Towards a Realistic MSSM Prediction for Neutrino-nucleon Deep-inelastic Scattering

We discuss the radiative corrections to charged and neutral current deep-inelastic neutrino--nucleon scattering in the minimal supersymmetric standard model (MSSM). In particular, we study deviations, delta_R^nu(nu-bar), from the Standard Model prediction for the ratios of neutral- to charged-current cross sections, taking into account all sources for deviations in the MSSM, i.e. different contributions from virtual Higgs bosons and virtual superpartners. Our calculation includes the full q^2 dependence of the one-loop amplitudes, parton distribution functions and a NuTeV-inspired process kinematics. We present results of a scan of delta_R^nu(nu-bar) over the relevant MSSM parameter space.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, to appear in Proceedings of SUSY06, the 14th International Conference on Supersymmetry and the Unification of Fundamental Interactions, UC Irvine, California, 12-17 June 200

Sparse Control of Alignment Models in High Dimension

For high dimensional particle systems, governed by smooth nonlinearities depending on mutual distances between particles, one can construct low-dimensional representations of the dynamical system, which allow the learning of nearly optimal control strategies in high dimension with overwhelming confidence. In this paper we present an instance of this general statement tailored to the sparse control of models of consensus emergence in high dimension, projected to lower dimensions by means of random linear maps. We show that one can steer, nearly optimally and with high probability, a high-dimensional alignment model to consensus by acting at each switching time on one agent of the system only, with a control rule chosen essentially exclusively according to information gathered from a randomly drawn low-dimensional representation of the control system.Comment: 39 page

Experimental and numerical studies of terahertz surface waves on a thin metamaterial film

We present experimental and numerical studies of localized terahertz surface waves on a subwavelength-thick metamaterial film consisting of in-plane split-ring resonators. A simple and intuitive model is derived that describes the propagation of surface waves as guided modes in a waveguide filled with a Lorentz-like medium. The effective medium model allows to deduce the dispersion relation of the surface waves in excellent agreement with the numerical data obtained from 3-D full-wave calculations. Both the accuracy of the analytical model and the numerical calculations are confirmed by spectroscopic terahertz time domain measurements.Comment: 3 pages, 3 figure

Portfolio of musical composition: integration in music: controlling diverse methods of expression within the context of the globalisation of musical culture

Musical culture is increasingly globalised and technology allows us to engage with an evermore diversified range of musical approaches, traditions and sound-worlds. How composers react to this diversity of musical approaches is an important theme in contemporary composition. My approach to composition within this globalised situation has been to focus on the notion of ‘integration’ and creating structurally consistent score-based frameworks. I have composed a portfolio of work that reflects the central focus of ‘integration’, concentrating on three inter-related research areas: 1. Exploring how one can integrate or frame improvisation and/or electronics into notated structural frameworks. 2. Exploring the use of technology to translate or integrate material generated through improvisation into notational practice. 3. Developing a coherent and individual technique and aesthetic that draws on structural influences from a range of musical idioms, but never resorts to cliché or pastiche. My exploration of integration in writing the compositions in this portfolio has been primarily technical. I am fundamentally interested in the ‘nuts and bolts’ of composition, how musical materials can fit together and interact. Therefore although the character and substance of the different materials I engage with is important, my foremost preoccupations when composing are the formal and technical aspects such as: structure and proportion; pitch and rhythmic organisation; orchestration technique; the use of extended notations; and compositional processes such as abstraction, permutation and rotation. As I outline in my commentary the composition in this portfolio reflects my aesthetic position that working with an eclectic range of musical materials and diverse methods of expression such as improvisation and electronics is not an end-in-itself. By integrating diverse musical influences I am not trying to create a pluralist synthesis of different semantic paradigms, but aim to find my own innovative, coherent and consistent compositional approach

Moral Arguments for Water Justice and The Jackson Water Crisis

Across the United States, residents of towns and cities find themselves increasingly concerned with their water supply. In 2022, attention shifted to Jackson, Mississippi, as over 150,000 residents of the majority Black capital city were left without clean water. In this thesis, I discuss this case study as well as cases in Baltimore, Maryland, Flint, Michigan, and Newark, New Jersey, finding that across these cities, there exist patterns of environmental racism and divestment in public resources. Crisis is soon to follow when these patterns compound with the climate change consequences of more intense weather and pollution. To discuss this pattern of failure, I consider environmental justice literature to understand how such patterns came about and how policymakers may address those failures. A review of environmental justice literature produces a variety of argumentative frameworks, often recommending different frameworks for different environmental issues. In the case of arguing for water infrastructure and security, the best framework seems to be a sufficientarian one called the capabilities approach. Centered around the moral importance of well-being, this approach states that our well-being should be understood in the context of our functioning and capabilities. As they relate to water, our human capabilities of life, health, and bodily integrity rely upon our access to clean water. Turning to the Jackson Water Crisis, applying a capabilities approach finds it a complete moral failure, as it threatened or harmed three of the central capabilities of residents. Applying the capabilities approach in each crisis case shows divestment practices and environmental racism as failures because they jeopardize capabilities. To address these failures in the short term, communities both impacted by a water crisis or at risk must organize and be prepared to respond. In the long term, the capabilities approach prescribes renewed investment in infrastructure. Considering the ideas of environmental justice and water infrastructure, I find that the capabilities approach can be used to justify prescriptions for climate-resilient or green infrastructure developments that protect human well-being and flourishing, and could potentially protect the environment itself through certain policy alternatives

Airborne lidar observations supporting the ADM-Aeolus mission for global wind profiling

The Atmospheric Dynamics Mission ADM-Aeolus of ESA will be the first lidar mission to sense the global wind field from space. The instrument is based on a direct-detection Doppler lidar operating at 354.9 nm with two spectrometers for aerosol/cloud and molecular backscatter. In order to assess the performance of the Doppler lidar ALADIN on ADM-Aeolus and to optimize the retrieval algorithms with atmospheric signals, an airborne prototype – the ALADIN Airborne Demonstrator A2D – was developed. The A2D was the first airborne direct-detection Doppler lidar with its maiden flight on the DLR Falcon aircraft in 2005. Three airborne campaigns with a coherent-detection 2-μm wind lidar and the direct-detection wind lidar A2D were performed for pre-launch validation of Aeolus from 2007-2009. Furthermore, a unique experiment for resolving the Rayleigh-Brillouin spectral line shape in the atmosphere was accomplished in 2009 with the A2D from a mountain observatory at an altitude of 2650 m. Results of this experiment and the latest airborne campaign in the vicinity of Greenland and Iceland will be discussed

Gradient Index Metamaterial Based on Slot Elements

We present a gradient-index (GRIN) metamaterial based on an array of annular slots. The structure allows a large variation of the effective refractive index under normal-to-plane incidence and thus enables the construction of GRIN devices consisting of only a small number of functional layers. Using full-wave simulations, we demonstrate the annular slot concept by means of a 3-unit-cell thin GRIN lens for the terahertz (THz) range. In the presented realizations, we achieved an index contrast of Delta n = 1.5 resulting in a highly refractive lens suitable for focusing THz radiation to a spot size smaller than the wavelength.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure