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Kyoto Animation can rightly be called one of the leading studios of Japanese animation, and its works have been at the forefront of anime production in terms of both techniques and aesthetics. This is why it has been subjected to academic scrutiny by several notable anime scholars. However, no significant studies have been conducted on the works of Kyoto Animation from the perspective of the studio as a whole, or identified consistent themes and patterns flowing throughout them. This paper aims to rectify that gap by studying four works by the most prolific directors of Kyoto Animation (the Haruhi Suzumiya series (2006-2010), Beyond the Boundary (2013-15), A Silent Voice (2016) and Miss Kobayashi’s Maid Dragon (2017)) from the perspective of the Japanese Buddhist conception of tariki (Other-power) in order to tease out the central theme that lies at the heart of the studio’s work, and argues that Other-power (redefined as affective transformation) and the presence of a community of peers to nurture it offers powerful interpretive frameworks through which to understand these, and other, works by the studio.

There are a number of methodologies & approaches manufacturers and R&D Units can adopt to meet the desired Design & BOM (Bill of material) accuracy, but the most optimized & promising is developing a seamless digital platform (application) that caters to both Design and BOM (Bill of Material) review & its respective defects resolution and monitoring parallely. Considering complex products & large no. of new product introduction due to competitive market scenario, how do original equipment manufacturers, production and R&D firms determine the best way forward? Product Development team has developed an Innovative zero defect methodology that provides a platform for design review & its defects (Issues) closure mechanism simultaneously. This approach enables manufacturers to effectively handle complex design reviews, cost optimization, complexity reduction, BOM-Cost management & maintaining the intended product accuracy there by enabling faster product launch & time to market at competitive price. On top of it, it enables automated system based computation at each defined critical stage to concerned stakeholders for required action thus reducing manual intervention & time consumption. Integration of multiple system for automated reports generation and live dashboard for monitoring of part development and availability status. Predictive Analysis reports enlisting critical parts to take early development actions or providing alternate suggestions in order to meet the project delivery timeline. This paper discusses the in-depth process & stages of ‘E-VDHRS’ to effectively handle complex models/Products market introduction & benefits of this application in comparison to conventional approach along with in-sights of digital utilities & databases created in application to facilitate end-user with intended design review, cost optimize, Critical Issue management, defect reduction & accuracy achieved using this Innovative zero defect methodology. This robust system delivers a set of solutions that enabled process & productivity improvements via. Digital transformation resulting in drastically improved key levers like ‘Product design quality’, ‘Product launch timeline’, ‘BOM-Cost optimizations’ & ‘part complexity reductions’.

We propose a novel and minimal framework where a light scalar field can give rise to dark matter (DM) self-interactions, while enhancing the CP symmetry required for successful baryon asymmetry of the Universe via leptogenesis route. For demonstration purpose we choose to work in a scotogenic seesaw scenario where the lightest among the right handed neutrinos (RHN), introduced for generating light neutrino masses radiatively, play the role of DM while the heavier two can play non-trivial roles in generating DM relic as well as lepton asymmetry. While dark matter self-interactions mediated by an additional singlet scalar can alleviate the small scale issues of cold dark matter paradigm, the same scalar can give rise to new one-loop decay processes of heavy RHN into standard model leptons providing an enhanced contribution to CP asymmetry, even with sub-TeV scale RHN mass. The thermally under-abundant relic of DM due to large annihilation rates into its light mediator receives a late non-thermal contribution from a heavier RHN. With only five new particles involved in the scotogenic seesaw, each having non-trivial roles in generating DM relic and baryon asymmetry, the model can explain non-zero neutrino mass while being verifiable at different experiments related to DM direct detection, flavour physics and colliders. The mechanism we demonstrated here by using a scotogenic seesaw scenario is also applicable to other models., Comment: 9 Pages, 6 Captioned Figures, Version accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. D

We study the possibility of probing the scale of left-right symmetry breaking in the context of left-right symmetric models (LRSM). In LRSM, the right handed fermions transform as doublets under a newly introduced $SU(2)_R$ gauge symmetry. This, along with a discrete parity symmetry $\mathcal{P}$ ensuring identical gauge couplings of left and right sectors make the model left-right symmetric, providing a dynamical origin of parity violation in electroweak interactions via spontaneous symmetry breaking. The spontaneous breaking of $\mathcal{P}$ leads to the formation of domain walls in the early universe. These walls, if made unstable by introducing an explicit parity breaking term, generate gravitational waves (GW) with a spectrum characterized by the wall tension or the spontaneous $\mathcal{P}$ breaking scale, and the explicit $\mathcal{P}$ breaking term. Considering explicit $\mathcal{P}$ breaking terms to originate from Planck suppressed operators provides one-to-one correspondence between the scale of left-right symmetry and sensitivities of near future GW experiments. This is not only complementary to collider and low energy probes of TeV scale LRSM but also to GW generated from first order phase transition in LRSM with different spectral shape, peak frequencies as well as symmetry breaking scales., 8 pages, 4 figures, matches version accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. D

Motivated by the growing evidence for a large neutrino asymmetry in the early universe from the recent $^4{\rm He}$ measurements, we point out the class of leptogenesis scenarios with decay or scattering being the source of lepton asymmetry, simultaneously consistent with such a large neutrino asymmetry as well as the observed baryon asymmetry of the universe. Considering $1 \rightarrow 2, 1 \rightarrow 3$ as well as $2 \rightarrow 2$ processes to be responsible for generating the asymmetries, we show that only TeV scale leptogenesis preferably of $1 \rightarrow N \, (N \geq 3)$ type can generate the required lepton asymmetry around sphaleron temperature while also generating a large neutrino asymmetry $\sim \mathcal{O}(10^{-2})$ by the epoch of the big bang nucleosynthesis. This also offers the possibility of cogenesis if dark matter is in the form of a sterile neutrino resonantly produced in the early universe due to the presence of a large neutrino asymmetry. While such low scale leptogenesis has tantalising detection prospects at laboratory experiments, the indication of a large neutrino asymmetry provides a complementary indirect signature., 6 pages, 5 captioned figures

We analyze the classically scale-invariant $B-L$ model in the context of resonant leptogenesis with the recently proposed mass-gain mechanism. The $B-L$ symmetry breaking in this scenario is associated with a strong first order phase transition that gives rise to detectable gravitational waves (GWs) via bubble collisions. The same $B-L$ symmetry breaking also gives Majorana mass to right-handed neutrinos inside the bubbles, and their out of equilibrium decays can produce the observed baryon asymmetry of the Universe via leptogenesis. We show that the current LIGO-VIRGO limit on stochastic GW background already excludes part of the $B-L$ parameter space, complementary to the collider searches for heavy $Z^{\prime}$ resonances. Moreover, future GW experiments like Einstein Telescope and Cosmic Explorer can effectively probe the parameter space of leptogenesis over a wide range of the $B-L$ symmetry-breaking scales and gauge coupling values., 11 pages, 3 figures and 2 tables,version to appear in PRD

We propose a novel way of probing high scale Dirac leptogenesis, a viable alternative to canonical leptogenesis scenario where the total lepton number is conserved, keeping light standard model (SM) neutrinos purely Dirac. The simplest possible seesaw mechanism for generating light Dirac neutrinos involve heavy singlet Dirac fermions and a singlet scalar. In addition to unbroken global lepton number, a discrete $Z_2$ symmetry is imposed to forbid direct coupling between right and left chiral parts of light Dirac neutrino. Generating light Dirac neutrino mass requires the singlet scalar to acquire a vacuum expectation value (VEV) that also breaks the $Z_2$ symmetry, leading to formation of domain walls in the early universe. These walls, if made unstable by introducing a soft $Z_2$ breaking term, generate gravitational waves (GW) with a spectrum characterized by the wall tension or the singlet VEV, and the soft symmetry breaking scale. The scale of leptogenesis depends upon the $Z_2$-breaking singlet VEV which is also responsible for the tension of the domain wall, affecting the amplitude of GW produced from the collapsing walls. We find that most of the near future GW observatories will be able to probe Dirac leptogenesis scale all the way upto $10^{11}$ GeV., 7 pages, 4 captioned figures, matches version accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. D

