Late-time entropy production due to the decay of domain walls

It is shown that late-time decay of domain walls can dilute unwanted relics such as moduli, if the universe was dominated by frustrated domain walls with tension $\sigma = (1 - 100 TeV)^3$. Since energy density of the frustrated domain walls decreases as slow as the inverse of the scale factor, an overclosure limit on the axion decay constant $f_a$ is also considerably relaxed. In fact $f_a$ can be as large as the Planck scale, which may enable us to naturally implement the QCD axion in the string scheme. Furthermore, in contrast to thermal inflation models, the Affleck-Dine baryogenesis can generate enough asymmetry to explain the present baryon abundance, even in the presence of late-time entropy production.Comment: 5 pages, no figure; a few explanatory comments are added, conclusion unchange

Promoting health literacy about added sugars, with a focus on patients with limited English proficiency

Excess consumption of added sugars has been linked to the development of obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. The sequelae of such health conditions accrue significant public health costs - both in terms of healthcare spending as well as associated co-morbidities and mortality. Chittenden County, Vermont is home to at least 6,300 new Americans, many of whom have limited English proficiency (LEP). Although office visits can provide crucial advice regarding proper nutrition, written resources available for LEP patients are lacking. This project aimed to meet that need through development of an infographic-rich handout that both promotes healthier grocery store choices and educates patients about added sugar. While it can be useful to those at all literacy levels, the heavy use of visuals was intended specifically to make the handout accessible for those with little to no English proficiency.https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/fmclerk/1403/thumbnail.jp

Magic Wavelength for Hydrogen 1S-2S Transition

The magic wavelength for an optical lattice for hydrogen atoms that cancels the lowest order AC Stark shift of the 1S-2S transition is calculated to be 513 nm. The magnitude of AC Stark shift $\Delta E=-1.19$ kHz/(10kW/cm$^2$) and the slope $d\Delta E/d\nu = -27.7$ Hz/(GHz $\cdot$ 10 kW/cm$^2$) at the magic wavelength suggests that a stable and narrow linewidth trapping laser is necessary to achieve a deep enough optical lattice to confine hydrogen atoms in a way that gives a small enough light shift for the precision spectroscopy of the 1S-2S transition.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figure