An Holographic cosmology
We present a new cosmological model, based on the holographic principle, which shares many of the virtues of inflation. The very earliest semiclassical era of the universe is dominated by a dense gas of black holes, with equation of state $p=\rho$. Fluctuations lead to an instability to a phase with a dilute gas of black holes, which later decays via Hawking radiation to a radiation dominated universe. The quantum fluctuations of the initial state give rise to a scale invariant spectrum of density perturbations, for a range of scales. We point out a problem, that appears to prevent the range of scales predicted by the model from coinciding with the range where such a spectrum has been observed. We speculate that this may be related to our field theoretic treatment of fluctuations in the highly holographic $p=\rho$ background. The monopole problem is solved in a manner completely different from inflationary models, and a relic density of highly charged extremal black monopoles is predicted. We discuss the nature of the entropy and flatness problems in our model.

title: HOLOGRAPHIC SPACE–TIME AND ITS PHENOMENOLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS
abstract: I briefly review the theory of holographic space–time and its relation to the cosmological constant problem, and the breaking of supersymmetry (SUSY). When combined with some simple phenomenological requirements, these ideas lead to a fairly unique model for Tera-scale physics, which implies direct gauge mediation of SUSY breaking and a model for dark matter as a hidden sector baryon, with nonzero magnetic dipole moment.

title: String theory, holography and Quantum Gravity

title: Essay: Supersymmetry, the Cosmological Constant, and a Theory of Quantum Gravity in Our Universe
abstract: There are many theories of quantum gravity, depending on asymptotic boundary conditions, and the amount of supersymmetry. The cosmological constant is one of the fundamental parameters that characterizes different theories. If it is positive, supersymmetry must be broken. A heuristic calculation shows that a cosmological constant of the observed size predicts superpartners in the TeV range. This mechanism for SUSY breaking also puts important constraints on low energy particle physics models.

title: Holographic Space-time and Newton's Law
abstract: We derive Newton's Law from the formalism of Holographic Space-Time (HST). More precisely, we show that for a large class of Hamiltonians of the type proposed previously for the HST description of a geodesic in Minkowski space, the eikonal for scattering of two massless particles at large impact parameter scales as expected with the impact parameter and the energies of the particles in the center of mass (CM) frame. We also discuss the criteria for black hole production in this collision, and find an estimate, purely within the HST framework, for the impact parameter at which it sets in, which coincides with the estimate based on general relativity.

title: Cosmological SUSY Breaking and the Pyramid Scheme

title: Measurement of the 8B solar neutrino flux with the KamLAND liquid scintillator detector
abstract: We report a measurement of the neutrino-electron elastic scattering rate from ^8B solar neutrinos based on a 123 kton-day exposure of KamLAND. The background-subtracted electron recoil rate, above a 5.5-MeV analysis threshold is 1.49 ± 0.14(stat) ± 0.17(syst) events per kton-day. Interpreted as due to a pure electron flavor flux with a ^8B neutrino spectrum, this corresponds to a spectrum integrated flux of 2.77 ± 0.26(stat) ± 0.32(syst) ×10^6 cm^(−2_s^(−1). The analysis threshold is driven by ^(208)Tl present in the liquid scintillator, and the main source of systematic uncertainty is due to background from cosmogenic ^(11)Be. The measured rate is consistent with existing measurements and with standard solar model predictions which include matter-enhanced neutrino oscillation.

title: Production of Radioactive Isotopes through Cosmic Muon Spallation in KamLAND
abstract: Radioactive isotopes produced through cosmic muon spallation are a background for rare-event detection in ν detectors, double-β-decay experiments, and dark-matter searches. Understanding the nature of cosmogenic backgrounds is particularly important for future experiments aiming to determine the pep and CNO solar neutrino fluxes, for which the background is dominated by the spallation production of ^(11)C. Data from the Kamioka liquid-scintillator antineutrino detector (KamLAND) provides valuable information for better understanding these backgrounds, especially in liquid scintillators, and for checking estimates from current simulations based upon MUSIC, FLUKA, and GEANT4. Using the time correlation between detected muons and neutron captures, the neutron production yield in the KamLAND liquid scintillator is measured to be Y_n=(2.8±0.3)×10^(-4) μ^(-1) g^(-1) cm^2. For other isotopes, the production yield is determined from the observed time correlation related to known isotope lifetimes. We find some yields are inconsistent with extrapolations based on an accelerator muon beam experiment.

