Tri-N-ification

We consider a natural generalization of trinification to theories with 3N SU(3) gauge groups. These theories have a simple moose representation and a gauge boson spectrum that can be interpreted via the deconstruction of a 5D theory with unified symmetry broken on a boundary. Although the matter and Higgs sectors of the theory have no simple extra-dimensional analog, gauge unification retains features characteristic of the 5D theory. We determine possible assignments of the matter and Higgs fields to unified multiplets and present theories that are viable alternatives to minimal trinified GUTs.Comment: 21 pages LaTeX, 6 eps figure

The gallery as therapeutic venue: exploring visitor perceptions in a contemporary space

This prospective qualitative study explored the social and psychological impact of an exhibition at a contemporary art gallery. Three focus groups, including 8 people aged 45-69, were held following a guided tour of an exhibition at Nottingham Contemporary gallery. The exhibition Uneven Geographies featured the works of a variety of international artists focussing upon the politics of globalisation through different media including film, installation and photography. Focus group transcripts were analysed using Braun and Clarke’s 6-phase model of thematic analysis. Three themes were identified: 1) ’It’s almost like a piece of a jigsaw puzzle’, 2) Interpreting the Message and 3) Dissolving Social Barriers. Results indicated that the exhibition helped participants make sense of a variety of experiences, art interpretation was a key educational skill, and attending the gallery promoted social inclusion. These findings build on previous studies that indicate the potential for cultural institutions, such as art galleries and museums, to promote education, health and wellbeing at individual and societal levels

An algorithm for correcting CoRoT raw light curves

We introduce the CoRoT detrend algorithm (CDA) for detrending CoRoT stellar light curves. The algorithm CDA has the capability to remove random jumps and systematic trends encountered in typical CoRoT data in a fully automatic fashion. Since enormous jumps in flux can destroy the information content of a light curve, such an algorithm is essential. From a study of 1030 light curves in the CoRoT IRa01 field, we developed three simple assumptions which upon CDA is based. We describe the algorithm analytically and provide some examples of how it works. We demonstrate the functionality of the algorithm in the cases of CoRoT0102702789, CoRoT0102874481, CoRoT0102741994, and CoRoT0102729260. Using CDA in the specific case of CoRoT0102729260, we detect a candidate exoplanet around the host star of spectral type G5, which remains undetected in the raw light curve, and estimate the planetary parameters to be Rp=6.27Re and P=1.6986 days.Comment: 8 pages, 13 figure

Holographic Electroweak Symmetry Breaking from D-branes

We observe several interesting phenomena in a technicolor-like model of electroweak symmetry breaking based on the D4-D8-D8bar system of Sakai and Sugimoto. The benefit of holographic models based on D-brane configurations is that both sides of the holographic duality are well understood. We find that the lightest technicolor resonances contribute negatively to the Peskin-Takeuchi S-parameter, but heavy resonances do not decouple and lead generically to large, positive values of S, consistent with standard estimates in QCD-like theories. We study how the S parameter and the masses and decay constants of the vector and axial-vector techni-resonances vary over a one-parameter family of D8-brane configurations. We discuss possibilities for the consistent truncation of the theory to the first few resonances and suggest some generic predictions of stringy holographic technicolor models.Comment: REVTeX, 25 pages, 8 eps figures, version published in PR

Towards a quantum field theory description of nonlocal spacetime defects

We propose an ansatz for encoding the physics of nonlocal spacetime defects in the Green's functions for a scalar field theory defined on a causal set. This allows us to numerically study the effects of nonlocal spacetime defects on the discrete Feynman propagator of the theory defined on the causal set in 1+1 dimensions, and to compare to the defect-free limit. The latter approaches the expected continuum result, on average, when the number of points becomes large. When defects are present, two points with the same invariant spacetime interval can have different propagation amplitudes, depending on whether the propagation is between two ordinary spacetime points, two defects, or a defect and an ordinary point. We show that a coarse-grained description that is only sensitive to the average effect of the defects can be interpreted as a defect-induced mass and wave-function renormalization of the scalar theory.Comment: 23 pages, LaTeX, 8 figure

Higgsless GUT Breaking and Trinification

Boundary conditions on an extra-dimensional interval can be chosen to break bulk gauge symmetries and to reduce the rank of the gauge group. We consider this mechanism in models with gauge trinification. We determine the boundary conditions necessary to break the trinified gauge group directly down to that of the standard model. Working in an effective theory for the gauge symmetry-breaking parameters on a boundary, we examine the limit in which the GUT-breaking sector is Higgsless and show how one may obtain the low-energy particle content of the minimal supersymmetric standard model. We find that gauge unification is preserved in this scenario, and that the differential gauge coupling running is logarithmic above the scale of compactification. We compare the phenomenology of our model to that of four-dimensional trinified theories.Comment: 22 pages, LaTeX, 2 eps figures (v3: discussion of mass scales clarified

1/Nc Countings in Baryons

The $1/N_c$ power countings for baryon decays and configuration mixings are determined by means of a non-relativistic quark picture. Such countings are expected to be robust under changes in the quark masses, and therefore valid as these become light. It is shown that excited baryons have natural widths of ${\cal{O}}(N_c^0)$. These dominant widths are due to the decays that proceed directly to the ground state baryons, with cascade decays being suppressed to ${\cal{O}}(1/N_c)$. Configuration mixings, defined as mixings between states belonging to different $O(3)\times SU(2 N_f)$ multiplets, are shown to be sub-leading in an expansion in $1/\sqrt{N_c}$ when they involve the ground state baryons, while the mixings between excited states can be ${\cal{O}}(N_c^0)$.Comment: 19 pages, 1 figure An omission that changes the conclusions on configuration mixings has been correcte