Dark matter, singlet extensions of the nuMSM, and symmetries

We consider an extension of the nuMSM in which sterile neutrino masses originate from the VEV of a Higgs singlet phi and dark matter is produced through the decays of phi rather than through active-sterile neutrino mixing. This model, which we refer to as the nuNMSM, can readily satisfy or escape the constraints on warm dark matter from the Lyman-alpha forest and other small scale structure. However, it requires a particular hierarchy of Majorana masses and Yukawa couplings without an obvious origin. We show that the hierarchical parameters of the nuNMSM can arise from symmetries broken at or near the Planck scale for two specific examples of this model: one in which phi helps stabilize the electroweak vacuum through a scalar threshold effect and one in which phi is a light inflaton. Both examples require a complex phi and have several experimental signatures that are distinct from the nuMSM. These signatures include additional dark radiation that is relativistic at both primordial nucleosynthesis and CMB decoupling and, for the former, a large invisible branching ratio of the Higgs.Comment: 22 pages, 3 tables. v2: Discussion clarified and references added. Matches published versio

Are Some Animals Also Moral Agents?

Animal rights philosophers have traditionally accepted the claim that human beings are unique, but rejected the claim that our uniqueness justifies denying animals moral rights. Humans were thought to be unique specifically because we possess moral agency. In this commentary, I explore the claim that some nonhuman animals are also moral agents, and I take note of its counter-intuitive implications

Issues of Delay & Deviation in Marine Insurance: a Case Study of \u3cem\u3eOliver v. the Maryland Insurance Company\u3c/em\u3e, 7 Cranach 487 (1813)

An examination of the case Oliver v. The Maryland Insurance Company, 7 Cranch 487 (1813). In Oliver, Robert Oliver, the plaintiff, sued the Maryland Insurance Company, the defendant, in an attempt to recover on an insurance policy he had purchased for a shipment of goods aboard the snow Comet. The Comet was seized by a British ship on its return from Spain, and was condemned under the Orders in Council of 1807. The Court affirmed a lower court judgment that Oliver was not entitled to recover, because the Comet had engaged in an unreasonable delay and deviation on its return voyage that voided the insurance contract. Livingston and Marshall both filed opinions; Livingston claiming that the Comet’s delay in Barcelona for 4 months constituted the allotted time for a reasonable delay, and the further deviation to the nearby port of Salou was therefore unreasonable, even though it was the usage and custom of trade at Barcelona. Chief Justice Marshall filed a concurring opinion, stating his opinion that the jury should have determined whether the Comet’s delay was caused by a reasonable apprehension of fear due to “Algerine” privateers in the area; and if the jury found this reasonable apprehension existed, he would have held the deviation excused. An examination of the principle of deviation law as it stands today shows the importance of the Court’s decision in Oliver and shows how the Court’s holding provided for the soundest precedent for courts, merchants, and marine insurers to rely on through the present