Solving the Gravitino Problem by Axino

In a large class of supersymmetric (SUSY) axion model the mass of axino \axino (a fermionic superpartner of the axion) is predicted as m_{\axino} \lesssim {\cal O}(1) keV. Thus, the axino is the lightest SUSY particle (LSP). We pointed out that such a light axino provides a natural solution to the gravitino problem, if the gravitino is the next LSP. We derive a constraint on the reheating temperature $T_R$ of inflation, $T_R \lesssim 10^{15}$ GeV for the gravitino mass $m_{3/2} \simeq 100$ GeV, which is much weaker than that obtained in the minimal SUSY standard model.Comment: 7 pages; revised version for publication in Phys. Lett.

Dispatch and Delay: Post Conviction Relief Act Litigation in Non-Capital Cases

The article examines post-conviction delays in Pennsylvania, providing a quantitative study of post-trial collateral view. The first empirical study of its kind, the article employs a range of empirical methods for systematically measuring litigation times, and presents a descriptive analysis of the factors accelerating or impeding disposition. The article concludes that trial court collateral relief litigation in Pennsylvania can be improved by adopting several recommendations that will achieve the goal of fair and just post-conviction relief procedures

The Validity of Self-Reported Criminal Arrest History Among Clients of a Psychiatric Probation and Parole Service

Self-report data have consistently demonstrated acceptable reliability and validity in prior studies by exhibiting high correlations with other criterion related measures of criminal frequency and arrest history. Mental health factors and substance abuse factors are suspected to affect the quality and accuracy of self-reported data. This analysis sought to examine the impact of major mental illness and substance abuse factors on the validity of self-reported criminal history data as given by clients of a psychiatric probation and parole service. After controlling for socio-demographic variables, the number of officially recorded arrests, high number of lifetime hospitalizations and overall years spent in jail significantly explained the number of self-reported arrests. The predominance of the official record in explaining self-reported arrest history suggests that self-reported arrest history data given by a psychiatric offender population is as valid as that given by general offender populations. Substance abuse factors and mental illness factors did not affect the quality and accuracy of self-reported arrest history

Fermion and Anti-Fermion Effective Masses in High Temperature Gauge Theories in CPCP-Asymmetric Background

We calculate the splitting between fermion and anti-fermion effective masses in high temperature gauge theories in the presence of a non-vanishing chemical potential due to the $CP$-asymmetric fermionic background. In particular we consider the case of left-handed leptons in the $SU(2)\otimes U(1)$ theory when the temperature is above $250$ GeV and the gauge symmetry is restored.Comment: 13 pages, TIPAC-93001

Dark and visible matter with broken R-parity and the axion multiplet

A small breaking of R-parity reconciles thermal leptogenesis, gravitino dark matter and primordial nucleosynthesis. We find that the same breaking relaxes cosmological bounds on the axion multiplet. Naturally expected spectra become allowed and bounds from late particle decays become so weak that they are superseded by bounds from non-thermal axion production. In this sense, the strong CP problem serves as an additional motivation for broken R-parity.Comment: 13 pages + refs, 1 table, v2: refs added, minor changes in presentation, v3: refs added, added discussion of decays into Higgs and Higgsino, matches published versio

Signatures of Axinos and Gravitinos at Colliders

The axino and the gravitino are well-motivated candidates for the lightest supersymmetric particle (LSP) and also for cold dark matter in the Universe. Assuming that a charged slepton is the next-to-lightest supersymmetric particle (NLSP), we show how the NLSP decays can be used to probe the axino LSP scenario in hadronic axion models as well as the gravitino LSP scenario at the Large Hadron Collider and the International Linear Collider. We show how one can identify experimentally the scenario realized in nature. In the case of the axino LSP, the NLSP decays will allow one to estimate the value of the axino mass and the Peccei-Quinn scale.Comment: 20 pages, 5 figures, revised version as published in Phys.Lett.B (comments on the experimental feasibility added

Enhanced Electromagnetic Transition Dipole Moments and Radiative Decays of Massive Neutrinos due to the Seesaw-induced Non-unitary Effects

In a simple extension of the standard electroweak theory where the phenomenon of lepton flavor mixing is described by a 3x3 unitary matrix V, the electric and magnetic dipole moments of three active neutrinos are suppressed not only by their tiny masses but also by the Glashow-Iliopoulos-Maiani (GIM) mechanism. We show that it is possible to lift the GIM suppression if the canonical seesaw mechanism of neutrino mass generation, which allows V to be slightly non-unitary, is taken into account. In view of current experimental constraints on the non-unitarity of V, we find that the effective electromagnetic transition dipole moments of three light Majorana neutrinos and the rates of their radiative decays can be maximally enhanced by a factor of O(10^2) and a factor of O(10^4), respectively. This important observation reveals an intrinsic and presumably significant correlation between the electromagnetic properties of massive neutrinos and the origin of their small masses.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, more discussions and references added, accepted for publication in PL

Axino Mass in Supergravity Models

We analyze the mass of the axino, the fermionic superpartner of the axion, in general supergravity models incorporating a Peccei--Quinn--symmetry and determine the cosmological constraints on this mass. In particular, we derive a simple criterion to identify models with an LSP--axino which has a mass of $O(m_{3/2}^2/f_{PQ})=O($keV) and can serve as a candidate for (warm) dark matter. We point out that such models have very special properties and in addition, the small axino mass has to be protected against radiative corrections by demanding small couplings in the Peccei--Quinn--sector. Generically, we find an axino mass of order $m_{3/2}$. Such masses are constrained by the requirement of an axino decay which occurs before the decoupling of the ordinary LSP. Especially, for a large Peccei--Quinn--scale $f_{PQ}>10^{11}$ GeV this constraint might be difficult to fulfill.Comment: Latex, 12 pages, no figure

Teacher support and guidelines for diverse student learners during COVID-19

Teachers serving students from low-income backgrounds, students with disabilities, and students from underrepresented racial and ethnic backgrounds are experiencing a myriad of challenges due to the pandemic that is exacerbating existing inequities and risks. The purpose of this study was to assess whether and to what extent teachers received access to professional development support that would enable them to more effectively respond to the education to the challenges experienced in managing through COVID-19 and evaluate the impact of this access on their perceptions on student engagement. Using the RAND 2020 American Teacher Panel (ATP) COVID-19 collected in October 2020, four clusters of support and resources were identified: Most Supported, Least Supported, Moderate Supported A (received support primarily with students with Disabilities) and Moderate Supported B (received support primarily with diverse backgrounds). Teachers classified as relatively less supported groups were more likely to be teaching in more urbanized settings with larger size schools than the other clusters and perceived their students as attending less often and being less ready for grade-level coursework. Recommendations for school psychologists and human service professionals organizing professional development to address teacher self-care and social emotional learning are described.First author draf

Can We Identify a Light Neutralino in B-Factories

If a light gaugino sector exists, then the lightest supersymmetric particle (LSP) has a chance of being pair-produced in rare B-decays. As a consequence of neutral flavour violation in most supersymmetric models, such decays can occur at the tree-level and reinforce the channels $B \longrightarrow K(K^{*}) + invisible$. We discuss how a study of such decay spectra in B-factories can help us either identify or exclude a light LSP.Comment: 14 pages, 5 figures (hard copies available from authors on request