Space-like Singularities and Thermalization
We conjecture that space-like singularities are simply regions in which all available degrees of freedom are excited, and the system cycles randomly through generic quantum states in its Hilbert space. There is no simple geometric description of the interior of such a region, but if it is embedded in a semi-classical space-time an external observer sees it as a black hole. Big Bang and Crunch singularities, for which there is no such embedding, must be described in purely quantum terms. We present several possible descriptions of such cosmologies.

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: 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: 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: String theory, holography and Quantum Gravity

title: CUORE crystal validation runs: Results on radioactive contamination and extrapolation to CUORE background
abstract: The CUORE Crystal Validation Runs (CCVRs) have been carried out since the end of 2008 at the Gran Sasso National Laboratories, in order to test the performance and the radiopurity of the TeO2 crystals produced at SICCAS (Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences) for the CUORE experiment. In this work the results of the first 5 validation runs are presented. Results have been obtained for bulk contaminations and surface contaminations from several nuclides. An extrapolation to the CUORE background has been performed.

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: Searching for Neutrinoless Double-Beta Decay of130Te with CUORE
abstract: Neutrinoless double-beta (0) decay is a hypothesized lepton-number-violating process that offers the only known means of asserting the possible Majorana nature of neutrino mass. The Cryogenic Underground Observatory for Rare Events (CUORE) is an upcoming experiment designed to search for 0 decay of 130Te using an array of 988 TeO2 crystal bolometers operated at 10 mK. The detector will contain 206 kg of 130Te and have an average energy resolution of 5 keV; the projected 0 decay half-life sensitivity after five years of livetime is 1.6 × 1026 y at 1 (9.5 × 1025 y at the 90% confidence level), which corresponds to an upper limit on the effective Majorana mass in the range 40–100 meV (50–130 meV). In this paper, we review the experimental techniques used in CUORE as well as its current status and anticipated physics reach.

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: A circulating hydrogen ultra-high purification system for the MuCap experiment
abstract: The MuCap experiment is a high-precision measurement of the rate for the basic electroweak process of muon capture, μ − +p→n+ ν μ . The experimental approach is based on an active target consisting of a time projection chamber (TPC) operating with pure hydrogen gas. The hydrogen has to be kept extremely pure and at a stable pressure. A Circulating Hydrogen Ultra-high Purification System was designed at the Petersburg Nuclear Physics Institute (PNPI) to continuously clean the hydrogen from impurities. The system is based on an adsorption cryo pump to stimulate the hydrogen flow and on a cold adsorbent for the hydrogen cleaning. It was installed at the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) in 2004 and performed reliably during three experiment runs. During several months long operating periods the system maintained the hydrogen purity in the detector on the level of 20 ppb for moisture, which is the main contaminant, and of better than 7 and 5 ppb for nitrogen and oxygen, respectively. The pressure inside the TPC was stabilized to within 0.024% of 10 bar at a hydrogen flow rate of three standard liters per minute.