title: Sensitivity of CUORE to Neutrinoless Double-Beta Decay
abstract: Sensitivity of CUORE to Neutrinoless Double-Beta Decay b c,:L d e f F . Alessandria , E . A n d r e o t t i ' , R. A r d i t o , C. Arnaboldi , F . T. Avignone IIP , M . B a l a t a , I. Bandac , T. I. Banks ' ' , G . B a r f , J . Beeman , F . Bellini ' , A . Bersani , M . Biassoni ' , T. Bloxham , C. Brofferio ' , A . Bryant , C. B u c c i , X . Z. C a i , L . C a n o n i c a , S. C a p e l l i , L . Carbone , L . Cardani ' , M . Carrettoni , N . Casali ' , N . Chott , M . Clemenza ' , C. Cosmelli ' , O. Cremonesi , R. J . Creswick , I. Dafinei , A . Dally , A . De B i a s i , M . R Decowski ' ' , M . M . Deninno , A . de Waard , S. D i D o m i z i o ' , L . Ejzak '*, R. Faccini ' , D. Q. Fang , H . A . Farach , E . Ferri '°, F . Ferroni , E . F i o r i n i , L . F o g g e t t a ' ° , M . A . Franceschi*, S. J . Freedman G . Frossati , B . K . Fujikawa , A . Giachero , L . Gironi '°, A . Giuliani , P. G o r l a , C. G o t t i , E . Guardincerri , T. D . Gutierrez ,  H a l l e r ' , K . Han , K . M . Heeger , H . Z. Huang*', K . Ichimura , R. KadeP, K . K a z k a z , G .  Kogler ' , Y u . G . Kolomensky ' , S. K r a f t ' , D . Lenz , Y . L . L i , X . L i # , E . Longo ' , Y . G . M a . C. M a i a n o ' , G . M a i e r , M . M a i n o ' , C. Mancini ' , C. Martinez , M . M a r t i n e z , R. H . M a r u y a m a , N . Moggi , S. Morganti , T. Napolitano*, S. Newman ' , S. N i s i , C. N o n e s ' ' ,  Ouellet ' , M . Pallavicini ' , V . Palmieri , L . Pattavina , M . P a v a n ' , M . P e d r e t t i , G . Pessina , S. P i r r o , E . P r e v i t a l i , V . Rampazzo , F . R i m o n d i J , C. Rosenfeld , C. Rusconi , C. S a l v i o n i , S. Sangiorgio '*, D . Schaeffer ' , N . D . Scielzo , M . S i s t i ' , A . R. S m i t h , F . Stivanello , L . Taffarello , G . Terenziani , W . D . T i a n , C. Tornei , S. Trentalange*', G . V e n t u r a ' , M . Vignati ' , B . S. W a n g ' , H . W . W a n g , C. A . Whitten J r . - \ T. Wise . A . Woodcraft , N . X u , L . Z a n o t t i ' , C. Zarra , B . X . Zhu*', S. Zucchelli J k e j w k x c c e , c b e c ab ah c (CUORE e a a c a c j e c c m aa c b,c aa,q af e a c q a a f ae a8 c ad, aa aa c e c n v e f p d e,c b c e e e c f c e s e e,c c f p,n f v ad Collaboration) a INFN - Sezione di Milano, Milano 1-20133 - Italy di Fisica e Matematica, Universita dell'Insubria, Como 1-22100 - Italy INFN - Sezione di Milano Bicocca, Milano 1-20126 - Italy Dipartimento di Ingegneria Strutturale, Politecnico di Milano, Milano 1-20133 - Italy Dipartimento di Fisica, Universita di Milano-Bicocca, Milano 1-20126 - Italy fDepartment of Physics and Astronomy, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208 - USA INFN - Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso, Assergi (L'Aquila) 1-67010 - Italy Department of Physics, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720 - USA 'Nuclear Science Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94-720 - USA UN FN - Sezione di Bologna, Bologna 1-40127 - Italy Materials Science Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720 - USA 'Dipartimento di Fisica, Sapienza Universita di Roma, Roma 1-00185 - Italy INFN - Sezione di Roma, Roma 1-00185 - Italy INFN - Sezione di Genova, Genova 1-16146 - Italy Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics (Chinese Academy of Sciences), Shanghai 201800 - China Dipartimento di Fisica, Universita di Genova, Genova I-I6I46 - Italy Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706 - USA INFN - Laboratori Nazionali di Legnaro, Legnaro (Padova) 1-35020 - Italy Kamerlingh Onnes Laboratorium, Leiden University, Leiden, RA 2300 - The Netherlands INFN - Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati, Frascati (Roma) 1-00044 - Italy Centre de Spectrometrie Nucleaire et de Spectrometrie de Masse, 914-05 Orsay Campus - France b Dipartimento C d g h k M p q r f INFN - Sezione di Roma Tor Vergata, Roma 1-00133 - Italy ' 'Physics Department, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA 934-07 - USA ^Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94-720 - USA Department of Physics and Astronoma, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095 - USA Physics Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94-720 - USA Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA 94-550 - USA Laboratorio de Fisica Nuclear y Astroparticulas, Universidad de Zaragoza, Zaragoza 50009 - Spain Department of Nuclear Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94-720 - USA Dipartimento di Fisica, Universita di Bologna, Bologna 1-4-0127 - Italy EH&S Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94-720 - USA flNFN - Sezione di Padova, Padova 1-35131 - Italy Dipartimento di Fisica, Universita di Firenze, Firenze 1-50125 - Italy INFN - Sezione di Firenze, Firenze 1-50125 - Italy SUPA, Institute for Astronoma, University of Edinburgh, Blackford Hill, Edinburgh EH9 3HJ - UK v aa ab ac ad ae a ag ah al * C o r r e s p o n d i n g author Email addresses: e j z a k 8 w i s c . e d u ( L . E j z a k ) , s a n g i o r g i o l 8 1 1 n l . g o v (S. Sangiorgio) Presently at: Joint Research Center, Institute for Reference M a t e r i a l s and Measurements, 2440 Geel - B e l g i u m P r e s e n t l y at: Nikhef, 1098 X G A m s t e r d a m - T h e Netherlands P r e s e n t l y at: L o s A l a m o s N a t i o n a l L a b o r a t o r y , L o s A l a m o s , N M 87545 - U S A P r e s e n t l y at: C E A / Saclay, 91191 G i f - s u r - Y v e t t e - France Deceased Preprint submitted to Astroparticle Physics December