We study the possibility of realising leptogenesis from three body decay, dark matter (DM) and neutrino mass in a minimal framework. We propose a first of its kind model to implement the idea of leptogenesis from three body decay where CP asymmetry arises from interference of multiple $1 \rightarrow 3$ diagrams using resummed propagators along with DM. The standard model is extended by three heavy singlet fermions, one scalar singlet and one scalar doublet with appropriate discrete charges. Two of these singlet fermions not only play non-trivial roles in generating light neutrino mass at radiative level in scotogenic fashion, but also act as mediators in three body decay of the third singlet fermion leading to desired CP asymmetry through interference of such diagrams. With just one additional field compared to the minimal scotogenic model, we show that successful leptogenesis can occur at a scale as low as approximately 1 TeV which is much lower than the leptogenesis scale found for minimal scotogenic model. Also, the realisation of this three body decay leptogenesis naturally leads to a two component scalar singlet-doublet dark matter scenario offering a rich phenomenology. Apart from having interesting interplay of different couplings involved in processes related to both leptogenesis and dark matter, the model can also be tested at different experiments due to the existence of its particle spectrum at TeV scale., Comment: Version 3: 51 pages, 20 captioned figures, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. D

The Standard Model of Particle Physics cannot explain the observed baryon asymmetry of the Universe. This observation is a clear sign of new physics beyond the Standard Model. There have been many recent theoretical developments to address this question. Critically, many new physics models that generate the baryon asymmetry have a wide range of repercussions for many areas of theoretical and experimental particle physics. This white paper provides an overview of such recent theoretical developments with an emphasis on experimental testability., Comment: Contribution to Snowmass 2021. Solicited white paper from TF08. v2: includes additional contributions

Motivated by the growing evidence for the possible lepton flavor universality violation after the first results from Fermilab's muon $g\ensuremath{-}2$ measurement, we revisit one of the most widely studied anomaly free extensions of the standard model namely, gauged ${L}_{\ensuremath{\mu}}\ensuremath{-}{L}_{\ensuremath{\tau}}$ model, to find a common explanation for muon $g\ensuremath{-}2$ as well as baryon asymmetry of the universe via leptogenesis. The minimal setup allows TeV scale resonant leptogenesis satisfying light neutrino data while the existence of light ${L}_{\ensuremath{\mu}}\ensuremath{-}{L}_{\ensuremath{\tau}}$ gauge boson affects the scale of leptogenesis as the right handed neutrinos are charged under it. For ${L}_{\ensuremath{\mu}}\ensuremath{-}{L}_{\ensuremath{\tau}}$ gauge boson mass at GeV scale or above, the muon $g\ensuremath{-}2$ favored parameter space is already ruled out by other experimental data while bringing down its mass to sub-GeV regime leads to vanishing lepton asymmetry due to highly restrictive structures of lepton mass matrices at the scale of leptogenesis. Extending the minimal model with two additional Higgs doublets can lead to a scenario consistent with successful resonant leptogenesis and muon $g\ensuremath{-}2$ while satisfying all relevant experimental data.

We study a possibility of a strong first-order phase transition taking place below the electroweak scale in the context of a $U(1{)}_{D}$ gauge extension of the standard model. As pointed out recently by the NANOGrav Collaboration, gravitational waves from such a phase transition with appropriate strength and nucleation temperature can explain their 12.5 yr data. We first find the parameter space of this minimal model consistent with NANOGrav findings by considering only a complex singlet scalar and $U(1{)}_{D}$ vector boson. The existence of a singlet fermion charged under $U(1{)}_{D}$ can give rise to dark matter in this model, preferably of nonthermal type, while incorporating additional fields can also generate light neutrino masses through typical low-scale seesaw mechanisms like a radiative or inverse seesaw.

This paper will attempt to map the emergence of linguistic nationalism as a direct offshoot of the language debate in early-colonial Assam. In 1836, Bengali was made the language of courts and schools in Assam. Ten years later, the Baptist Mission at Sadiya started publishing a monthly magazine called Orunodoi. Orunodoi gradually became a critical instrument in the effort to reinstate Assamese as the language of the province’s courts and schools. How did the emergent public sphere react to the debate on language? What was the power dynamic between an emergent native intelligentsia, the Baptist Mission and the colonial state in early-colonial Assam? What are the factors that prevented Assamese from being reinstated as the language of courts and schools in Assam until 1873? Was the debate on language merely about imposition of a ‘foreign’ language, or was the discourse more fluid with concerns like language standardisation operating as undercurrents? Can the language debate in early-colonial Assam be isolated as the first assertion of a sub-national identity based upon cultural and linguistic ‘uniqueness’? Through an analysis of some articles published in Orunodoi, read along with private letters and official correspondences of the American Baptist Mission in Assam, this paper will attempt to address some of these questions and recover the context of the debate around language in nineteenth-century Assam.

