise as in state cartels – according to needs.

On the democratic character of the European Union: The European Parliament is – according to state cartel theory – a less important, not really indispensable multifunctional communitarian institution of EU:^[8] The most obvious function is the orchestration of a European democracy; at this, the democratic pretensions of parties and citizens of the member states are to be served symbolically – meaning: they often get sent to nowhere. Another function is the provision and application of more EU-expertise by the representatives of the single member states, being an additional channel to import national interests into the communitarian system. Finally, the European Parliament is able to influence the EU legislation slightly by its rights of participation: it can actually bias and improve decisions, which otherwise would be made exclusively by the mighty council, and this would often happen according to the notorious principle of the least common denominator. A significant increase in the rights of the parliament would challenge the system and pose the question: cartel or federal state. A process like this, which could really override the cartel-logic, could only develop with the support or at the instigation of a strong dominant group of member states.

Theory of ideology: While national-imperialist ideologies of the pre-1945 era being abolished, international institutions (state cartels) today spread an ideology of interstate cooperation: "Since war and protectionism should fall away as means of policy, a different stile of contact becomes necessary between the partner states. […] The nationalism of former days is repressed by an ideology of international understanding and friendship. The European Spirit gets evoked particularly in context of the European Union. The commandments of international understanding and European Communitarianship are the lubricant in the mechanics of the bargaining process in the state cartel. As ideologies they often make the relations look much better than they really are, but as appeals or instructions they could be eminently valuable. […] The Origin of the communitarian ideology in its pure occurrence are the central institutions of the EU, its commission and its parliament."^[5]

Functions and results of integration

The functional typology: The enterprise cartels of former times framed markets according to their interests, state cartels frame policies. While the aims of the standardization activities can be different, the methods and instruments of private and state cartels are often similar and always analogically comparable. Thereby the functional typology of the classical enterprise cartels is applicable also for interstate regulative communities. This typification by the purpose of the cartel can be demonstrated by means of the example of the European Union:^[9]

• the European common agricultural market has instruments similar to a – normally forbidden – production cartel typically controlling prices and outputs.
• the miscellaneous market regulations of EU, but also its health care and environmental standards, can be seen to correspond to standardization cartels, partially also to conditions cartels.
• the settlements on maximum prices for cell phone calls within Europe constitute a supranationally decreed calculations cartel.

The cartel gain: Cooperating within international institutions normally provides the participating states with substantial benefits. "The cartel gain of the EU consists of the various gains in prosperity, which result from economic integration and now make the member states adhere like being glued together. Any far-reaching disintegration, trying to go back to national autarchy, would invariably lead to an economic crisis, for which the Great Depression [in Europe] of 1929/33 should have been just a slight forerunner."^[10] Transnational corporations and export-oriented national enterprises plus their employees and suppliers constitute a social power, which would hinder a breaking apart of the community. On the other hand, the cooperation in the state cartel is complicated because of distributional conflicts.

Tendencies for crises: According to state cartel theory inter-state organizations typically develop severe problems and crises. The European Union is seen to be in a permanent crisis.^[11] The causes for this are thought to lie in the clashes of increasingly unbridgeable interests between the participating nations or just plain cupidity. The EU – as a particularly advanced cartel combine – would strike more and more against a systemic barrier of development, i.e. could only be upgraded effectively by a change-over of power, by a federal revolution, in which the cartel form will be conquered and a federal state – with its considerable potentials for rationalization – will be erected.^[12]

Compatibility with other theories of international relations

State cartel theory suggests:

• an intense rivalry among the developed industrialized states for socio-economic reasons,
• a partial (not complete) resolvability of these contradictions within the framework of international institutions or – in other words – by the cartel method,
• the power of the nation states as the crucial force within international political relations.

