What is the Discrete Gauge Symmetry of the MSSM?

We systematically study the extension of the Supersymmetric Standard Model (SSM) by an anomaly-free discrete gauge symmetry Z_N. We extend the work of Ibanez and Ross with N=2,3 to arbitrary values of N. As new fundamental symmetries, we find four Z_6, nine Z_9 and nine Z_18. We then place three phenomenological demands upon the low-energy effective SSM: (i) the presence of the mu-term in the superpotential, (ii) baryon-number conservation upto dimension-five operators, and (iii) the presence of the see-saw neutrino mass term LHLH. We are then left with only two anomaly-free discrete gauge symmetries: baryon-triality, B_3, and a new Z_6, which we call proton-hexality, P_6. Unlike B_3, P_6 prohibits the dimension-four lepton-number violating operators. This we propose as the discrete gauge symmetry of the Minimal SSM, instead of R-parity.Comment: Typo in item 2 below Eq.(6.9) corrected (wrong factor of "3"); 27 pages, 5 table

Digital chronofiles of life experience

Technology has brought us to the point where we are able to digitally sample life experience in rich multimedia detail, often referred to as lifelogging. In this paper we explore the potential of lifelogging for the digitisation and archiving of life experience into a longitudinal media archive for an individual. We motivate the historical archive potential for rich digital memories, enabling individuals’ digital footprints to con- tribute to societal memories, and propose a data framework to gather and organise the lifetime of the subject

Class sizes of prime-power order p'-elements and normal subgroups

We prove an extension of the renowned Itô’s theorem on groups having two class sizes in three different directions at the same time: normal subgroups, p′p′-elements and prime-power order elements. Let NN be a normal subgroup of a finite group GG and let pp be a fixed prime. Suppose that |xG|=1|xG|=1 or mm for every qq-element of NN and for every prime q≠pq≠p. Then, NN has nilpotent pp-complements.We are very grateful to the referee, who provided us a significant simplification of the last step of the proof of the main theorem and for many comments which have contributed to improve the paper. C. G. Shao wants to express his deep gratitude for the warm hospitality he has received in the Departamento de Matematicas of the Universidad Jaume I in Castellon, Spain. This research is supported by the Valencian Government, Proyecto PROMETEO/2011/30, by the Spanish Government, Proyecto MTM2010-19938-C03-02. The third author is supported by the research Project NNSF of China (Grant Nos. 11201401 and 11301218) and University of Jinan Research Funds for Doctors (XBS1335 and XBS1336).Beltrán, A.; Felipe Román, MJ.; Shao, C. (2015). Class sizes of prime-power order p'-elements and normal subgroups. Annali di Matematica Pura ed Applicata. 194(5):1527-1533. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10231-014-0432-4S152715331945Akhlaghi, Z., Beltrán, A., Felipe, M.J.: The influence of $$p$$ p -regular class sizes on normal subgroups. J. Group Theory. 16, 585–593 (2013)Alemany, E., Beltrán, A., Felipe, M.J.: Nilpotency of normal subgroups having two $$G$$ G -class sizes. Proc. Am. Math. Soc. 139, 2663–2669 (2011)Alemany, E., Beltrán, A., Felipe, M.J.: Finite groups with two $$p$$ p -regular conjugacy class lengths II. Bull. Aust. Math. Soc. 797, 419–425 (2009)Beltrán, A., Felipe, M.J.: Normal subgroups and class sizes elements of prime-power order. Proc. Am. Math. Soc. 140, 4105–4109 (2012)Beltrán, A.: Action with nilpotent fixed point subgroup. Arch. Math. (Basel) 69, 177–184 (1997)Camina, A.R.: Finite groups of conjugate rank 2. Nagoya Math. J. 53, 47–57 (1974)Casolo, C., Dolfi, S., Jabara, E.: Finite groups whose noncentral class sizes have the same $$p$$ p -part for some prime $$p$$ p . Isr. J. Math. 192, 197–219 (2012)Huppert, B.: Character Theory of Finite groups, vol. 25. De Gruyter Expositions in Mathemathics, Berlin, New York (1998)Kleidman, P., Liebeck, M.: The Subgroup Structure of The Finite Classical Groups. London Mathematical Society Lecture Note Series, 129. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (1990)Kurzweil, K., Stellmacher, B.: The Theory of Finite Groups. An Introduction. Springer, New York (2004)The GAP Group, GAP—Groups, Algorithms and Programming, Vers. 4.4.12 (2008). http://www.gap-system.orgVasiliev, A.V., Vdovin, E.P.: An adjacency criterion for the prime graph of a finite simple group. Algebra Logic 44(6), 381–406 (2005

The art of being human : a project for general philosophy of science

Throughout the medieval and modern periods, in various sacred and secular guises, the unification of all forms of knowledge under the rubric of ‘science’ has been taken as the prerogative of humanity as a species. However, as our sense of species privilege has been called increasingly into question, so too has the very salience of ‘humanity’ and ‘science’ as general categories, let alone ones that might bear some essential relationship to each other. After showing how the ascendant Stanford School in the philosophy of science has contributed to this joint demystification of ‘humanity’ and ‘science’, I proceed on a more positive note to a conceptual framework for making sense of science as the art of being human. My understanding of ‘science’ is indebted to the red thread that runs from Christian theology through the Scientific Revolution and Enlightenment to the Humboldtian revival of the university as the site for the synthesis of knowledge as the culmination of self-development. Especially salient to this idea is science‘s epistemic capacity to manage modality (i.e. to determine the conditions under which possibilities can be actualised) and its political capacity to organize humanity into projects of universal concern. However, the challenge facing such an ideal in the twentyfirst century is that the predicate ‘human’ may be projected in three quite distinct ways, governed by what I call ‘ecological’, ‘biomedical’ and ‘cybernetic’ interests. Which one of these future humanities would claim today’s humans as proper ancestors and could these futures co-habit the same world thus become two important questions that general philosophy of science will need to address in the coming years

