(Pseudo)-Dirac neutrinos and leptogenesis

We discuss how Dirac neutrinos can naturally be generated in supersymmetry and how they allow for an Affleck-Dine leptogenesis scenario, in which a left-right asymmetry is generated in the sneutrino sector, the left part of which is transferred to a baryon asymmetry via sphaleron transitions. No exotic fields need to be added to the MSSM other than the right-handed neutrino.Comment: 7 pages, 1 figure, Talk given at the Dark Side of the Universe Conference 2006 (DSU2006), Madrid, Spain, 20-24 June 200

On Metastability in Supersymmetric Models

We make a critical reappraisal of `unbounded-from-below' (UFB) constraints in the MSSM and R-parity violating models. We explain why the `traditional' UFB bounds are neither necessary nor sufficient and propose, instead, a sufficient condition which ensures that there are no local minima along the flat directions. This conservative (but meaningful) condition divides the parameter space into regions which are allowed, regardless of cosmology, and regions in which cosmology is expected to play a major role. We study both conditions at low tan-beta and obtain analytic approximations to the UFB bounds for all low tan-beta (<15). Finally we show that R-parity violation just below current experimental limits avoids UFB problems by lifting the dangerous flat directions.Comment: 28 Pages plain latex; includes 4 eps figures, numerical errors corrected plus additional reference, final version to appear in Nucl Phys

Hagedorn inflation of D-branes

We examine the cosmological effects of the Hagedorn phase in models where the observable universe is pictured as a D-brane. It is shown that, even in the absence of a cosmological constant, winding modes cause a negative `pressure' that can drive brane inflation of various types including both power law and exponential. We also find regimes in which the cosmology is stable but oscillating (a bouncing universe) with the Hagedorn phase softening the singular behavior associated with the collapse.Comment: 44 Pages; JHEP latex; includes 1 postscript figur

Anxiety Sensitivity in Adults with Body Focused Repetitive Behaviors

Body focused repetitive behaviors (BFRBs) such as hair pulling, skin picking, and nail biting affect almost 4% of the general population (Rasmussen & Eisen, 1992), but the factors that predispose individuals to these behaviors are poorly understood. BFRBs are associated with maladaptive emotional regulation (Diefenbach, Tolin, Meunier, & Worhunsky, 2008; Roberts, O’Connor, & Bélanger, 2013), whereby symptoms serve to temporarily attenuate aversive affective experiences. One particular mechanism through which emotion dysregulation may manifest in persons with BFRBs is anxiety sensitivity, which is defined as the fear of one’s own experiences (Reiss and McNally, 1985; Teng, Woods, Twohig, & Marcks, 2002). The current study aimed to determine whether anxiety sensitivity is elevated among adults with BFRBs compared to adults without BFRBs, and whether anxiety sensitivity severity is associated with BFRB symptom severity. Furthermore, anxiety sensitivity levels between different forms of BFRBs will be explored. Participants were recruited via BFRB patient advocacy websites and mailing lists (e.g. the Trichotillomania Learning Center; www.tlc.org) and completed online self- report surveys. Results indicated that clinical BFRBs had higher AS than the general population and that there were no significant differences in AS between persons with ExD and TTM. Future research should look into the underlying mechanisms of AS in BFRBs and how to treat it

Framework for an asymptotically safe standard model via dynamical breaking

We present a consistent embedding of the matter and gauge content of the Standard Model into an underlying asymptotically safe theory that has a well-determined interacting UV fixed point in the large color/flavor limit. The scales of symmetry breaking are determined by two mass-squared parameters with the breaking of electroweak symmetry being driven radiatively. There are no other free parameters in the theory apart from gauge couplings