title: Improved measurement of the positive-muon lifetime and determination of the Fermi constant.
abstract: The mean life of the positive muon has been measured to a precision of 11 ppm using a low-energy, pulsed muon beam stopped in a ferromagnetic target, which was surrounded by a scintillator detector array. The result, tau(micro)=2.197 013(24) micros, is in excellent agreement with the previous world average. The new world average tau(micro)=2.197 019(21) micros determines the Fermi constant G(F)=1.166 371(6)x10(-5) GeV-2 (5 ppm). Additionally, the precision measurement of the positive-muon lifetime is needed to determine the nucleon pseudoscalar coupling g(P).

title: First results from the MuLan and MuCap experiments
abstract: MuLan and MuCap are ongoing experiments at the Paul Scherrer Institut, Switzerland, that use the muon lifetime to determine fundamental weak interaction parameters. The goal of MuLan is a 1 ppm measurement of the positive muon lifetime τμ+ to determine the Fermi constant GF to 0.5 ppm. The goal of MuCap is to make a 1% determination of the rate ΛS of the process of nuclear muon capture by the proton, μp→nν, by measuring the μ− disappearance rate in hydrogen gas to 10 ppm and subtracting the world average for the μ+ decay rate. A 1% determination of the capture rate ΛS is of interest because it would enable a 7% determination of gP, the induced pseudoscalar coupling of the nucleon. In 2007, both experiments published first results based upon data collected by each in 2004. MuLan reported an 11 ppm μ+ lifetime measurement, τμ+ = 2.197 013(24) μs, resulting in a new, 9.6 ppm world average, τμ+ = 2.197 019(21) μs, which determines the Fermi constant, GF = 1.166 371(6)×10−5 GeV−2, to 5 ppm. MuCap reported a 3%...