Thereby state cartel theory is partially in accordance or in opposition:

• to the neofunctionalist Europe-science and the communitarian method of Jean Monnet: The belief in the resolvability of the inner-European divergences of interests, in the feasibility of an efficient and conciliable Europe, is criticized by state cartel theory as naíve-idealistic. On the other hand, both integration theories agree with regard to the importance they attach to institution-building in state communities.
• to Leninist imperialism theory: The allegation of antagonistic rivalry between the developed capitalist states should be wrong, certainly since World War II. These states could definitely cooperate enduringly and abstain from open violence in their relationships. But state cartel theory and imperialism theory accord in the belief that societal interests are caused by socio-economic factors, thus eventually depending on the economy.
• to theories of International Relations with a pro-American bias: In the hegemony analysis of a state cartel theory it is always the look at the most powerful nations (i.e. globally the USA) which is most important. – Whitewashing of America as 'good strong power' as done in realism (by Morgenthau: the USA were not in a consistent pursuit of hegemony) or the methodical deferment of the power aspect as in the mainstream of both regime theory and global governance approach would be contrary to a state cartel theory.

CMB cold spot

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CMB_cold_spot

The circled area is the cold spot. Black lines in the Planck's CMB map indicates each constellation, cold spot is in Eridanus constellation. The blue circle is the equatorial line in the celestial sphere. Image generated with Celestia.

The circled area is the cold spot in the WMAP.

The CMB Cold Spot or WMAP Cold Spot is a region of the sky seen in microwaves that has been found to be unusually large and cold relative to the expected properties of the cosmic microwave background radiation (CMBR). The "Cold Spot" is approximately 70 µK (0.00007 K) colder than the average CMB temperature (approximately 2.7 K), whereas the root mean square of typical temperature variations is only 18 µK. At some points, the "cold spot" is 140 µK colder than the average CMB temperature.

The radius of the "cold spot" subtends about 5°; it is centered at the galactic coordinate l_II = 207.8°, b_II = −56.3° (equatorial: α = 03^h 15^m 05^s, δ = −19° 35′ 02″). It is, therefore, in the Southern Celestial Hemisphere, in the direction of the constellation Eridanus.

Typically, the largest fluctuations of the primordial CMB temperature occur on angular scales of about 1°. Thus a cold region as large as the "cold spot" appears very unlikely, given generally accepted theoretical models. Various alternative explanations exist, including a so-called Eridanus Supervoid or Great Void that may exist between us and the primordial CMB (foreground voids can cause cold spots against the CMB background). Such a void would affect the observed CMB via the integrated Sachs–Wolfe effect, and would be one of the largest structures in the observable universe. This would be an extremely large region of the universe, roughly 150 to 300 Mpc or 500 million to one billion light-years across and 6 to 10 billion light years away, at redshift ${\displaystyle z\simeq 1}$, containing a density of matter much smaller than the average density at that redshift.

Discovery and significance

CMB Cold Spot was also observed by the Planck satellite at similar significance. Image generated with Celestia Program.

In the first year of data recorded by the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP), a region of sky in the constellation Eridanus was found to be cooler than the surrounding area. Subsequently, using the data gathered by WMAP over 3 years, the statistical significance of such a large, cool region was estimated. The probability of finding a deviation at least as high in Gaussian simulations was found to be 1.85%. Thus it appears unlikely, but not impossible, that the cold spot was generated by the standard mechanism of quantum fluctuations during cosmological inflation, which in most inflationary models gives rise to Gaussian statistics. The cold spot may also, as suggested in the references above, be a signal of non-Gaussian primordial fluctuations.

Some authors called into question the statistical significance of this cold spot.

In 2013, the CMB Cold Spot was also observed by the Planck satellite at similar significance, discarding the possibility of being caused by a systematic error of the WMAP satellite.

Possible causes other than primordial temperature fluctuation

The large 'cold spot' forms part of what has been called an 'axis of evil' (so-called because it was unexpected to see a structure like this).

Supervoid

The mean ISW imprint 50 supervoids have on the Cosmic Microwave Background: color scale from -20 to +20 µK.

One possible explanation of the cold spot is a huge void between us and the primordial CMB. A region cooler than surrounding sightlines can be observed if a large void is present, as such a void would cause an increased cancellation between the "late-time" integrated Sachs–Wolfe effect and the "ordinary" Sachs–Wolfe effect. This effect would be much smaller if dark energy were not stretching the void as photons went through it.

