1,235 research outputs found
Quintessence and the Underlying Particle Physics Theory
At present we know nothing about the nature of the dark energy accounting for
about 70% of the energy density of the Universe. One possibility is that the
dark energy is provided by an extremely light field, the quintessence, rolling
down its potential. Even though the underlying particle theory responsible for
the present quintessential behaviour of our Universe is unknown, such a theory
is likely to have contact with supersymmetry, supergravity or (super)string
theory. In these theories, there are plenty of scalar fields (moduli) which are
gravitationally coupled to all the other degrees of freedom and have vacuum
expectation values of the order of the Planck scale. We point out that, in
theories which allow a consistent embedding of quintessence, the generic
gravitational interaction of the moduli fields with the quintessence field
gives rise to a contribution to the energy density from the moduli fields of
the order of the critical energy density of the universe today. Furthermore,
the interaction contribution can generically enhance the negativity of the
equation of state.Comment: 16 pages, 1 figure; expanded discussion of generality; version to be
published by PL
Integrating Concepts of Artificial Intelligence in the EO4GEO Body of Knowledge
Ponència del XXIV ISPRS Congress (2022 edition), 6–11 June 2022, Nice, FranceThe EO4GEO Body of Knowledge (BoK) forms a structure of concepts and relationships between them, describing the domain of
Earth Observation and Geo-Information (EO/GI). Each concept carries a short description, a list of key literature references and a set
of associated skills which are used for job profiling and curriculum building. As the EO/GI domain is evolving continuously, the BoK
needs regular updates with new concepts embodying new trends, and deprecating concepts which are not relevant anymore. This paper
presents the inclusion of BoK concepts related to Artificial Intelligence. This broad field of knowledge has links to several applications
in EO/GI. Its connection to concepts, already existing in the BoK, needs special attention. To perform a clean and structural integration
of the cross-cutting domain of AI, first a separate cluster of AI concepts was created, which was then merged with the existing BoK.
The paper provides examples of this integration with specific concepts and examples of training resources in which AI-related concepts
are used. Although the presented structure already provides a good starting point, the positioning of AI within the EO/GI-focussed
BoK needs to be further enhanced with the help of expert calls as part of the BoK update cycle
Transitions in Family-dependent Models
We analyze flavor-changing-neutral-current (FCNC) effects in the
transitions that are induced by family non-universal gauge symmetries.
After systematically developing the necessary formalism, we present a
correlated analysis for the processes. We adopt a
model-independent approach in which we only require family-universal charges
for the first and second generations and small fermion mixing angles. We
analyze the constraints on the resulting parameter space from
mixing and the time-dependent CP asymmetries of the penguin-dominated decays. Our results indicate that the
currently observed discrepancies in some of these modes with respect to the
Standard Model predictions can be consistently accommodated within this general
class of models.Comment: 36 pages, 11 figure
Patterns and correlates of claims for brown bear damage on a continental scale
Wildlife damage to human property threatens human-wildlife coexistence. Conflicts arising from wildlife damage in intensively managed landscapes often undermine conservation efforts, making damage mitigation and compensation of special concern for wildlife conservation. However, the mechanisms underlying the occurrence of damage and claims at large scales are still poorly understood. Here, we investigated the patterns of damage caused by brown bears Ursus arctos and its ecological and socio-economic correlates at a continental scale. We compiled information about compensation schemes across 26 countries in Europe in 2005-2012 and analysed the variation in the number of compensated claims in relation to (i) bear abundance, (ii) forest availability, (iii) human land use, (iv) management practices and (v) indicators of economic wealth. Most European countries have a posteriori compensation schemes based on damage verification, which, in many cases, have operated for more than 30 years. On average, over 3200 claims of bear damage were compensated annually in Europe. The majority of claims were for damage to livestock (59%), distributed throughout the bear range, followed by damage to apiaries (21%) and agriculture (17%), mainly in Mediterranean and eastern European countries. The mean number of compensated claims per bear and year ranged from 0·1 in Estonia to 8·5 in Norway. This variation was not only due to the differences in compensation schemes; damage claims were less numerous in areas with supplementary feeding and with a high proportion of agricultural land. However, observed variation in compensated damage was not related to bear abundance. Synthesis and applications. Compensation schemes, management practices and human land use influence the number of claims for brown bear damage, while bear abundance does not. Policies that ignore this complexity and focus on a single factor, such as bear population size, may not be effective in reducing claims. To be effective, policies should be based on integrative schemes that prioritize damage prevention and make it a condition of payment of compensation that preventive measures are applied. Such integrative schemes should focus mitigation efforts in areas or populations where damage claims are more likely to occur. Similar studies using different species and continents might further improve our understanding of conflicts arising from wildlife damage
The Sao Paulo Lightning Mapping Array (SPLMA): Prospects to GOES-R GLM and CHUVA
This paper presents the characteristics and prospects of a Lightning Mapping Array to be deployed at the city of S o Paulo (SPLMA). This LMA network will provide CHUVA campaign with total lightning, lightning channel mapping and detailed information on the locations of cloud charge regions for the thunderstorms investigated during one of its IOP. The real-time availability of LMA observations will also contribute to and support improved weather situational awareness and mission execution. For GOES-R program it will form the basis of generating unique and valuable proxy data sets for both GLM and ABI sensors in support of several on-going research investigation
Cosmological Implications of Dynamical Supersymmetry Breaking
We provide a taxonomy of dynamical supersymmetry breaking theories, and
discuss the cosmological implications of the various types of models. Models in
which supersymmetry breaking is produced by chiral superfields which only have
interactions of gravitational strength (\eg\ string theory moduli) are
inconsistent with standard big bang nucleosynthesis unless the gravitino mass
is greater than \CO(3) \times 10^4 GeV. This problem cannot be solved by
inflation. Models in which supersymmetry is dynamically broken by
renormalizable interactions in flat space have no such cosmological problems.
