2,528 research outputs found
The Neutrino Suppression Scale from Large Volumes
We present an argument in which the scale ~ 0.1 eV associated with neutrino
masses naturally appears in a a class of (very) large volume compactifications,
being tied to a supersymmetry scale of 10^3 GeV and a string scale of 10^11
GeV. The masses are of Majorana type and there is no right-handed neutrino
within the low-energy field theory. The suppression scale 10^14 GeV is
independent of the masses of the heavy states that are integrated out. These
kind of constructions appear naturally in Type IIB flux compactifications.
However, the arguments that lead to this result rely only on a few geometrical
features of the compactification manifold, and hence can be used independently
of string theory.Comment: 4 pages, RevTeX; v2. matches journal versio
"Big" Divisor D3/D7 Swiss Cheese Phenomenology
We review progress made over the past couple of years in the field of Swiss
Cheese Phenomenology involving a mobile space-time filling D3-brane and
stack(s) of fluxed D7-branes wrapping the "big" (as opposed to the "small")
divisor in (the orientifold of a) Swiss-Cheese Calabi-Yau. The topics reviewed
include reconciliation of large volume cosmology and phenomenology, evaluation
of soft supersymmetry breaking parameters, one-loop RG-flow equations'
solutions for scalar masses, obtaining fermionic (possibly first two
generations' quarks/leptons) mass scales in the O(MeV-GeV)-regime as well as
(first two generations') neutrino masses (and their one-loop RG flow) of around
an eV. The heavy sparticles and the light fermions indicate the possibility of
"split SUSY" large volume scenario.Comment: Invited review for MPLA, 14 pages, LaTe
Quasirandomness in hypergraphs
An -vertex graph of edge density is considered to be quasirandom
if it shares several important properties with the random graph . A
well-known theorem of Chung, Graham and Wilson states that many such `typical'
properties are asymptotically equivalent and, thus, a graph possessing one
such property automatically satisfies the others.
In recent years, work in this area has focused on uncovering more quasirandom
graph properties and on extending the known results to other discrete
structures. In the context of hypergraphs, however, one may consider several
different notions of quasirandomness. A complete description of these notions
has been provided recently by Towsner, who proved several central equivalences
using an analytic framework. We give short and purely combinatorial proofs of
the main equivalences in Towsner's result.Comment: 19 page
Brief Consultation to Families of Treatment Refusers with Symptoms of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder: Does It Impact Family Accommodation and Quality of Life?
Family members are often directly and significantly impacted by the restrictive demands of OCD, a frequently disabling disorder. Family accommodation behaviors (i.e., doing things for or because of the OCD sufferer that a person would not normally do) are associated with dysfunction, including poorer treatment responses in OCD sufferers and greater distress in family members. Although evidence suggests family-based intervention can reduce symptoms in OCD sufferers who participate in treatment, there is a lack of research documenting the impact of interventions designed for the families of OCD treatment refusers (TR). Brief Family Consultation (BFC) was developed by our clinical team to help families refocus their efforts on the things that they can realistically control and change (e.g., participation in compulsions). In this crossover study, twenty families related to an individual who exhibited OCD symptoms but had refused treatment were assigned to five phone sessions of either BFC or a psychoeducation condition. Compared to this credible, attention-placebo control group (Brief Educational Support; BES), BFC (but not BES) resulted in reductions in family accommodation behavior, yet neither BFC nor BES resulted in improved quality of life for family members of treatment refusers. BFC is one of the first interventions to be evaluated for its ability to help families when their loved ones with obsessive compulsive symptoms refuse treatment. This pilot study provides new insights for clinicians and researchers to better address the needs of these neglected families
Towards Realistic String Vacua From Branes At Singularities
We report on progress towards constructing string models incorporating both
realistic D-brane matter content and moduli stabilisation with dynamical
low-scale supersymmetry breaking. The general framework is that of local
D-brane models embedded into the LARGE volume approach to moduli stabilisation.