A better life through information technology? The techno-theological eschatology of posthuman speculative science

This is the pre-peer reviewed version of the article, published in Zygon 41(2) pp.267-288, which has been published in final form at http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/118588124/issueThe depiction of human identity in the pop-science futurology of engineer/inventor Ray Kurzweil, the speculative-robotics of Carnegie Mellon roboticist Hans Moravec and the physics of Tulane University mathematics professor Frank Tipler elevate technology, especially information technology, to a point of ultimate significance. For these three figures, information technology offers the potential means by which the problem of human and cosmic finitude can be rectified. Although Moravec’s vision of intelligent robots, Kurzweil’s hope for immanent human immorality, and Tipler’s description of human-like von Neumann probe colonising the very material fabric of the universe, may all appear to be nothing more than science fictional musings, they raise genuine questions as to the relationship between science, technology, and religion as regards issues of personal and cosmic eschatology. In an attempt to correct what I see as the ‘cybernetic-totalism’ inherent in these ‘techno-theologies’, I will argue for a theology of technology, which seeks to interpret technology hermeneutically and grounds human creativity in the broader context of divine creative activity

Passing the Turing Test Does Not Mean the End of Humanity

In this paper we look at the phenomenon that is the Turing test. We consider how Turing originally introduced his imitation game and discuss what this means in a practical scenario. Due to its popular appeal we also look into different representations of the test as indicated by numerous reviewers. The main emphasis here, however, is to consider what it actually means for a machine to pass the Turing test and what importance this has, if any. In particular does it mean that, as Turing put it, a machine can “think”. Specifically we consider claims that passing the Turing test means that machines will have achieved human-like intelligence and as a consequence the singularity will be upon us in the blink of an eye

SIC~POVMs and Clifford groups in prime dimensions

We show that in prime dimensions not equal to three, each group covariant symmetric informationally complete positive operator valued measure (SIC~POVM) is covariant with respect to a unique Heisenberg--Weyl (HW) group. Moreover, the symmetry group of the SIC~POVM is a subgroup of the Clifford group. Hence, two SIC~POVMs covariant with respect to the HW group are unitarily or antiunitarily equivalent if and only if they are on the same orbit of the extended Clifford group. In dimension three, each group covariant SIC~POVM may be covariant with respect to three or nine HW groups, and the symmetry group of the SIC~POVM is a subgroup of at least one of the Clifford groups of these HW groups respectively. There may exist two or three orbits of equivalent SIC~POVMs for each group covariant SIC~POVM, depending on the order of its symmetry group. We then establish a complete equivalence relation among group covariant SIC~POVMs in dimension three, and classify inequivalent ones according to the geometric phases associated with fiducial vectors. Finally, we uncover additional SIC~POVMs by regrouping of the fiducial vectors from different SIC~POVMs which may or may not be on the same orbit of the extended Clifford group.Comment: 30 pages, 1 figure, section 4 revised and extended, published in J. Phys. A: Math. Theor. 43, 305305 (2010

Virtual money, practices and moral orders in Second Life

Virtual monies present a limit case in debates about money's moral and political entanglements between sociologists, anthropologists, and economists. Digitized virtual monies seem ephemeral, almost ideal typical examples of money as a pure medium of exchange. This paper begins with the premise that virtual monies are as value-laden and morally entangled as any other form of money. This assertion is demonstrated by exploring how one type of virtual money, the Linden dollar (L$), and some of its associated practices are bound up with research participants' moral categories and judgments in the virtual world of Second Life (SL). Participants' accounts of virtual money practices are linked to moral attributes, sometimes in stark ‘good’ or ‘bad’ dichotomies, but also in more nuanced terms. These framings reproduce classifications of people and practices along a continuum with virtuousness at one end and maliciousness or harm at the other, passing through various states of possible moral dubiousness. For respondents, these two judgments go together; people are what they do with money. As a result, respondents decide what ‘people like that’ deserve. Evaluating someone's money practices means assessing the person. Participants' accounts of Linden dollar practices overlap with explanations of what SL is and how residents should live there. In SL, money is a form of material culture through which appropriate ways of being in the world are debated and reproduced

The Mathematical Universe

I explore physics implications of the External Reality Hypothesis (ERH) that there exists an external physical reality completely independent of us humans. I argue that with a sufficiently broad definition of mathematics, it implies the Mathematical Universe Hypothesis (MUH) that our physical world is an abstract mathematical structure. I discuss various implications of the ERH and MUH, ranging from standard physics topics like symmetries, irreducible representations, units, free parameters, randomness and initial conditions to broader issues like consciousness, parallel universes and Godel incompleteness. I hypothesize that only computable and decidable (in Godel's sense) structures exist, which alleviates the cosmological measure problem and help explain why our physical laws appear so simple. I also comment on the intimate relation between mathematical structures, computations, simulations and physical systems.Comment: Replaced to match accepted Found. Phys. version, 31 pages, 5 figs; more details at http://space.mit.edu/home/tegmark/toe.htm