Rudnick et al. found a dip in NVSS galaxy number counts in the direction of the Cold Spot, suggesting the presence of a large void. Since then, some additional works have cast doubt on the "supervoid" explanation. The correlation between the NVSS dip and the Cold Spot was found to be marginal using a more conservative statistical analysis. Also, a direct survey for galaxies in several one-degree-square fields within the Cold Spot found no evidence for a supervoid. However, the supervoid explanation has not been ruled out entirely; it remains intriguing, since supervoids do seem capable of affecting the CMB measurably.

A 2015 study shows the presence of a supervoid that has a diameter of 1.8 billion light years and is centered at 3 billion light-years from our galaxy in the direction of the Cold Spot, likely being associated with it. This would make it the largest void detected, and one of the largest structures known. Later measurements of the Sachs–Wolfe effect show too its likely existence.

Although large voids are known in the universe, a void would have to be exceptionally vast to explain the cold spot, perhaps 1,000 times larger in volume than expected typical voids. It would be 6 billion–10 billion light-years away and nearly one billion light-years across, and would be perhaps even more improbable to occur in the large-scale structure than the WMAP cold spot would be in the primordial CMB.

A 2017 study reported surveys showing no evidence that associated voids in the line of sight could have caused the CMB Cold Spot and concluded that it may instead have a primordial origin.

One important thing to confirm or rule out the late time integrated Sachs–Wolfe effect is the mass profile of galaxies in the area as ISW effect is affected by the galaxy bias which depends on the mass profiles and types of galaxies.

In December 2021, the Dark Energy Survey (DES), analyzing their data, put forward more evidence for the correlation between the Eridanus supervoid and the CMB cold spot.

Cosmic texture

In late 2007, (Cruz et al.) argued that the Cold Spot could be due to a cosmic texture, a remnant of a phase transition in the early Universe.

Parallel universe

A controversial claim by Laura Mersini-Houghton is that it could be the imprint of another universe beyond our own, caused by quantum entanglement between universes before they were separated by cosmic inflation. Laura Mersini-Houghton said, "Standard cosmology cannot explain such a giant cosmic hole" and made the hypothesis that the WMAP cold spot is "… the unmistakable imprint of another universe beyond the edge of our own." If true, this provides the first empirical evidence for a parallel universe (though theoretical models of parallel universes existed previously). It would also support string theory. The team claims that there are testable consequences for its theory. If the parallel-universe theory is true, there will be a similar void in the Celestial sphere's opposite hemisphere (which New Scientist reported to be in the Southern celestial hemisphere; the results of the New Mexico array study reported it as being in the Northern).

Other researchers have modeled the cold spot as potentially the result of cosmological bubble collisions, again before inflation.

A sophisticated computational analysis (using Kolmogorov complexity) has derived evidence for a north and a south cold spot in the satellite data: "...among the high randomness regions is the southern non-Gaussian anomaly, the Cold Spot, with a stratification expected for the voids. Existence of its counterpart, a Northern Cold Spot with almost identical randomness properties among other low-temperature regions is revealed."

These predictions and others were made prior to the measurements (see Laura Mersini). However, apart from the Southern Cold Spot, the varied statistical methods in general fail to confirm each other regarding a Northern Cold Spot. The 'K-map' used to detect the Northern Cold Spot was noted to have twice the measure of randomness measured in the standard model. The difference is speculated to be caused by the randomness introduced by voids (unaccounted-for voids were speculated to be the reason for the increased randomness above the standard model).

Sensitivity to finding method

The cold spot is mainly anomalous because it stands out compared to the relatively hot ring around it; it is not unusual if one only considers the size and coldness of the spot itself. More technically, its detection and significance depends on using a compensated filter like a Mexican hat wavelet to find it.

Superparamagnetism

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superparamagnetism

Superparamagnetism is a form of magnetism which appears in small ferromagnetic or ferrimagnetic nanoparticles. In sufficiently small nanoparticles, magnetization can randomly flip direction under the influence of temperature. The typical time between two flips is called the Néel relaxation time. In the absence of an external magnetic field, when the time used to measure the magnetization of the nanoparticles is much longer than the Néel relaxation time, their magnetization appears to be in average zero; they are said to be in the superparamagnetic state. In this state, an external magnetic field is able to magnetize the nanoparticles, similarly to a paramagnet. However, their magnetic susceptibility is much larger than that of paramagnets.

