Phenomenology of SU(5) low-energy realizations: the diphoton excess and Higgs flavor violation

We discuss different $\rm SU(5)$ low-energy realizations and illustrate their use with the diphoton excess and Higgs flavor violation, which require new physics at the TeV scale. In particular, we study two scenarios for a $750$ GeV resonance: in the first one the resonance belongs to the adjoint of $\rm SU(5)$, being either an $\rm SU(2)_L$ singlet or a triplet, while in the second case the signal is due to the CP-even and CP-odd states of a new $\rm SU(2)_L$ Higgs doublet belonging to a ${\bf 45}_H$ or a ${\bf 70}_H$ representations, giving rise to a two-Higgs doublet model at low energies. We study the fine-tuning needed for the desired members of the multiplets to be light enough, while having the rest at the GUT scale. In these scenarios, the production and decay into photons of the new resonance are mediated by the leptoquarks (LQ) present in these large $\rm SU(5)$ representations. We analyse the phenomenology of such scenarios, focusing on the most relevant predictions that can help to disentangle the different models, like decays into gauge bosons, Standard Model (SM) fermions and LQs pair production. In the case of the ${\bf 45}_H$ (the Georgi-Jarlskog model), we also study the possibility to have Higgs flavor violation. We find that $B_s$ mixing limits (in addition to $\tau\rightarrow \mu \gamma$) always imply that $\rm{BR}(h\rightarrow \tau\mu,\,bs)\lesssim 10^{-5}$.Comment: Minor clarifications and references added, typos corrected, matches published version in NP

Topological susceptibility from twisted mass fermions using spectral projectors

We discuss the computation of the topological susceptibility using the method of spectral projectors and dynamical twisted mass fermions. We present our analysis concerning the O(a)-improvement of the topological susceptibility and we show numerical results for Nf=2 and Nf=2+1+1 flavours, performing a study of the quark mass dependence in terms of leading order chiral perturbation theory.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures; presented at the 31st International Symposium on Lattice Field Theory (Lattice 2013), 29 July - 3 August 2013, Mainz, German

Non-perturbative production of matter and rapid thermalization after MSSM inflation

A {\it gauge invariant} combination of LLe {\it sleptons} within the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model is one of the few inflaton candidates that can naturally explain population of the observable sector and creation of matter after inflation. After the end of inflation, the inflaton oscillates coherently about the minimum of its potential, which is a point of {\it enhanced gauged symmetry}. This results in bursts of non-perturbative production of the gauge/gaugino and (s)lepton quanta. The subsequent decay of these quanta is very fast and leads to an extremely efficient transfer of the inflaton energy to (s)quarks via {\it instant} preheating. Around 20% of the inflaton energy density is drained during every inflaton oscillation. However, all of the Standard Model degrees of freedom (and their supersymmetric partners) {\it do not} thermalize immediately, since the large inflaton vacuum expectation value breaks the electroweak symmetry. After about 100 oscillations -- albeit within one Hubble time -- the amplitude of inflaton oscillations becomes sufficiently small, and all of the degrees of freedom will thermalize. This provides by far the most efficient reheating of the universe with the observed degrees of freedom.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures. Comments and references added to match the final version accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.

Computation of the chiral condensate using Nf=2N_f=2 and Nf=2+1+1N_f=2+1+1 dynamical flavors of twisted mass fermions

We apply the spectral projector method, recently introduced by Giusti and L\"uscher, to compute the chiral condensate using $N_f=2$ and $N_f=2+1+1$ dynamical flavors of maximally twisted mass fermions. We present our results for several quark masses at three different lattice spacings which allows us to perform the chiral and continuum extrapolations. In addition we report our analysis on the $O(a)$ improvement of the chiral condensate for twisted mass fermions. We also study the effect of the dynamical strange and charm quarks by comparing our results for $N_f=2$ and $N_f=2+1+1$ dynamical flavors.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures; presented at the 31st International Symposium on Lattice Field Theory (Lattice 2013), 29 July - 3 August 2013, Mainz, German

Onboarding Transfer Students at the University of San Diego

In this study, I explored the experiences and needs of transfer students at the University of San Diego (USD) through assessment analysis, the implementation and observations of Spring orientation, and student leader surveys. My positionality as a graduate assistant for New Student Onboarding allowed me to implement Spring orientation programming, analyze postorientation assessment data, and survey transfer student leaders about their experiences. This study provided me a better understanding of how we as a department and an institution as a whole can improve how we onboard our transfer students and further support them throughout their undergraduate career. While cultivating a sense of belonging for transfer students is important, their most basic and essential need is ensuring they have the necessary resources to achieve academic success. Contrary to their first-year counterparts, transfer students have less time to complete their degree once at a four-year institution and research indicates much of their anxiety is due to their academics and pressure to graduate within two to three years. Through this study, I learned USD can improve transfer students’ transition to campus by being timelier with admission and connecting students with an advisor. Additionally, the onboarding process should be comprised of only essential information to mitigate overload. And lastly, I learned equipping faculty with resources on how best to support their transfer students would help students feel valued

Optimizing Sepsis Management Through Enhanced Protocol Compliance in the Emergency Department

Problem: Compliance and timeliness with the sepsis bundle protocol are continuously increasing, resulting in poor patient outcomes. This quality improvement project aims to increase sepsis bundle compliance and earlier sepsis management in the Emergency Department (ED) to reduce sepsis mortality rates and length of hospital stay. Context: Hospital A’s emergency department is a level II adult trauma center located in the Greater Bay Area that treats a range of patients presenting with life-threatening diagnoses such as sepsis, traumatic injuries, and electrolyte imbalances. Interventions: The sepsis committee team was provided recommendations to implement post-data analysis. Interventions recommended included standardizing and increasing sepsis training frequency, creating case reviews on near misses, using hands-on sepsis simulations, and refining technology-assisted intravenous (IV) placement. Additional resources included badge buddy cards with visual aids detailing sepsis guidelines and incorporating automated warning parameters into the EPIC system. Measures: A randomized chart audit was used to find discrepancies in sepsis bundle compliance. Surveys comprised of 9 open-ended questions were distributed to staff members to assess where change is needed to achieve a higher rate of sepsis bundle compliance. Results: Post-analysis of random audited charts regarding sepsis bundle compliance provided by Hospital A revealed a 41% compliance rate. Training, education, and barriers to the sepsis bundle were the most prominent findings in the inability to implement the bundle promptly. Conclusion: After collecting and analyzing data from the questionnaire, the team identified opportunities such as the inability to meet sepsis protocol compliance stemmed from a lack of sepsis training frequency, insufficient remedial or debriefing processes, a missing ED sepsis screening policy, and a faulty charting system. In presenting this data to the sepsis faculty at Hospital A, our recommendations include increasing training frequency, establishing an ED-specific sepsis screening policy, creating badge reel cards that detail sepsis policies and escalation processes, and revising the current charting system to increase bundle compliance. Post-intervention data was unable to be collected due to time constraint