Observational constraints on an inflation model with a running mass

We explore a model of inflation where the inflaton mass-squared is generated at a high scale by gravity-mediated soft supersymmetry breaking, and runs at lower scales to the small value required for slow-roll inflation. The running is supposed to come from the coupling of the inflaton to a non-Abelian gauge field. In contrast with earlier work, we do not constrain the magnitude of the supersymmetry breaking scale, and we find that the model might work even if squark and slepton masses come from gauge-mediated supersymmetry breaking. With the inflaton and gaugino masses in the expected range, and $\alpha = g^2/4\pi$ in the range $10^{-2}$ to $10^{-3}$ (all at the high scale) the model can give the observed cosmic microwave anisotropy, and a spectral index in the observed range. The latter has significant variation with scale, which can confirm or rule out the model in the forseeable future.Comment: Latex, 19 pages, 14 figures, uses epsf.st

Inflation from Susy quantum cosmology

We propose a realization of inverted hybrid inflation scenario in the context of n=2 supersymmetric quantum cosmology. The spectrum of density fluctuations is calculated in the de Sitter regimen as a function of the gravitino and the Planck mass, and explicit forms for the wave function of the universe are found in the WKB regimen for a FRW closed and flat universes.Comment: 9 pages, one figure, to appear in Phys. Rev.

Second-order corrections to slow-roll inflation in the brane cosmology

We calculate the power spectrum, spectral index, and running spectral index for the RS-II brane inflation in the high-energy regime using the slow-roll expansion. There exist several modifications. As an example, we take the power-law inflation by choosing an inverse power-law potential. When comparing these with those arisen in the standard inflation, we find that the power spectrum is enhanced and the spectral index is suppressed, while the running spectral index becomes zero as in the standard inflation. However, since second-order corrections are rather small, these could not play a role of distinguishing between standard and brane inflations.Comment: 6 page

Particle physics models of inflation

Inflation models are compared with observation on the assumption that the curvature perturbation is generated from the vacuum fluctuation of the inflaton field. The focus is on single-field models with canonical kinetic terms, classified as small- medium- and large-field according to the variation of the inflaton field while cosmological scales leave the horizon. Small-field models are constructed according to the usual paradigm for beyond Standard Model physicsComment: Based on a talk given at the 22nd IAP Colloquium, ``Inflation +25'', Paris, June 2006 Curve omitted from final Figur

What Can WMAP Tell Us About The Very Early Universe? New Physics as an Explanation of Suppressed Large Scale Power and Running Spectral Index

The Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe microwave background data may be giving us clues about new physics at the transition from a ``stringy'' epoch of the universe to the standard Friedmann Robertson Walker description. Deviations on large angular scales of the data, as compared to theoretical expectations, as well as running of the spectral index of density perturbations, can be explained by new physics whose scale is set by the height of an inflationary potential. As examples of possible signatures for this new physics, we study the cosmic microwave background spectrum for two string inspired models: 1) modifications to the Friedmann equations and 2) velocity dependent potentials. The suppression of low ``l'' modes in the microwave background data arises due to the new physics. In addition, the spectral index is red (n<1) on small scales and blue (n>1) on large scales, in agreement with data.Comment: 18 pages, 2 figures, submitted for publication in Physical Review D, references added in this versio

Comparison of baseline lymphoma and HIV characteristics in Malawi before and after implementation of universal antiretroviral therapy

Access to antiretroviral therapy (ART) led to epidemiological changes in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) associated lymphoma in high-income countries such as reductions in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and stable or increased Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) and Burkitt lymphoma (BL). In 2016, Malawi implemented a universal ART (UART) policy, expanding ART eligibility to all persons living with HIV (PLWH). We compare the distribution of lymphoma subtypes and baseline HIV and prognostic characteristics for lymphoma patients in Malawi before and after implementation of UART. We enrolled patients with pathologically confirmed incident lymphoproliferative disorders into a observational clinical cohort. At diagnosis, a comprehensive clinicopathological evaluation was performed. Of 412 participants, 156 (38%) were pre-UART (2013-June 2016) and 256 (62%) post-UART (July 2016-2020). HIV prevalence was 50% in both groups. The most common pre-UART diagnoses were DLBCL [75 (48%)], low-grade non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) [19 (12%)], HL [17 (11%)] and, BL [13 (8%)]. For post-UART they were DLBCL [111 (43%)], NHL [28 (11%)], BL [27 11%)] and, HL [20 (8%)]. Among PLWH, 44 (57%) pre-UART initiated ART prior to lymphoma diagnosis compared to 99 (78%) post-UART (p = 0.02). HIV-ribonucleic acid was suppressed <1000 copies/mL in 56% (33/59) pre-UART and 71% (73/103) post-UART (p = 0.05). CD4 T-cell counts were similar for both groups. We observed similar findings in the subset of participants with DLBCL. Overall, there were no significant changes in incident lymphoma subtypes (p = 0.61) after implementation of UART, but HIV was better controlled. Emerging trends bear monitoring and may have implications for prognosis and health system priority setting

Inflationary slow-roll formalism and perturbations in the Randall-Sundrum type II braneworld

We formalize the Hubble slow-roll formalism for inflationary dynamics in Randall-Sundrum Type II braneworld cosmologies, defining Hubble slow-roll parameters which can be used along with the Hamilton-Jacobi formalism. Focussing on the high-energy limit, we use these to calculate the exact power spectrum for power-law inflation, and then perturb around this solution to derive the higher-order expression for the density perturbations (sometimes called the Stewart-Lyth correction) of slow-roll braneworld models. Finally we apply our result to specific examples of potentials to calculate the correction to the amplitude of the power spectrum, and compare it with the standard cosmology. We find that the amplitude is not changed significantly by the higher-order correction

Black Holes at the LHC

In these two lectures, we will address the topic of the creation of small black holes during particle collisions in a ground-based accelerator, such as LHC, in the context of a higher-dimensional theory. We will cover the main assumptions, criteria and estimates for their creation, and we will discuss their properties after their formation. The most important observable effect associated with their creation is likely to be the emission of Hawking radiation during their evaporation process. After presenting the mathematical formalism for its study, we will review the current results for the emission of particles both on the brane and in the bulk. We will finish with a discussion of the methodology that will be used to study these spectra, and the observable signatures that will help us identify the black-hole events.Comment: 37 pages, 14 figures, lectures presented in the 4th Aegean Summer School on Black Holes, 17-22 September 2007, Lesvos, Greece, typos corrected, comments and references adde

CSF1R inhibitor JNJ-40346527 attenuates microglial proliferation and neurodegeneration in P301S mice

Neuroinflammation and microglial activation are significant processes in Alzheimer's disease pathology. Recent genome-wide association studies have highlighted multiple immune-related genes in association with Alzheimer's disease, and experimental data have demonstrated microglial proliferation as a significant component of the neuropathology. In this study, we tested the efficacy of the selective CSF1R inhibitor JNJ-40346527 (JNJ-527) in the P301S mouse tauopathy model. We first demonstrated the anti-proliferative effects of JNJ-527 on microglia in the ME7 prion model, and its impact on the inflammatory profile, and provided potential CNS biomarkers for clinical investigation with the compound, including pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamics and efficacy assessment by TSPO autoradiography and CSF proteomics. Then, we showed for the first time that blockade of microglial proliferation and modification of microglial phenotype leads to an attenuation of tau-induced neurodegeneration and results in functional improvement in P301S mice. Overall, this work strongly supports the potential for inhibition of CSF1R as a target for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease and other tau-mediated neurodegenerative diseases