The Néel relaxation in the absence of magnetic field

Main article: Néel relaxation theory

Normally, any ferromagnetic or ferrimagnetic material undergoes a transition to a paramagnetic state above its Curie temperature. Superparamagnetism is different from this standard transition since it occurs below the Curie temperature of the material.

Superparamagnetism occurs in nanoparticles which are single-domain, i.e. composed of a single magnetic domain. This is possible when their diameter is below 3–50 nm, depending on the materials. In this condition, it is considered that the magnetization of the nanoparticles is a single giant magnetic moment, sum of all the individual magnetic moments carried by the atoms of the nanoparticle. Those in the field of superparamagnetism call this "macro-spin approximation".

Because of the nanoparticle’s magnetic anisotropy, the magnetic moment has usually only two stable orientations antiparallel to each other, separated by an energy barrier. The stable orientations define the nanoparticle’s so called “easy axis”. At finite temperature, there is a finite probability for the magnetization to flip and reverse its direction. The mean time between two flips is called the Néel relaxation time ${\displaystyle {\tau }_{\text{N}}}$ and is given by the following Néel–Arrhenius equation:

${\displaystyle {\tau }_{\text{N}}={\tau }_0\exp \left(\frac{KV}{k_{\text{B}}T}\right)}$,

where:

• ${\displaystyle {\tau }_{\text{N}}}$ is thus the average length of time that it takes for the nanoparticle’s magnetization to randomly flip as a result of thermal fluctuations.
• ${\displaystyle {\tau }_0}$ is a length of time, characteristic of the material, called the attempt time or attempt period (its reciprocal is called the attempt frequency); its typical value is between 10⁻⁹ and 10⁻¹⁰ second.
• K is the nanoparticle’s magnetic anisotropy energy density and V its volume. KV is therefore the energy barrier associated with the magnetization moving from its initial easy axis direction, through a “hard plane”, to the other easy axis direction.
• k_B is the Boltzmann constant.
• T is the temperature.

This length of time can be anywhere from a few nanoseconds to years or much longer. In particular, it can be seen that the Néel relaxation time is an exponential function of the grain volume, which explains why the flipping probability becomes rapidly negligible for bulk materials or large nanoparticles.

Blocking temperature

Let us imagine that the magnetization of a single superparamagnetic nanoparticle is measured and let us define ${\displaystyle {\tau }_{\text{m}}}$ as the measurement time. If ${\displaystyle {\tau }_{\text{m}}\gg {\tau }_{\text{N}}}$, the nanoparticle magnetization will flip several times during the measurement, then the measured magnetization will average to zero. If ${\displaystyle {\tau }_{\text{m}}\ll {\tau }_{\text{N}}}$, the magnetization will not flip during the measurement, so the measured magnetization will be what the instantaneous magnetization was at the beginning of the measurement. In the former case, the nanoparticle will appear to be in the superparamagnetic state whereas in the latter case it will appear to be “blocked” in its initial state.

The state of the nanoparticle (superparamagnetic or blocked) depends on the measurement time. A transition between superparamagnetism and blocked state occurs when ${\displaystyle {\tau }_{\text{m}}={\tau }_{\text{N}}}$. In several experiments, the measurement time is kept constant but the temperature is varied, so the transition between superparamagnetism and blocked state is seen as a function of the temperature. The temperature for which ${\displaystyle {\tau }_{\text{m}}={\tau }_{\text{N}}}$ is called the blocking temperature:

${\displaystyle T_{\text{B}}=\frac{KV}{k_{\text{B}}\ln \left(\frac{{\tau }_{\text{m}}}{{\tau }_0}\right)}}$

For typical laboratory measurements, the value of the logarithm in the previous equation is in the order of 20–25.

Equivalently, blocking temperature is the temperature below which a material shows slow relaxation of magnetization.

Effect of a magnetic field

Langevin function (red line), compared with $\tanh \left(\frac{1}{3}x\right)$ (blue line).

