Surveying the SO(10) Model Landscape: The Left-Right Symmetric Case

Grand Unified Theories (GUTs) are a very well motivated extensions of the Standard Model (SM), but the landscape of models and possibilities is overwhelming, and different patterns can lead to rather distinct phenomenologies. In this work we present a way to automatise the model building process, by considering a top to bottom approach that constructs viable and sensible theories from a small and controllable set of inputs at the high scale. By providing a GUT scale symmetry group and the field content, possible symmetry breaking paths are generated and checked for consistency, ensuring anomaly cancellation, SM embedding and gauge coupling unification. We emphasise the usefulness of this approach for the particular case of a non-supersymmetric SO(10) model with an intermediate left-right symmetry and we analyse how low-energy observables such as proton decay and lepton flavour violation might affect the generated model landscape.Comment: 36 pages, 6 figure

Mit Leitarten die Vielfalt fördern

Wo Biolandwirtschaft mit gezieltem Naturschutz kombiniert wird, profitiert die Artenvielfalt. Sogannante Leitarten helfen dem Landwirt, die passenden Maßnahmen für seine Flächen zu finden. Die Schweiz hat hierfür ein Steckbriefset zu ihren wichtigsten Leitarten entwickelt

Leitartenkarten für mehr Vielfalt im Kulturland

115 Tierarten, auf knappem Raum beschrieben, dazu geeignete Massnahmen zu ihrer Förderung: Die neuen Leitartenkarten der Vogelwarte und des FiBL sind ein praxistaugliches Hilfsmittel, um naturnahe Flächen im Kulturland zu prüfen und gezielt aufzuwerten

Reconciling the 2 TeV Excesses at the LHC in a Linear Seesaw Left-Right Model

We interpret the 2 TeV excesses at the LHC in a left-right symmetric model with Higgs doublets and spontaneous $D$-parity violation. The light neutrino masses are understood via a linear seesaw, suppressed by a high $D$-parity breaking scale, and the heavy neutrinos have a pseudo-Dirac character. In addition, with a suppressed right-handed gauge coupling $g_R / g_L \approx 0.6$ in an $SO(10)$ embedding, we can thereby interpret the observed $eejj$ excess at CMS. We show that it can be reconciled with the diboson and dijet excesses within a simplified scenario based on our model. Moreover, we find that the mixing between the light and heavy neutrinos can be potentially large which would induce dominant non-standard contributions to neutrinoless double beta decay via long-range $\lambda$ and $\eta$ neutrino exchange.Comment: References added, typos fixed, matches published version, 12 pages, 4 figure

Wildtiergerechte Landnutzung im Berggebiet – Förderung der Artenvielfalt auf Unterengadiner Bio-Modellbetrieben

Im dritten und letzten Bericht des Projektes „Wildtiergerechte Landnutzung im Berggebiet – Förderung der Artenvielfalt und der Braunkehlchen auf Unterengadiner Bio-Modellbetrieben“werden die Ergebnisse einer 2008 durchgeführten Befragung der beteiligten Landwirte und der Umsetzungskontrolle auf den vier Betrieben erläutert. Für Details zu den ökologischen und betriebsökonomischen Analysen der vier Modellbetriebe, die in den Vorjahren gemacht wurden, wird auf die jeweiligen Zwischenberichte verwiesen (Pfiffner et al. 2006 und 2007).Zunächst werden die Einschätzungen und Grunderfahrungen der involvierten Landwirte/innen dargestellt, die mittels einer qualitativen Befragung gewonnen wurden (Kapitel 2). Darauf folgt die Darstellung der Umsetzungskontrolle, die mittels Stichproben im Sommer 2008 auf Basis der neu abgeschlossenen Verträge gemacht wurde (Kap. 3). Im Weiteren werden dann Erkenntnisse über den Zielkonflikt zwischen Betriebswirtschaft und Naturschutz zusammengefasst. Der Bericht schliesst mit einer Zusammenfassung und einem kurzen Fazit. Die Aktivitäten wurden in enger Zusammenarbeit mit Angelika Abderhalden, die zuständige Person für das neu lancierte Vernetzungsprojekt in der Projektgemeinde, durchgeführt. Das regionale Vernetzungsprojekt wurde zeitgleich mit dem vorliegenden Projekt im Jahre 2007 durchgeführt (ARINAS environment 2007)