We review quiver theories on del Pezzo () singularities including
both D3 and D7 branes. We provide supersymmetric examples with three
quark/lepton families and the gauge symmetries of the Standard, Left-Right
Symmetric, Pati-Salam and Trinification models, without unwanted chiral
exotics. We describe how the singularity structure leads to family symmetries
governing the Yukawa couplings which may give mass hierarchies among the
different generations. We outline how these models can be embedded into compact
Calabi-Yau compactifications with LARGE volume moduli stabilisation, and state
the minimal conditions for this to be possible. We study the general structure
of soft supersymmetry breaking. At the singularity all leading order
contributions to the soft terms (both gravity- and anomaly-mediation) vanish.
We enumerate subleading contributions and estimate their magnitude. We also
describe model-independent physical implications of this scenario. These
include the masses of anomalous and non-anomalous U(1)'s and the generic
existence of a new hyperweak force under which leptons and/or quarks could be
charged. We propose that such a gauge boson could be responsible for the ghost
muon anomaly recently found at the Tevatron's CDF detector.Comment: 40 pages, 10 figure
Metastable SUSY Breaking, de Sitter Moduli Stabilisation and K\"ahler Moduli Inflation
We study the influence of anomalous U(1) symmetries and their associated
D-terms on the vacuum structure of global field theories once they are coupled
to N=1 supergravity and in the context of string compactifications with moduli
stabilisation. In particular, we focus on a IIB string motivated construction
of the ISS scenario and examine the influence of one additional U(1) symmetry
on the vacuum structure. We point out that in the simplest one-Kahler modulus
compactification, the original ISS vacuum gets generically destabilised by a
runaway behaviour of the potential in the modulus direction. In more general
compactifications with several Kahler moduli, we find a novel realisation of
the LARGE volume scenario with D-term uplifting to de Sitter space and both
D-term and F-term supersymmetry breaking. The structure of soft supersymmetry
breaking terms is determined in the preferred scenario where the standard model
cycle is not stabilised non-perturbatively and found to be flavour universal.
Our scenario also provides a purely supersymmetric realisation of Kahler moduli
(blow-up and fibre) inflation, with similar observational properties as the
original proposals but without the need to include an extra (non-SUSY)
uplifting term.Comment: 38 pages, 8 figures. v2: references added, minor correction
Preliminary analysis of space mission applications for electromagnetic launchers
The technical and economic feasibility of using electromagnetically launched EML payloads propelled from the Earth's surface to LEO, GEO, lunar orbit, or to interplanetary space was assessed. Analyses of the designs of rail accelerators and coaxial magnetic accelerators show that each is capable of launching to space payloads of 800 KG or more. A hybrid launcher in which EML is used for the first 2 KM/sec followed by chemical rocket stages was also tested. A cost estimates study shows that one to two EML launches per day are needed to break even, compared to a four-stage rocket. Development models are discussed for: (1) Earth orbital missions; (2) lunar base supply mission; (3) solar system escape mission; (4) Earth escape missions; (5) suborbital missions; (6) electromagnetic boost missions; and (7) space-based missions. Safety factors, environmental impacts, and EML systems analysis are discussed. Alternate systems examined include electrothermal thrustors, an EML rocket gun; an EML theta gun, and Soviet electromagnetic accelerators
Froggatt-Nielsen models from E8 in F-theory GUTs
This paper studies F-theory SU(5) GUT models where the three generations of
the standard model come from three different curves. All the matter is taken to
come from curves intersecting at a point of enhanced E8 gauge symmetry. Giving
a vev to some of the GUT singlets naturally implements a Froggatt-Nielsen
approach to flavour structure. A scan is performed over all possible models and
the results are filtered using phenomenological constraints. We find a unique
model that fits observations of quark and lepton masses and mixing well. This
model suffers from two drawbacks: R-parity must be imposed by hand and there is
a doublet-triplet splitting problem.Comment: 42 pages; v2:journal version; v3:corrected typo in neutrino masse
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