Kaluza-Klein Towers in the Early Universe: Phase Transitions, Relic Abundances, and Applications to Axion Cosmology

We study the early-universe cosmology of a Kaluza-Klein (KK) tower of scalar fields in the presence of a mass-generating phase transition, focusing on the time-development of the total tower energy density (or relic abundance) as well as its distribution across the different KK modes. We find that both of these features are extremely sensitive to the details of the phase transition and can behave in a variety of ways significant for late-time cosmology. In particular, we find that the interplay between the temporal properties of the phase transition and the mixing it generates are responsible for both enhancements and suppressions in the late-time abundances, sometimes by many orders of magnitude. We map out the complete model parameter space and determine where traditional analytical approximations are valid and where they fail. In the latter cases we also provide new analytical approximations which successfully model our results. Finally, we apply this machinery to the example of an axion-like field in the bulk, mapping these phenomena over an enlarged axion parameter space that extends beyond those accessible to standard treatments. An important by-product of our analysis is the development of an alternate "UV-based" effective truncation of KK theories which has a number of interesting theoretical properties that distinguish it from the more traditional "IR-based" truncation typically used in the extra-dimension literature.Comment: 30 pages, LaTeX, 18 figures. Replaced to match published versio

The Impact of Recruitment, Selection, Promotion and Compensation Policies and Practices on the Glass Ceiling

Glass Ceiling ReportGlassCeilingImpactofRecruitmentno13.pdf: 27713 downloads, before Oct. 1, 2020

Developing Geospatial Intelligence Stewardship for Multinational Operations

Graduate Student U.S. Army Command and General Staff CollegePlatinum Sponsors * KU Transportation Research Institute Gold Sponsors * KU Department of Geography * KU Institute for Policy & Social Research * State of Kansas Data Access and Support Center (DASC) * KU Libraries GIS and Scholar Services * Wilson & Company Engineers and Architects Silver Sponsors * Bartlett & West * KansasView Consortium * KU Biodiversity Institute Bronze Sponsors * AECOM * Kansas Biological Survey * C-CHANGE Program (NSF IGERT) * KU Environmental Studies Program * KU Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology * Mid-West CAD * National Weather Service * Spatial Data Researc

Redefining Accredited Investor: That\u27s One Small Step for the SEC, One Giant Leap for Our Economy

It may sound trivial, yet how we define accredited investor (AI) is critical. Among other things, U.S. securities laws and regulations make it easier for AIs to invest in privately held companies through “exempt offerings,” which are offerings not “registered” under the 1933 Securities Act. This results in AIs having investment opportunities that are unavailable to non-accredited investors (non-AIs). Moreover, the amount raised in exempt offerings has been increasing both absolutely and relative to the amount raised in registered offerings. In fact, the Director of the SEC’s Division of Corporate Finance recently indicated that “[c]ompanies raised $2.9 trillion in private markets [in 2018], compared to$1.4 trillion in public markets . . . .” The importance of making more exempt offerings available to current non-AIs is frequently noted. Further, the pool of capital available to new ventures is essentially limited to the amount AIs are willing and able to invest. This is because it is too expensive for new ventures to participate in registered (i.e., public) offerings. It is also well established that these entrepreneurial ventures, which frequently need additional capital, have a significant impact on our economy. Thus, converting current non-AIs into AIs would create new investment opportunities, provide a much needed source of capital for entrepreneurial ventures, and have an economic impact. To date, the AI definition has ignored the sophistication of individual investors. Instead, it has focused solely on one’s net worth and income. Commentators, including the SEC, have repeatedly noted potential shortcomings with this approach. But, the need to protect investors has provided the justification for tolerating these shortcomings. This Article argues that AI should be redefined to welcome investors who demonstrate an ability to fend for themselves by passing a relevant exam. More specifically, Part II of this Article reviews the current AI definition and population. Part III provides examples of how the AI definition impacts investments in private companies and the secondary trading of such securities. Part IV summarizes recent proposals to expand the current AI definition. Finally, Part V takes an in-depth look at one of the proposals: letting investors test into AI status. Part V also explains how such an exam could be linked to two other responsible ways to expand the AI pool: putting investment limits on AIs and recognizing the value of experience gained by actually investing in exempt offerings

The Private Attorney General in California - An Evolution of the Species

This Comment examines the California Supreme Court\u27s holding in Serrano v. Priest, ordering payment of attorneys\u27 fees to plaintiffs who vindicate important public policies and confer benefits on the public and the development of California Code of Civil Procedure section 1021.5, which codified this holding. The author further examines how Section 1021.5 has been applied over the last three years. The author analyzes the policy behind the private attorney general fee award and attempts to define important public policy , substantial benefits , disproportionate burden , and enforcements as they are used in this section. The author further addresses several unresolved policy issues surrounding the application of section 1021.5