Indirect detection signals beyond the simplest supersymmetric dark matter

Indirect detection of gamma rays, neutrinos and charged cosmic rays from dark matter annihilation sheds light on the identity of dark matter and compliments direct detection and collider dark matter searches. By testing for the annihilation rate as well as the elastic scattering cross section of dark matter and nucleons, indirect detection can probe beyond the standard neutralino dark matter candidate. In particular, annihilation product phenomenology is a tool for the exploration of the dark matter connection to the neutrino sector. The well-motivated U(1)_{B-L} extension of the Minimal Supersymmetric Model (MSSM) naturally includes the neutrino sector to explain neutrino masses and mixings. Two new B-L dark matter candidates arise: the right-handed sneutrino and a new neutralino. These each annihilate preferentially into leptons by virtue of the B-L charges. Chapters 3 and 4 show that the annihilation cross-section in either case can achieve a Sommerfeld enhancement that fits data from the PAMELA satellite showing an excess in the positron fraction but no excess in the antiproton spectrum. Chapter 5 demonstrates that the IceCube neutrino telescope can distinguish the annihilation of the right-handed sneutrino candidate into monochromatic neutrinos. In general, final states provide a distinctive signature that can discriminate among classes of dark matter models. Chapter 6 considers a model-independent study of monochromatic neutrino signals. Even with the current energy reconstruction capability, IceCube/DeepCore can detect gauge boson or tau annihilation even in the presence of monochromatic neutrino annihilation given ten years of data. Finally, tau regeneration is found to be a potential mechanism for differentiating neutrino flavor final states from one another

Biodiversity, a global threshold - Why preserving biodiversity should go hand-in-hand with climate mitigation in agro-ecosystems

This presentation takes as its starting point the relationship between humans and global natural resources. Humans have always been dependent upon them. Only recently, however, has it become obvious that the demand for these natural resources and services is now approaching or exceeding their supply. Sustainability can be defined as using the natural resources we are dependent upon in the most efficient manner possible - also biodiversity. Human activities have dramatically increased over the last approx. 60 years and these activities leave a fingerprint on many aspects of the Earth System. A large part of this fingerprint is the result of impacts caused by or related to agriculture. The presentation presents a study in which an attempt is made to identify “Planetary Boundaries” that is to say limits for human impact on various components of the Earth System that should not be exceeded if we, as a society, want to minimize the risk of human activity pushing the Earth System out of the “Holocene” conditions (i.e. those that have the Earth has experienced in the last 12-15,000 years, when humans societies have blossomed). The findings of the group suggest that humanity may already have transgressed 3 of the 9 identified boundaries, namely, rate of loss of biodiversity, climate change, and changes to the global nitrogen cycle. The safe operating space for biodiversity has been defined to an extinction rate of less than 10 extinctions per million species per year. It is estimated that this extinction rate is greatly exceeded (more than 100 extinctions per million species per year). The presentation leads to a conclusion that with the challenge of the 21th century, i.e., to share the Earth’s resources among 9 billion people AND staying within the Planetary Boundaries, business as usual is not an option, and that also the agricultural approaches will have to change

Prospects for Indirect Detection of Sneutrino Dark Matter with IceCube

We investigate the prospects for indirect detection of right-handed sneutrino dark matter at the IceCube neutrino telescope in a $U(1)_{B-L}$ extension of the MSSM. The capture and annihilation of sneutrinos inside the Sun reach equilibrium, and the flux of produced neutrinos is governed by the sneutrino-proton elastic scattering cross section, which has an upper bound of $8 \times 10^{-9}$ pb from the $Z^{\prime}$ mass limits in the $B-L$ model. Despite the absence of any spin-dependent contribution, the muon event rates predicted by this model can be detected at IceCube since sneutrinos mainly annihilate into leptonic final states by virtue of the fermion $B-L$ charges. These subsequently decay to neutrinos with 100% efficiency. The Earth muon event rates are too small to be detected for the standard halo model irrespective of an enhanced sneutrino annihilation cross section that can explain the recent PAMELA data. For modified velocity distributions, the Earth muon events increase substantially and can be greater than the IceCube detection threshold of 12 events $\mathrm{km}^{-2}$ $\mathrm{yr}^{-1}$. However, this only leads to a mild increase of about 30% for the Sun muon events. The number of muon events from the Sun can be as large as roughly 100 events $\mathrm{km}^{-2}$ $\mathrm{yr}^{-1}$ for this model.Comment: 13 pages, 9 figures, replaced to match the published version, only minor changes: addition of one reference in section 5, correction of two typo

Development of an Effective Spelling Curriculum to be Implemented in a First-Third Grade Classroom