Wildtiergerechte Landnutzung im Berggebiet – Förderung der Artenvielfalt und Braunkehlchen auf Unterengadiner Bio- Modellbetrieben

Der zweite Zwischenbericht des Projektes Wildtiergerechte Landnutzung im Berggebiet –Förderung der Artenvielfalt und der Braunkehlchen auf Unterengadiner Bio-Modellbetrieben konzentriert sich auf die Definition und Analyse der gesamtbetrieblichen Szenarien in ökonomischer und ökologischer Hinsicht. Zunächst werden die Ziele und der Ablauf des Projektes dargestellt (Kapitel 2 und 3). Darauf folgt die Darstellung der Betriebsergebnisse in ökonomischer und ökologischer Hinsicht (Kap. 4). Der Bericht endet mit Schlussfolgerungen, die wir aus den Ergebnissen unserer bisherigen Analysen ziehen können (Kapitel 5)

Naivety dies with the calf: calf loss to human hunters imposes behavioral change in a long-lived but heavily harvested ungulate

Background In prey, patterns of individual habitat selection and movement can be a consequence of an individuals' anti-predator behavior. Adjustments of anti-predator behavior are important for prey to increase their survival. Hunters may alter the anti-predator behavior of prey. In long-lived animals, experience may cause behavioral changes during individuals' lifetime, which may result in altered habitat selection and movement. Our knowledge of which specific events related to hunting activity induce behavioral changes in solitary living species is still limited. Methods We used offspring loss in a solitary and long-lived ungulate species, moose (Alces alces), as our model system. We investigated whether offspring loss to hunters induces behavioral changes in a species subjected to heavy human harvest but free from natural predation. To test for behavioral change in relation to two proxies for experience (calf fate and age), we combined movement data from 51 adult female moose with data on their offspring survival and female age. We tested for adjustments in females' habitat selection and movement following calf harvest using Hidden Markov Models and integrated Step Selection Analysis to obtain behavioral state specific habitat selection coefficients. Results We found that females with a harvested calf modified habitat selection and movement during the following hunting season. Female moose selected for shorter distance to roads during the night, selected for shorter distance to forests and greater distance to human settlements following calf harvest than females who had not lost a calf. The survival of twins in a given hunting season was related to female age. Older females we more likely to have twins survive the hunting season. Conclusions Our findings suggest that losing offspring to human harvest imposes behavioral changes in a long-lived ungulate species, leading to adjustments in females' habitat selection and movement behavior, which may lower the risk of encountering hunters. In our study, female moose that experienced calf loss selected for lower distance to forest and selected for greater distance to human settlements during periods of high hunting pressure compared to females without the experience of calf loss during the previous hunting season. We interpret this as potential learning effects

Non-naivety in a long-lived ungulate

Habitat selection and movement are considered important factors for survival of game species when they are hunted by humans. To reduce their risk of predation, animals can adapt their behavior to their most abundant predator over time through experience. To test for learning capabilities in a long-lived ungulate, I used GPS-data of 19 male and 84 female moose (Alces alces) in two study areas in southern Sweden from 2008-2018. I matched the GPS-data with reproduction and survival data and analyzed movement rates and habitat selection in a heavily managed moose population. While not being a gregarious species, moose are expected to learn from non-lethal mortality when a female loses her calf to harvest. Hunters were more likely to harvest male moose that moved faster before the moose hunting season began. Female moose where more likely to get harvested when they selected more for open habitats. The results of my study suggest that female moose in my study areas increased their shyness in the next hunting season after losing a calf to harvest. Female moose increased nocturnal activity and increased their avoidance of open habitats. As they aged, female moose decreased their movement rates and avoided open habitats. Using these proxies for shyness indicates that being shyer is beneficial for moose to survive the hunting season. My study suggests that learning effects accumulate as moose age. Furthermore, my results help to understand the influence human hunters impose on behavior of moose in a heavily managed population