When an external magnetic field H is applied to an assembly of superparamagnetic nanoparticles, their magnetic moments tend to align along the applied field, leading to a net magnetization. The magnetization curve of the assembly, i.e. the magnetization as a function of the applied field, is a reversible S-shaped increasing function. This function is quite complicated but for some simple cases:

1. If all the particles are identical (same energy barrier and same magnetic moment), their easy axes are all oriented parallel to the applied field and the temperature is low enough (T_B < T ≲ KV/(10 k_B)), then the magnetization of the assembly is

   ${\displaystyle M(H)\approx n\mu \tanh \left(\frac{{\mu }_{0}H\mu }{k_{\text{B}}T}\right)}$.

2. If all the particles are identical and the temperature is high enough (T ≳ KV/k_B), then, irrespective of the orientations of the easy axes:

   ${\displaystyle M(H)\approx n\mu L\left(\frac{{\mu }_{0}H\mu }{k_{\text{B}}T}\right)}$

In the above equations:

• n is the density of nanoparticles in the sample
• ${\mu }_0$ is the magnetic permeability of vacuum
• $\mu$ is the magnetic moment of a nanoparticle
• $L(x)=\frac{1}{\tanh (x)}-\frac{1}{x}$ is the Langevin function

The initial slope of the ${\displaystyle M(H)}$ function is the magnetic susceptibility of the sample ${\displaystyle \chi }$:

${\displaystyle \chi =\{\begin{array}{ll}{\displaystyle \frac{n{\mu }_0{\mu }^2}{k_{\text{B}}T}}& \text{for the 1st case}\\ {\displaystyle \frac{n{\mu }_0{\mu }^2}{3k_{\text{B}}T}}& \text{for the 2nd case}\end{array}}$

The latter susceptibility is also valid for all temperatures ${\displaystyle T>T_{\text{B}}}$ if the easy axes of the nanoparticles are randomly oriented.

It can be seen from these equations that large nanoparticles have a larger µ and so a larger susceptibility. This explains why superparamagnetic nanoparticles have a much larger susceptibility than standard paramagnets: they behave exactly as a paramagnet with a huge magnetic moment.

Time dependence of the magnetization

There is no time-dependence of the magnetization when the nanoparticles are either completely blocked (${\displaystyle T\ll T_{\text{B}}}$) or completely superparamagnetic (${\displaystyle T\gg T_{\text{B}}}$). There is, however, a narrow window around ${\displaystyle T_{\text{B}}}$ where the measurement time and the relaxation time have comparable magnitude. In this case, a frequency-dependence of the susceptibility can be observed. For a randomly oriented sample, the complex susceptibility is:

${\displaystyle \chi (\omega )=\frac{{\chi }_{\text{sp}}+i\omega \tau {\chi }_{\text{b}}}{1+i\omega \tau }}$

where

• $\frac{\omega }{2\pi }$ is the frequency of the applied field
• ${\chi }_{\text{sp}}=\frac{n{\mu }_0{\mu }^2}{3k_{\text{B}}T}$ is the susceptibility in the superparamagnetic state
• ${\chi }_{\text{b}}=\frac{n{\mu }_0{\mu }^2}{3KV}$ is the susceptibility in the blocked state
• $\tau =\frac{{\tau }_{\text{N}}}{2}$ is the relaxation time of the assembly

From this frequency-dependent susceptibility, the time-dependence of the magnetization for low-fields can be derived:

${\displaystyle \tau \frac{\mathrm{d}M}{\mathrm{d}t}+M=\tau {\chi }_{\text{b}}\frac{\mathrm{d}H}{\mathrm{d}t}+{\chi }_{\text{sp}}H}$

Measurements

A superparamagnetic system can be measured with AC susceptibility measurements, where an applied magnetic field varies in time, and the magnetic response of the system is measured. A superparamagnetic system will show a characteristic frequency dependence: When the frequency is much higher than 1/τ_N, there will be a different magnetic response than when the frequency is much lower than 1/τ_N, since in the latter case, but not the former, the ferromagnetic clusters will have time to respond to the field by flipping their magnetization. The precise dependence can be calculated from the Néel–Arrhenius equation, assuming that the neighboring clusters behave independently of one another (if clusters interact, their behavior becomes more complicated). It is also possible to perform magneto-optical AC susceptibility measurements with magneto-optically active superparamagnetic materials such as iron oxide nanoparticles in the visible wavelength range.

Effect on hard drives

Superparamagnetism sets a limit on the storage density of hard disk drives due to the minimum size of particles that can be used. This limit on areal-density is known as the superparamagnetic limit.

• Older hard disk technology uses longitudinal recording. It has an estimated limit of 100 to 200 Gbit/in².
• Current hard disk technology uses perpendicular recording. As of July 2020 drives with densities of approximately 1 Tbit/in² are available commercially. This is at the limit for conventional magnetic recording that was predicted in 1999.
• Future hard disk technologies currently in development include: heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) and microwave-assisted magnetic recording (MAMR), which use materials that are stable at much smaller sizes. They require localized heating or microwave excitation before the magnetic orientation of a bit can be changed. Bit-patterned recording (BPR) avoids the use of fine-grained media and is another possibility. In addition, magnetic recording technologies based on topological distortions of the magnetization, known as skyrmions, have been proposed.

Applications

General applications

• Ferrofluid: tunable viscosity

Biomedical applications

• Imaging: contrast agents in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
• Magnetic separation: cell-, DNA-, protein- separation, RNA fishing
• Treatments: targeted drug delivery, magnetic hyperthermia, magnetofection

Narcoterrorism

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narcoterrorism

Narcoterrorism, in its original context, is understood to refer to the attempts of narcotics traffickers to influence the policies of a government or a society through violence and intimidation, and to hinder the enforcement of anti-drug laws by the systematic threat or use of such violence. As with most definitions of terrorism, it typically only refers to non-state actors.

Description

Pablo Escobar's violence in his dealings with the Colombian government is probably one of the most known and best documented examples of narcoterrorism. The term itself was coined by former President Fernando Belaúnde Ter of Peru in 1983 when describing terrorist attacks against his nation's anti-narcotics police. The term has become a subject of controversy, largely due to its use in discussing violent opposition to the US government's War on Drugs.

The term is being increasingly used for terrorist organizations that engage in drug trafficking activity to fund their operations and gain recruits and expertise. Such organizations include FARC, ELN, AUC in Colombia, PCP-SL in Peru, Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Taliban.

A 2013 Congressional Research Service report noted that in 2003, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) reported that 14 of 36 (39%) of the groups designated by the U.S. as foreign terrorist organizations "were involved 'to some degree' in illicit narcotics activity" while in fiscal year 2010, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) "reported that 29 of the top 63 international drug syndicates, identified as such on the consolidated priority organization target (CPOT) list, were associated with terrorists."

In 2000 the U.S. began funding, continued under the U.S. Bush administration, of Plan Colombia, intending to eradicate drug crops and to act against drug lords accused of engaging in narcoterrorism, including among them the leaders of the Marxist FARC and the AUC paramilitary forces. The U.S. government is funding large-scale drug eradication campaigns and supporting Colombian military operations, seeking the extradition of commanders.

Although al-Qaeda is often said to finance its activities through drug trafficking, the 9/11 Commission Report notes that "while the drug trade was a source of income for the Taliban, it did not serve the same purpose for al Qaeda, and there is no reliable evidence that bin Laden was involved in or made his money through drug trafficking." The organization gains most of its finances through donations, particularly those by "wealthy Saudi individuals".

Critics of the prohibition of drugs say that prohibition itself funds terrorism, due to it indirectly making the black market and criminal organizations responsible for all sale.

Examples

Areas or countries that have active or historical narcoterrorism or narco-war include:

• Syria, wherein the ruling al-Assad family has sponsored various militant groups that controls territories in Lebanon and Syria to finance the world's largest multi-billion dollar drug industry. Assad regime support the drug trafficking operations of militant group Hezbollah, which are vital for the group's finances.
• Afghanistan, to fund operations with sales of opium and heroin in the Afghanistan War
• Brazil, has several organized and trained groups that dominate territories, carry out offensives against state and federal security forces, control the clandestine market for drugs, weapons and ammunition and apply violence through psychological, communal and indiscriminate terrorism against the civilian population.
• Colombia which have influential right-wing paramilitary "narco-terrorists", Clan del Golfo, Los Rastrojos, The Black Eagles and left-wing revolutionary guerrillas Popular Liberation Army.
• India's D-Company, a Mumbai-based crime syndicate which carried out the 1993 Bombay bombings. Said to be involved in large-scale drug trafficking via their contacts in Pakistani intelligence.
• Kosovo, during the civil war in 1999. Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) was using "Narcoterrorism" for financing its operations.
• Lebanon – Hezbollah is said to derive its income from drug trafficking operations in both the Middle East and Latin America. According to a research conducted by the Abba Eban Institute as part of an initiative called Janus Initiative, Hezbollah makes a profit in the cocaine smuggling market to leverage it for terrorist activities. Hezbollah operatives are overseeing illicit finance and drug trafficking activities, moving about $200 million a month.
• Mexico, drug cartels and gangs Sinaloa Cartel - Gente Nueva, Los Zetas, Jalisco New Generation Cartel, La Línea (gang), La Resistencia (gang), Los Mexicles, Los Pelones, Artistas Asesinos, Barrio Azteca
• United Kingdom (Northern Ireland), where loyalist paramilitaries like the Ulster Volunteer Force are believed to be involved in drug dealing.
• Peru left-wing revolutionary guerrillas Shining Path
• The Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan is said to fund itself through heroin trafficking.
• Sweden, in the form of a large quantity of gang related bombings, in retaliation to law enforcement, and other gangs and civilians. Bombings in Sweden.
• Venezuela, in the form of the Cartel of the Suns, among others. See generally Illegal drug trade in Venezuela.

Narcoterrorism in Colombia

During the period from 1984–1993, Colombia was known as one of the countries to have suffered a number of terrorist attacks at the hands of narcotic traffickers. Belisario Betancourt, Virgilio Barco and César Gaviria were three Colombian presidents that constantly battled against the Medellín Cartel’s unrelenting war on the government, especially through its branch known as Los Extraditables led by Pablo Escobar Gaviria, Gustavo Gaviria and Gonzalo Rodriguez Gacha. A number of crimes by “Los Extraditables” were due to their constant battles against the government’s policies on extradition and their collaborations with the United States government who sought to bring the Colombian drug bosses to justice. These terrostic acts typically consisted of assassinations of political figures, kidnappings, and bombings. The wing of the cartel also known as Los Priscos reportedly also participated directly in these acts of terrorism at the behest of the Medellín Cartel’s top leaders.

History

Pablo Escobar was elected as a representative as an alternative congress delegate, but allegations from politicians, the newspaper “El Espectador” and the minister of justice declared him a drug trafficker and he was eventually dismissed from Congress on January 4, 1984.

On April 30, 1984, a motorcycle gunman from the Medellin Cartel killed the minister of Justice Rodrigo Lara Bonilla. On November 6, 1985 the 19th of April Movement (Marxist guerrillas) sieged the palace of Justice in order to hold all supreme magistrates hostage. The organized military reaction caused the building to burn resulting in the deaths of 91 people, 11 of which were judges. Although the M-19 denies being funded from outside sources, multiple sources say the Medellin Cartel funded them. Additionally, numerous bombs detonated across the country, the most memorable bomb being the one that brought down Avianca Flight 203 during its flight over Soacha Cundinamarca resulting in 107 dead in 1989.

In Colombian history, the FARC were initially major enemies of the drug cartels. The MAS (Muerte a los secuestradores - Death to the kidnappers) was a group created by the most eminent members of the Cali cartel, including Escobar and Ochoa against the guerrillas who had kidnapped one of Ochoa's sister. The MAS was responsible for the deaths of 500 members of the Patriotic Union, a political party that emerged from the demobilization of part of the FARC in the 1990s. Significantly, it is worth recalling that Medellin cartel refused to buy coca from peasants living in areas under FARC control. From then on, even when there was evidence of collaboration between FARC and the drug traffickers, these connections were described as « temporary alliances ».

President Alvaro Uribe, who was elected on the idea of waging an all-out war against the FARC, over-emphasized the link between drugs and the FARC as well as the terrorist nature of the guerilla group in a post 2001 context: “(Álvaro Uribe) increasingly equated the guerrillas with drug traffickers and terrorists” . This policy has provoked much criticism which has enriched the debate on the nature of the conflict in Colombia, and consequently on the character of the FARC.