Spelling is a frequently investigated curriculum area. There has been extensive research in the last century concerning various instructional procedures for the acquisition of spelling skills. Many research-based principles of effective spelling instruction have emerged from one of two contrasting models for the development of spelling competence. Traditionally, spelling has been taught with textbooks from spelling series. Students followed a structured program with the goal of learning to spell the list words. Advocates for spelling reform suggest spelling instruction should be based on the understanding of the developmental nature of the child. This project report provides guidelines for implementing a developmentally-based spelling program in which writing is emphasized

The Influence of William Godwin on the Novels of Mary Shelley

The past few decades have seen a revival of interest in the social philosophy of William Godwin and a revaluation of his works. Although Godwin has been viewed as a powerful influence on the works of Wordsworth, Coleridge, and Shelley, little notice has been taken of his influence on the work of his daughter, Mary Shelley. It has, on the contrary, been popular to attribute Mary\u27s Frankenstein to the influence of her husband, Percy Bysshe Shelley. Many critics have recognized a close connection between the works of Godwin and Mary, but the comments are limited and general; and most studies of Mary\u27s novels use a biographical or critical approach. The primary purpose of this study of Mary Shelley\u27s novels, however, is to trace the influence that her father and his works had upon her writing. A writer and his work are so closely intertwined that it is not always possible to separate the one from the other. This is especially true of Godwin and Mary because the novels of both are filled with autobiographical and biographical elements which must be accounted for in order to reveal the influence they had on each other. For this reason, the study begins with a biographical sketch of the father and daughter with emphasis placed upon those events and circumstances in their lives which had an effect on their writing of fiction. The present-day reader who is not familiar with Godwin\u27s philosophy would not notice the most prevalent similarity between the two: the ideas--the philosophies--run very nearly parallel throughout their novels. The comparison between the two thus begins with Godwin\u27s ideas and shows how they are carried out in his novels and also in Mary\u27s. The major source used for determining Godwin\u27s ideas is his formal treatise, Enquiry concerning Political Justice and Its Influence on Morals and Happiness (1793). Their aesthetic techniques are next analyzed by widely known and used critical criteria. In conclusion, the study reveals a striking similarity between both their ideas and techniques, thereby substantiating the claim of the author of this work that Godwin\u27s ideas, as set forth in Political Justice, and the literary techniques of his fiction form the foundation on which his daughter\u27s novels rest

A scoping exercise to identify the needs of people affected by cancer and key staff for a future welfare benefit service in Fife

This scoping exercise was undertaken to identify the current provision of welfare benefit advice services in Fife, any cancer-specific provision in Scotland and gather views on the needs of people aff ected by cancer, the public and key staff groups for a future welfare benefit service in Fife. It addresses 5 main questions: a. What is the current provision of welfare benefit advice services in Fife? b. What is the existing knowledge of welfare benefi ts among staff involved in the care of people aff ected by cancer, and how do they see their role in this issue? c. What is the existing knowledge and involvement of patients and carers in accessing advice and support in pursuit of benefits? d. What barriers exist to professionals and staff in helping people affected by cancer to take up the welfare benefits available? e. What type of welfare benefit service would recognise and meet the needs of people affected by cancer and key staff in Fife

Distinct Seasonal Primary Production Patterns in the Sub-Polar Gyre and Surrounding Seas

Primary production (PP) in the sub-polar region appears to be important for ocean carbon uptake but how the different water masses contribute to the PP occurring here has not yet been described. Using two models based on satellite observations of surface chlorophyll, light and temperature, seasonal patterns in the distribution of PP are shown here to differ in the sub-polar gyre south of the Greenland-Scotland Ridge (GSR) and surrounding water masses. Monthly averages of PP (2003–2013) were determined. Total and seasonal PP were similar in both models. Average PP in five of the domains (0.47–0.77 g C m–2 d–1) was well above the global average (0.37 g C m–2 d–1). Over the East Greenland shelf, however, total annual PP was estimated to be only 0.19 g C m–2 d–1. The Norwegian shelf was the most productive of the regions studied. “Spring blooms” appear sporadically as spikes in the annual distribution of PP in some regions/years, but do not emerge as a dominant feature in the average annual development of PP in any of the domains. For all regions, ∼25% of the annual PP takes place in the period January-May. PP peaked over most of the study area at or around maximum insolation or temperature. PP in the study region as a whole appears to be more related to latitude or water masses than to bathymetry. In waters over the East Greenland shelf, the Norwegian shelf, and north of the GSR up to 50% of annual PP had taken place when ∼50% of the annual flux of light has reached the surface. In contrast, only about 35% of annual PP had taken place in the sub-polar gyre and waters over the southern open shelf by this time. Light-use efficiency differences may be explained by differences in mixed layer depth (MLD). Multi-model Earth System model studies have indicated that climate change may decrease the MLD in the sub-polar gyre and suggest this may lead to a decrease in the PP occurring here. The results presented here, however, suggest that a shallower MLD could lead to an increase in PP.publishedVersio