Production of Dark Matter in Warped Higgsless Models with Composite Sector Supersymmetry

We explore the LHC phenomenology of an extension of warped higgsless models. The model is supersymmetric in the bulk and on the IR brane as introduced in [arXiv:0805.1379], corresponding to an emergence of a supersymmetric spectrum in the composite sector of the higgsless model. In particular, the lightest neutralino is rendered stable by an R parity and serves as a realistic cold dark matter candidate. The observation of missing energy signals at the LHC from LSP and NLSP production in association with third generation quarks is discussed based on simulations using WHIZARD.Comment: 21 pages, LaTeX, figures include

NMSSM with Lopsided Gauge Mediation

We study a gauge mediated supersymmetry breaking version of the NMSSM in which the soft m_{H_u}^2 and m_{H_d}^2 masses receive extra contributions due to the presence of direct couplings between the Higgs and the messenger sector. We are motivated by the well-known result that minimal gauge mediation is phenomenologically incompatible with the NMSSM due to the small value of the induced effective mu term. The model considered in the present paper solves the aforementioned problem through a modified RG running of the singlet soft mass m_N^2. This effect, which is induced by the dominant m_{H_d}^2 term in the one-loop beta-function of m_N^2, shifts the singlet soft mass towards large negative values at the electroweak scale. That is sufficient to ensure a large VEV for the scalar component of the singlet which in turn translates into a sizeable effective mu term. We also describe a mechanism for generating large soft trilinear terms at the messenger scale. This allows us to make the mass of the lightest Higgs boson compatible with the current LHC bound without relying on exceedingly heavy stops

An Exceptional SSM from E6 Orbifold GUTs with intermediate LR symmetry

We propose a class of E6-based local orbifold Grand Unified Theories (GUTs) which yield an exceptional supersymmetric standard model as their low energy theory including leptoquark and unhiggs exotics and a Z' at the TeV scale. Unification is achieved in two steps through an intermediate scale symmetry breaking.Comment: Minor typos corrected, and extended conclusions a bi

Art Education In a Network Ontology: Seeing Non-Humans

A proliferation of objects populate classroom spaces, the newest include a long list of innovative technologies, but their presence is characterized by their instrumentality. This paper presents a shift in this thinking to one where objects are seen as heterogeneous contributors to learning and teaching. Student practices within networked computing are changing how they form connections with peers, perceive boundaries, and negotiate diverse modalities as creators. The overwhelming visual nature of these various technologies provides opportunities for a visual culture pedagogy of art education to build critical foundations in investigations of visuality and may provide insights to participation through these multimedia platforms. In trying to understand these opportunities, this paper focuses on developing an analysis of the network ontology of art education through the methodology of actor-network theory (ANT). This analysis repositions visual technologies, particularly Adobe Photoshop, beyond their instrumentality to a reconceptualization as collaborators within human-technology interactions to more fully comprehend their affordances, gaps, and hegemonies. It is an investigation of a network ontology focusing on bringing symmetry to human and non-human actors in social formations, following the effects of translation, and working through the assemblage of social ontologies to better understand their contributions to human-technology collaborations

The effects of thermal stress on fluorescent protein expression in an Indo-Pacific scleractinian coral species, Acropora tenuis

The scleractinian coral species that so heavily define tropical coral reefs are increasingly threatened by anthropogenic global warming. Rising sea surface temperatures in combination with light stress causes the photosynthetic breakdown of the coral’s algal symbiont, Symbiodinium. Corals have developed a number of physiological responses to handle acute stressors, such as the production of ultraviolet-protecting amino acids, heat shock proteins, the ability to shift symbionts, and the production of fluorescent proteins. The latter has been thought to play a photoprotective role in the coral holobiont, and studies have shown evidence that corals orient these pigments to divert harmful light away from their symbionts in shallow reefs that are at great risk of environmental stress. The biological role these proteins play is still largely speculative. This study is part of a larger study examining coral physiological responses to thermal stress. In total, 170 Acropora tenuis colonies were tagged in reefs surrounding Pelorus and Orpheus Islands before the onset on the bleaching event of 2017 that affected the Central Sector of the Great Barrier Reef. In addition to studying the genetic differences between resilient and susceptible individuals, the fluorescent protein expression of these colonies was examined during the height (March) and end (April) of the bleaching event. Of 25 colonies that underwent analysis, 21 experienced extreme thermal stress and were nearly completely bleached in April and two colonies not only survived the bleaching, but increased their Symbiodinium counts. Fragments collected were split into top and bottom portions for analysis. Top fragments experienced greater rates of bleaching than bottom fragments at both the March and April time point, suggesting that exposure to light in addition to heat is more stressful than heat alone. Total protein content linearly decreased weakly, but significantly, with the loss of Symbiodinium (r2 = 0.3226; P-value = 4.292e^-10). Fluorescent protein expression between March and April in all 25 colonies did not significantly change (r2 = 0.0002365, P=0.3142), but the ratio in concentration of cyan fluorescent protein (475 nm) to green fluorescent protein (505 nm) was higher in top fragments of colonies that remained bleached than in top fragments of colonies that remained healthy throughout March and April (P \u3c 0.05). The same ratio difference was not detected in the bottom fragments (P \u3e 0.05). This pattern suggests variability in the effects light and heat have on coral’s physiological response to stress and that corals may downregulate energetically costly FPs during bleaching

Vices and Virtues of Higgs EFTs at Large Energy

We study constraints on new physics from Higgs production at the LHC in the context of an effective field theory (EFT), focusing on Higgs searches in $HV$ ($V=W,Z$) associated production which are particularly sensitive to the high-energy behavior of certain dimension-6 operators. We show that analyses of these searches are generally dominated by a kinematic region where the generic EFT expansion breaks down, and establish under which conditions they can nevertheless be meaningful. For example, constraints from these searches on the Wilson coefficients of operators whose effects grow with energy can be established in scenarios where a particular combination of fermions and the Higgs are composite and strongly coupled: then, bounds from Higgs physics at high energy are complementary to LEP1 and competitive with LEP2.Comment: 21 pages, 5 figure

Avatar|Avatar: Reflections in/on the Virtual

Utilizing a documentary I created involving Dr. Christine Ballengee Morris, called Avatar|Avatar, I reflect on the concept of the virtual to understand the site of agency in art education. The documentary focuses on Ballengee Morris’s work with her avatar Rain Winkler and explores the inter-relations of identity construction in both online (virtual) and offline (physical) spaces. In revisiting our encounter in the documentary, I extend the concept of the virtual through the simultaneous conditions of actuality and potentiality using the work of Manual DeLanda and assemblage theory. My reflection in/on the virtual explores a broader actualization of the avatar as a site of research and understanding of subjectivity in art education. The video documentary and this written component should be viewed together