CP Violation in the SUSY Seesaw: Leptogenesis and Low Energy

We suppose that the baryon asymmetry is produced by thermal leptogenesis (with flavour effects), at temperatures $\sim 10^{9} - 10^{10}$ GeV, in the supersymmetric seesaw with universal and real soft terms. The parameter space is restricted by assuming that $l_\alpha \to l_\beta \gamma$ processes will be seen in upcoming experiments. We study the sensitivity of the baryon asymmetry to the phases of the lepton mixing matrix, and find that leptogenesis can work for any value of the phases. We also estimate the contribution to the electric dipole moment of the electron, arising from the seesaw, and find that it is (just) beyond the sensitivity of next generation experiments (\lsim 10^{-29} e cm). The fourteen dimensional parameter space is efficiently explored with a Monte Carlo Markov Chain, which concentrates on the regions of interest.Comment: 30 pages, 7 figure

Search and Result Presentation in Scientific Workflow Repositories

We study the problem of searching a repository of complex hierarchical workflows whose component modules, both composite and atomic, have been annotated with keywords. Since keyword search does not use the graph structure of a workflow, we develop a model of workflows using context-free bag grammars. We then give efficient polynomial-time algorithms that, given a workflow and a keyword query, determine whether some execution of the workflow matches the query. Based on these algorithms we develop a search and ranking solution that efficiently retrieves the top-k grammars from a repository. Finally, we propose a novel result presentation method for grammars matching a keyword query, based on representative parse-trees. The effectiveness of our approach is validated through an extensive experimental evaluation

The Impact of Sleep on Academic Burnout with the Effects of Perceived Stress and General Well-being

This study investigated the correlation between sleep deprivation, sleep quality, perceived stress, and general well-being and whether they were risk or protective factors for academic burnout. The sample consisted of 61 female undergraduate students at Brescia University College and participants completed an online questionnaire. A correlational analysis and multiple regression model revealed a significant positive correlation with the three studied factors namely sleep deprivation, sleep quality, and perceived stress with academic burnout. However, general well-being was not significantly correlated. The model that best predicted burnout scores included the variables of sleep deprivation, sleep quality, and perceived stress. Together, these findings suggest that sleep deprivation, sleep quality, and perceived stress are all risk factors for academic burnout. The results from this study can be used in further research endeavours to investigate the protective factors of academic burnout and to develop preventative techniques that focus on the three risk factors

Electric-field induced shape transition of nematic tactoids

The occurrence of new textures of liquid crystals is an important factor in tuning their optical and photonics properties. Here, we show, both experimentally and by numerical computation, that under an electric field chitin tactoids (i.e. nematic droplets) can stretch to aspect ratios of more than 15, leading to a transition from a spindle-like to a cigar-like shape. We argue that the large extensions occur because the elastic contribution to the free energy is dominated by the anchoring. We demonstrate that the elongation involves hydrodynamic flow and is reversible, the tactoids return to their original shapes upon removing the field.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures; accepted for publication in Physical Review

Missing, Presumed Trafficked: Towards non-binary understandings of ‘wayward’ youth in Jamaica

Boys and LGBTQ youth, especially those who go missing from home, have recently started to appear in mainstream anti-trafficking discourse as a group of children who are peculiarly vulnerable to human trafficking. This paper reports findings from research with Jamaicans who experienced various forms of violence and exploitation as children. Our data is consistent with the claim that boys and LGBTQ Jamaicans are amongst those who experience forms of violence and exploitation that policy makers often discuss under the heading ‘sex trafficking’. However, the same data also challenges the conceptual binaries used to frame assumptions about ‘sex trafficking’ as a significant threat to Jamaican youth and informs assumptions about missing children as victims of trafficking. In this way, the paper provides empirical support for criticisms of the turn towards including boys and LGBTQ youth as victims of ‘sex trafficking’, and of dominant discourse on ‘child trafficking’ more generally

Insensitivity of flavoured leptogenesis to low energy CP violation

If the baryon asymmetry of the Universe is produced by leptogenesis, CP violation is required in the lepton sector. In the seesaw extension of the Standard Model with three hierarchical right-handed neutrinos, we show that the baryon asymmetry is insensitive to the PMNS phases: thermal leptogenesis can work for any value of the observable phases. This result was well-known when there are no flavour effects in leptogenesis; we show that it remains true when flavour effects are included.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure; version accepted for publication, added explanations, notation clarifie