Gravitino Production Suppressed by Dynamics of Sgoldstino

In supersymmetric theories, the gravitino is abundantly produced in the early Universe from thermal scattering, resulting in a strong upper bound on the reheat temperature after inflation. We point out that the gravitino problem may be absent or very mild due to the early dynamics of a supersymmetry breaking field, i.e. a sgoldstino. In models of low scale mediation, the field value of the sgoldstino determines the mediation scale and is in general different in the early Universe from the present one. A large initial field value since the era of the inflationary reheating suppresses the gravitino production significantly. We investigate in detail the cosmological evolution of the sgoldstino and show that the reheat temperature may be much higher than the conventional upper bound, restoring the compatibility with thermal leptogenesis.Comment: 23 pages, 3 figures; v2: discussions added and one figure updated, matches version published in JHE

Useful residual hearing despite radiological findings suggestive of anacusis

A severe malformation of the inner ear, often referred to as severe labyrinthine dysplasia or common cavity deformity, consists of an absent or dilated cochlear basal coil, wide communication with the vestibule and a tapered internal acoustic meatus and can be associated with absent hearing. We discuss two children with severe labyrinthine dysplasia as shown by computed tomography (CT) scans and, in the first case, an absent VIIIth nerve bilaterally shown by magnetic resonance imaging (MRT). In 1995, both cases were precluded from cochlear implantation, on the basis of the absent VIIIth nerve (first case) and increased risk of CSF leak during operation (second case). However, audiometric results and vocalization patterns of both children suggested the presence of some residual hearing function, while recently reported specific surgical techniques have been found to be safe and effective in the cochlear implantation of the common cavity deformity. The management of such cases should be decided on the grounds of a full audiological assessment in conjunction with the radiological features, in the light of current surgical trends shown to be safe and effective

Gravitino or Axino Dark Matter with Reheat Temperature as high as 101610^{16} GeV

A new scheme for lightest supersymmetric particle (LSP) dark matter is introduced and studied in theories of TeV supersymmetry with a QCD axion, $a$, and a high reheat temperature after inflation, $T_R$. A large overproduction of axinos ($\tilde{a}$) and gravitinos ($\tilde{G}$) from scattering at $T_R$, and from freeze-in at the TeV scale, is diluted by the late decay of a saxion condensate that arises from inflation. The two lightest superpartners are $\tilde{a}$, with mass of order the TeV scale, and $\tilde{G}$ with mass $m_{3/2}$ anywhere between the keV and TeV scales, depending on the mediation scale of supersymmetry breaking. Dark matter contains both warm and cold components: for $\tilde{G}$ LSP the warm component arises from $\tilde{a} \rightarrow \tilde{G}a$, while for $\tilde{a}$ LSP the warm component arises from $\tilde{G} \rightarrow \tilde{a}a$. The free-streaming scale for the warm component is predicted to be of order 1 Mpc (and independent of $m_{3/2}$ in the case of $\tilde{G}$ LSP). $T_R$ can be as high as $10^{16}$ GeV, for any value of $m_{3/2}$, solving the gravitino problem. The PQ symmetry breaking scale $V_{PQ}$ depends on $T_R$ and $m_{3/2}$ and can be anywhere in the range $(10^{10} - 10^{16})$ GeV. Detailed predictions are made for the lifetime of the neutralino LOSP decaying to $\tilde{a}+ h/Z$ and $\tilde{G}+h/Z/\gamma$, which is in the range of $(10^{-1}-10^6)$m over much of parameter space. For an axion misalignment angle of order unity, the axion contribution to dark matter is sub-dominant, except when $V_{PQ}$ approaches $10^{16}$ GeV.Comment: 43 pages, 16 figure

Saxion Cosmology for Thermalized Gravitino Dark Matter

In all supersymmetric theories, gravitinos, with mass suppressed by the Planck scale, are an obvious candidate for dark matter; but if gravitinos ever reached thermal equilibrium, such dark matter is apparently either too abundant or too hot, and is excluded. However, in theories with an axion, a saxion condensate is generated during an early era of cosmological history and its late decay dilutes dark matter. We show that such dilution allows previously thermalized gravitinos to account for the observed dark matter over very wide ranges of gravitino mass, keV < $m_{3/2}$ < TeV, axion decay constant, $10^9$ GeV < $f_a$ < $10^{16}$ GeV, and saxion mass, 10 MeV < $m_s$ < 100 TeV. Constraints on this parameter space are studied from BBN, supersymmetry breaking, gravitino and axino production from freeze-in and saxion decay, and from axion production from both misalignment and parametric resonance mechanisms. Large allowed regions of $(m_{3/2}, f_a, m_s)$ remain, but differ for DFSZ and KSVZ theories. Superpartner production at colliders may lead to events with displaced vertices and kinks, and may contain saxions decaying to $(WW,ZZ,hh), gg, \gamma \gamma$ or a pair of Standard Model fermions. Freeze-in may lead to a sub-dominant warm component of gravitino dark matter, and saxion decay to axions may lead to dark radiation.Comment: 30 pages, 4 figure

A Taskable Space Vehicle: Realizing Cost Savings by Combining Orbital and Suborbital Flight

The use of space gives the United States distinct advantages in any battlefield environment, but the high cost of space operations increasingly jeopardizes those advantages. Although the United States pioneered much of the current space technology, declining budgets for space research, development, and operations leave our legacy systems vulnerable to adversaries around the world. Other nations formerly incapable of space exploitation are quickly learning to counter US space technologies at surprisingly low costs. In order to reduce the expense of deploying and maintaining a robust space capability, the Department of Defense (DOD) must change the status quo in space operations or risk losing its dominance

Wave scattering by a partial flexible porous barrier in the presence of a step-type bottom topography

A semi-analytic model is presented for oblique wave scattering by a bottom-standing or surface-piercing flexible porous barrier in water of finite depth with a step-type bottom topography. The physical problem is solved using the methods of least-squares and multi-mode approximation associated with the modified mild-slope equation. Effects on the wave scattering due to bed profile, structural rigidity, compressive force, angle of incidence, barrier length, porosity, and height of the step are examined. The study reveals that under some special conditions, nearly zero/full reflection may occur in the case of wave scattering by a partial flexible porous barrier in the presence of an undulated bottom topography. Further, the study predicts that the Bragg resonance may not occur in the case of wave scattering by a topography of sinusoidal profile. The present study provides insights to help understand how waves are transformed in a marine environment with/without flexible porous barriers in the presence of a bottom topography. The concept and methodology can be generalized to analyze problems of similar nature arising in ocean engineering.postprin