A Critique of Pure String Theory: Heterodox Opinions of Diverse Dimensions
I present a point of view about what M Theory is and how it is related to the real world that departs in certain crucial respects from conventional wisdom. I argue against the possibility of a background independent formulation of the theory, or of a Poincare invariant, Supersymmetry violating vacuum state. A fundamental assumption is black hole dominance of high energy physics.Much of this paper is a compilation of things I have said elsewhere. I review a crude argument for the critical exponent connecting the gravitino mass and the cosmological constant, and propose a framework for the finding a quantum theory of de Sitter space.

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: 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: The low energy spectrum of TeO2 bolometers: results and dark matter perspectives for the CUORE-0 and CUORE experiments
abstract: We collected 19.4 days of data from four 750g TeO2 bolometers, and in three of them we were able to set the energy threshold around 3 keV using a new analysis technique. We found a background rate ranging from 25 cpd/keV/kg at 3 keV to 2 cpd/keV/kg at 25 keV, and a peak at 4.7 keV. The origin of this peak is presently unknown, but its presence is confirmed by a reanalysis of 62.7 kg.days of data from the finished CUORICINO experiment. Finally, we report the expected sensitivities of the CUORE-0 (52 bolometers) and CUORE (988 bolometers) experiments to a WIMP annual modulation signal.

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.

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: 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: Partial radiogenic heat model for Earth revealed by geoneutrino measurements
abstract: The Earth has cooled since its formation, yet the decay of radiogenic isotopes, and in particular uranium, thorium and 
potassium, in the planet’s interior provides a continuing heat source. The current total heat flux from the Earth to space is 44:2±1.0 TW, but the relative contributions from residual primordial heat and radiogenic decay remain uncertain. However, radiogenic decay can be estimated from the flux of geoneutrinos, electrically neutral particles that are emitted during radioactive decay and can pass through the Earth virtually unaffected. Here we combine precise measurements of the geoneutrino flux from the Kamioka Liquid-Scintillator Antineutrino Detector, Japan, with existing measurements from the Borexino detector, Italy.We find that decay of uranium-238 and thorium-232 together contribute 20.0^(+8.8)_(-8.6)TW to Earth’s heat 
flux. The neutrinos emitted from the decay of potassium-40 are below the limits of detection in our experiments, but are known to contribute 4TW. Taken together, our observations indicate that heat from radioactive decay contributes about half of Earth’s total heat flux. We therefore conclude that Earth’s primordial heat supply has not yet been exhausted.