The Cosmological Constant in Calabi-Yau 3-fold Compactifications of the Horava-Witten Theory

Brane world scenarios offer a way of setting the cosmological constant to zero after supersymmetry breaking provided there is a sufficient number of adjustable integration constants/parameters. In the case of the Horava-Witten theory compactified on a Calabi-Yau threefold, we argue that it is difficult to find enough freedom to get a zero (or small) cosmological constant after supersymmetry breaking.Comment: 9 page

Brane Worlds, the Cosmological Constant and String Theory

We argue that traditional methods of compactification of string theory make it very difficult to understand how the cosmological constant becomes zero. String inspired models can give zero cosmological constant after fine tuning but since string theory has no free parameters it is not clear that this is allowed. Brane world scenarios on the other hand while they do not answer the question as to why the cosmological constant is zero do actually allow a choice of integration constants that permit flat four space solutions. In this paper we discuss gauged supergravity realizations of such a world. To the extent that this starting point can be considered a low energy effective action of string theory (and there is some recent evidence supporting this) our model may be considered a string theory realization of this scenario.Comment: 18 pages, 5 figures. Shorter version and a few new comments adde

A Comparison of Supersymmetry Breaking and Mediation Mechanisms

We give a unified treatment of different models of supersymmetry breaking and mediation from a four dimensional effective field theory standpoint. In particular a comparison between GMSB and various gravity mediated versions of SUSY breaking shows that, once the former is embedded within a SUGRA framework, there is no particular advantage to that mechanism from the point of view of FCNC suppression. We point out the difficulties of all these scenarios - in particular the cosmological modulus problem. We end with a discussion of possible string theory realizations.Comment: Added clarifications and references, 20 page

Dimensional reduction from entanglement in Minkowski space

Using a quantum field theoretic setting, we present evidence for dimensional reduction of any sub-volume of Minkowksi space. First, we show that correlation functions of a class of operators restricted to a sub-volume of D-dimensional Minkowski space scale as its surface area. A simple example of such area scaling is provided by the energy fluctuations of a free massless quantum field in its vacuum state. This is reminiscent of area scaling of entanglement entropy but applies to quantum expectation values in a pure state, rather than to statistical averages over a mixed state. We then show, in a specific case, that fluctuations in the bulk have a lower-dimensional representation in terms of a boundary theory at high temperature.Comment: 9 pages, changes to presentation, some content corrections, version published in JHE

The Problem of Time and Quantum Black Holes

We discuss the derivation of the so-called semi-classical equations for both mini-superspace and dilaton gravity. We find that there is no systematic derivation of a semi-classical theory in which quantum mechanics is formulated in a space-time that is a solution of Einstein's equation, with the expectation value of the matter stress tensor on the right-hand side. The issues involved are related to the well-known problems associated with the interpretation of the Wheeler-deWitt equation in quantum gravity, including the problem of time. We explore the de Broglie-Bohm interpretation of quantum mechanics (and field theory) as a way of spontaneously breaking general covariance, and thereby giving meaning to the equations that many authors have been using to analyze black hole evaporation. We comment on the implications for the ``information loss" problem.Comment: 30 pages, COLO-HEP-33

Breaking the Silence: Exploring the Prevalence and Effects of SH in Sri Lanka's Workplaces

Purpose: The study aimed to explore the impact of sexual harassment (SH) in the workplace on the personal lives of Sri Lankan women. Design/Methodology/Approach: The study followed a quantitative method using convenience sampling to select 351 female employees from different workplaces. Standardized instruments were used to collect data, and correlation and regression analysis were performed to examine the association between variables. Findings: The study found that SH in the workplace had adverse effects on the personal lives of female employees, leading to psychological, physical, work-related, and interpersonal problems, including depression, anxiety, and fear, physical symptoms such as sleep disturbance, low energy, and chronic pain. Additionally, job satisfaction, productivity, motivation, and relationships with colleagues, supervisors, and clients were negatively impacted. Originality of Research: The study highlights the significant impact of SH on the personal lives of Sri Lankan women and emphasizes the need for greater community awareness and preventative measures in the workplace

Integrating an agent-based model of malaria mosquitoes with a geographic information system

Agent-based models (ABMs) are used to model infectious diseases and disease-transmitting vectors. Malaria is a deadly infectious disease in humans, transmitted by Anopheles mosquito vectors. Although geographic information system (GIS) has been used before with ABMs, no ABM-based malaria study showed the usage of custom-built spatial outputs integrated within a modeling framework. In this paper, we show how to effectively integrate a malaria ABM with GIS-based, spatially derived parameters. For a specific study area, we process GIS data layers, create hypothetical scenarios, produce maps, and analyze biological insights. Results indicate that availability of resources and relative distances between them are crucial determinants for malaria transmission. The maps also reveal potential hotspots for the measured variables. We argue that such integrated approaches, which combine knowledge from entomological, epidemiological, simulation-based, and geo-spatial domains, are required for the identification of relationships between spatial variables, and may have important implications for malaria vector control. © 2013 DIME UNIVERSITAT DI GENOVA

On Flux Compactification and Moduli Stabilization

We study the effect of adding charged matter fields to both D3 and D7 branes in type IIB string theory compactification with fluxes. Generically, charged matter fields induce additional terms to the Kahler form, the superpotential and the D-terms. These terms allow for minima with positive or zero cosmological constants, even in the absence of non-perturbative effects. We show this result first by decoupling the dilaton field along the lines of the KKLT, and second by reincorporating it in the action with the Kahler moduli.Comment: 9 page

Quantum Black Holes in Two Dimensions

We show that a whole class of quantum actions for dilaton-gravity, which reduce to the CGHS theory in the classical limit, can be written as a Liouville-like theory. In a sub-class of this, the field space singularity observed by several authors is absent, regardless of the number of matter fields, and in addition it is such that the dilaton-gravity functional integration range (the real line) transforms into itself for the Liouville theory fields. We also discuss some problems associated with the usual calculation of Hawking radiation, which stem from the neglect of back reaction. We give an alternative argument incorporating back reaction but find that the rate is still asymptotically constant. The latter is due to the fact that the quantum theory does not seem to have a lower bound in energy and Hawking radiation takes positive Bondi (or ADM) mass solutions to arbitrarily large negative mass.Comment: 28 pages, phyzzx, revised discussion of Hawking radiatio