Supersymmetry can be broken either in a hidden or the visible sector. However
hidden sector models suffer from several naturalness problems and have
difficulties in producing an acceptably large gluino mass.Comment: 24 pages (uses harvmac) UCSD/PTH 93-26, RU-3
Hadronic Axion Model in Gauge-Mediated Supersymmetry Breaking and Cosmology of Saxion
Recently we have proposed a simple hadronic axion model within gauge-mediated
supersymmetry breaking. In this paper we discuss various cosmological
consequences of the model in great detail. A particular attention is paid to a
saxion, a scalar partner of an axion, which is produced as a coherent
oscillation in the early universe. We show that our model is cosmologically
viable, if the reheating temperature of inflation is sufficiently low. We also
discuss the late decay of the saxion which gives a preferable power spectrum of
the density fluctuation in the standard cold dark matter model when compared
with the observation.Comment: 24 pages, 3 figure
Quintessence models in Supergravity
Scalar field models of quintessence typically require that the expectation
value of the field today is of order the Planck mass, if we want them to
explain the observed acceleration of the Universe. This suggests that we should
be considering models in the context of supergravity. We discuss a particular
class of supergravity models and analyze their behavior under different choices
of the Kahler metric.Comment: 6 pages, revised version to appear in PR
False Vacuum Inflation with Einstein Gravity
We investigate chaotic inflation models with two scalar fields, such that one
field (the inflaton) rolls while the other is trapped in a false vacuum state.
The false vacuum becomes unstable when the inflaton field falls below some
critical value, and a first or second order transition to the true vacuum
ensues. Particular attention is paid to Linde's second-order `Hybrid
Inflation'; with the false vacuum dominating, inflation differs from the usual
true vacuum case both in its cosmology and in its relation to particle physics.
The spectral index of the adiabatic density perturbation can be very close to
1, or it can be around ten percent higher. The energy scale at the end of
inflation can be anywhere between \,GeV and \,GeV, though
reheating is prompt so the reheat temperature can't be far below
GeV. Topological defects are almost inevitably produced at the end
of inflation, and if the inflationary energy scale is near its upper limit they
can have significant effects.
Because false vacuum inflation occurs with the inflaton field far below the
Planck scale, it is easier to implement in the context of supergravity than
standard chaotic inflation. That the inflaton mass is small compared with the
inflationary Hubble parameter is still a problem for generic supergravity
theories, but remarkably this can be avoided in a natural way for a class of
supergravity models which follow from orbifold compactification of
superstrings. This opens up the prospect of a truly realistic, superstringComment: 37 pages, LaTeX (3 figures available as hard copies only), SUSSEX-AST
94/1-
Inflationary models with a flat potential enforced by non-abelian discrete gauge symmetries
Non-abelian discrete gauge symmetries can provide the inflaton with a flat
potential even when one takes into account gravitational strength effects. The
discreteness of the symmetries also provide special field values where
inflation can end via a hybrid type mechanism. An interesting feature of this
method is that it can naturally lead to extremely flat potentials and so, in
principle, to inflation at unusually low energy scales. Two examples of
effective field theories with this mechanism are given, one with a hybrid exit
and one with a mutated hybrid exit. They include an explicit example in which
the single field consistency condition is violated.Comment: 24 pages, uses revtex.sty, submitted to PRD (Nov. 1999) Final version
to appear in PRD. Background information on supergravity expande
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