Unconventional fermions: The Price of Quark-Lepton Unification at TeV Scales

The early petite unification (PUT) of quarks and leptons at TeV scales with sin^2 theta_W(M^2_Z) used as a constraint, necessitates the introduction of extra quarks and leptons with unconventional electric charges (up to 4/3 for the quarks and 2 for the leptons). This talk, in honor of Paul Frampton's 60th birthday, will be devoted to the motivation and construction of models of early unification and to their implications, including the issues of rare decays and unconventional fermions.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figures. Talk in honor of Paul Frampton's 60th birthday given at the Coral Gables Conference on Launching of Belle Epoque in High Energy Physics and Cosmology, Ft. lauderdale, Florida, 17-21 December 2003. Added referenc

Solvent fluctuations around solvophobic, solvophilic and patchy nanostructures and the accompanying solvent mediated interactions

Using classical density functional theory (DFT) we calculate the density profile $\rho({\mathbf r})$ and local compressibility $\chi({\mathbf r})$ of a simple liquid solvent in which a pair of blocks with (microscopic) rectangular cross-section are immersed. We consider blocks that are solvophobic, solvophilic and also ones that have both solvophobic and solvophilic patches. Large values of $\chi({\mathbf r})$ correspond to regions in space where the liquid density is fluctuating most strongly. We seek to elucidate how enhanced density fluctuations correlate with the solvent mediated force between the blocks, as the distance between the blocks and the chemical potential of the liquid reservoir vary. For sufficiently solvophobic blocks, at small block separations and small deviations from bulk gas-liquid coexistence, we observe a strongly attractive (near constant) force, stemming from capillary evaporation to form a low density gas-like intrusion between the blocks. The accompanying $\chi({\mathbf r})$ exhibits structure which reflects the incipient gas-liquid interfaces that develop. We argue that our model system provides a means to understanding the basic physics of solvent mediated interactions between nanostructures, and between objects such as proteins in water, that possess hydrophobic and hydrophilic patches.Comment: 19 pages, 21 figure

The natural/neglected relationship: liberalism, identity and India-Australia relations

Published online: 27 Oct 2015Recent commentary on India–Australia relations has defined the relationship as ‘natural’ and based on ‘shared values’ and ‘shared history’. The relationship has simultaneously been considered ‘neglected’. The paradoxical juxtaposition of a natural/neglected partnership is yet to be adequately explained. We consider the historical construction of liberalism in both states as a facet of state identity to argue that, far from creating a natural relationship, differing liberal identities have served to keep these two states apart. This is illustrated through case studies of divergent opinions over the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea and the rise of China.Priya Chacko & Alexander E. Davi

The standard mean-field treatment of inter-particle attraction in classical DFT is better than one might expect

In classical density functional theory (DFT) the part of the Helmholtz free energy functional arising from attractive inter-particle interactions is often treated in a mean-field or van der Waals approximation. On the face of it, this is a somewhat crude treatment as the resulting functional generates the simple random phase approximation (RPA) for the bulk fluid pair direct correlation function. We explain why using standard mean-field DFT to describe inhomogeneous fluid structure and thermodynamics is more accurate than one might expect based on this observation. By considering the pair correlation function $g(x)$ and structure factor $S(k)$ of a one-dimensional model fluid, for which exact results are available, we show that the mean-field DFT, employed within the test-particle procedure, yields results much superior to those from the RPA closure of the bulk Ornstein-Zernike equation. We argue that one should not judge the quality of a DFT based solely on the approximation it generates for the bulk pair direct correlation function.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figure

Neutrino Telescopes as a Direct Probe of Supersymmetry Breaking

We consider supersymmetric models where the scale of supersymmetry breaking lies between 5 $\times 10^6$ GeV and 5 $\times 10^8$ GeV. In this class of theories, which includes models of gauge mediated supersymmetry breaking, the lightest supersymmetric particle is the gravitino. The next to lightest supersymmetric particle is typically a long lived charged slepton with a lifetime between a microsecond and a second, depending on its mass. Collisions of high energy neutrinos with nucleons in the earth can result in the production of a pair of these sleptons. Their very high boost means they typically decay outside the earth. We investigate the production of these particles by the diffuse flux of high energy neutrinos, and the potential for their observation in large ice or water Cerenkov detectors. The relatively small cross-section for the production of supersymmetric particles is partially compensated for by the very long range of heavy particles. The signal in the detector consists of two parallel charged tracks emerging from the earth about 100 meters apart, with very little background. A detailed calculation using the Waxman-Bahcall limit on the neutrino flux and realistic spectra shows that km$^3$ experiments could see as many as 4 events a year. We conclude that neutrino telescopes will complement collider searches in the determination of the supersymmetry breaking scale, and may even give the first evidence for supersymmetry at the weak scale.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Implications on SUSY breaking mediation mechanisms from observing Bs→μ+μ−B_s \to \mu^+ \mu^- and the muon (g−2)(g-2)

We consider $B_s \to \mu^+ \mu^-$ and the muon $(g-2)_\mu$ in various SUSY breaking mediation mechanisms. If the decay $B_s \to \mu^+ \mu^-$ is observed at Tevatron Run II with a branching ratio larger than $\sim 2 \times 10^{-8}$, the noscale supergravity (including the gaugino mediation), the gauge mediation scenario with small number of messenger fields and low messenger scale, and a class of anomaly mediation scenarios will be excluded, even if they can accommodate a large muon $(g-2)_\mu$. On the other hand, the minimal supergravity scenario and similar mechanisms derived from string models can accommodate this observation.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Marketising Hindutva: The state, society and markets in Hindu Nationalism

The embrace of markets and globalization by radical political parties is often taken as reflecting and facilitating the moderation of their ideologies. This article considers the case of Hindu nationalism, or Hindutva, in India. It is argued that, rather than resulting in the moderation of Hindu nationalism, mainstream economic ideas are adopted and adapted by its proponents to further the Hindutva project. Hence, until the 1990s, the Hindu nationalist political party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), its earlier incarnation, the Jana Sangh, and the grass-roots organization, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), adopted and adapted mainstream ideas by emphasizing the state as the protector of (Hindu) society against markets and as a tool of societal transformation for its Hindu nationalist support base. Since the 1990s, Indian bureaucratic and political elites, including in the BJP, have adopted a view of the market as the main driver of societal transformations. Under the leadership of Narendra Modi, in particular, the BJP has sought to consolidate a broader support base and stimulate economic growth and job creation by bolstering the corporate sector and recreating the middle and ‘neo-middle’ classes as ‘virtuous market citizens’ who view themselves as entrepreneurs and consumers but whose behaviour is regulated by the framework of Hindu nationalism. These policies, however, remain contested within the Hindu nationalist movement and in Indian society generally. The BJP’s discourse against ‘anti-nationals’ and the use of legal sanctions against dissent is an attempt to curb these challenges.Priya Chack