We study a dark $SU(2)_D$ gauge extension of the standard model (SM) with the possibility of a strong first order phase transition (FOPT) taking place below the electroweak scale in the light of NANOGrav 12.5 yr data. As pointed out recently by the NANOGrav collaboration, gravitational waves (GW) from such a FOPT with appropriate strength and nucleation temperature can explain their 12.5 yr data. We impose a classical conformal invariance on the scalar potential of $SU(2)_D$ sector involving only a complex scalar doublet with negligible couplings with the SM Higgs. While a FOPT at sub-GeV temperatures can give rise to stochastic GW around nano-Hz frequencies being in agreement with NANOGrav findings, the $SU(2)_D$ vector bosons which acquire masses as a result of the FOPT in dark sector, can also serve as dark matter (DM) in the universe. The relic abundance of such vector DM can be generated in a non-thermal manner from the SM bath via scalar portal mixing. We also discuss future sensitivity of gravitational wave experiments to the model parameter space., Comment: 10 pages, 6 captioned figures. accepted for publication in JCAP. arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:2105.01007

Minimalistic Dirac radiative neutrino mass model based on modular symmetry is proposed. We predict maximum number of observables possible including neutrino mass splittings, neutrino mass scale, lepton mixing angles, and Dirac phases in the leptonic sector with minimum number of input parameters possible. Model is capable of accommodating multicomponent dark matter, thanks to the $\emph{R}-$parity and accidental scotogenic $\mathbb{Z}_2$ discrete symmetry. Furthermore, even-though neutrinos are Dirac in our model, matter-antimatter asymmetry of the Universe is achieved via neutrinogenesis mechanism. Phenomenology of the dark sector including various dark matter candidates is briefly discussed., Comment: 24 pages, 6 figures, 4 tables

We propose a new mechanism for generating matter-antimatter asymmetry via the interference of tree-level diagrams only, where the imaginary part of the Breit-Wigner propagator for an unstable mediator plays a crucial role. We first derive a general result that a nonzero $CP$-asymmetry can be generated via at least two sets of interfering tree-level diagrams involving either $2\rightarrow2$ or $1\rightarrow n$ (with $n\geq3$) processes. We illustrate this point in a simple TeV-scale extension of the Standard Model with an inert Higgs doublet and right-handed neutrinos, along with an electroweak-triplet scalar field, where small Majorana neutrino masses are generated via a combination of radiative type-I and tree-level type-II seesaw mechanisms. The imaginary part needed for the required $CP$-asymmetry comes from the trilinear coupling of the inert doublet with the triplet scalar, along with the width of the triplet scalar mediator. The real part of the neutral component of the inert doublet serves as a cold dark matter candidate. The evolutions of the dark matter relic density and the baryon asymmetry are intimately related in this scenario., 12 pages, 7 figures and 1 table, title changed, some figures updated and added, more comments, version to appear in PRD

We study the possibility of realising successful leptogenesis from dark matter annihilations in the scotogenic model of neutrino masses to explain the same order of magnitude abundance of dark matter and baryons in the present Universe, and show that the correct leptonic asymmetry, dark matter abundance and neutrino mass can be simultaneously achieved in the model. Interestingly, the scale of leptogenesis can be as low as 5 TeV, lower than the one in vanilla leptogenesis scenario in scotogenic model along with the additional advantage of explaining the baryon-dark matter coincidence. Due to such low scale, the model remains predictive at dark matter direct detection and rare decay experiments looking for charged lepton flavour violating processes

We consider the possibility of probing left-right symmetric model (LRSM) via cosmic microwave background (CMB). We adopt the minimal LRSM with Higgs doublets, also known as the doublet left-right model (DLRM), where all fermions including the neutrinos acquire masses only via their couplings to the Higgs bidoublet. Due to the Dirac nature of light neutrinos, there exist additional relativistic degrees of freedom which can thermalise in the early universe by virtue of their gauge interactions corresponding to the right sector. We constrain the model from Planck 2018 bound on the effective relativistic degrees of freedom and also estimate the prospects for planned CMB Stage IV experiments to constrain the model further. We find that $W_R$ boson mass below 4.06 TeV can be ruled out from Planck 2018 bound at $2\sigma$ CL in the exact left-right symmetric limit which is equally competitive as the LHC bounds from dijet resonance searches. On the other hand Planck 2018 bound at $1\sigma$ CL can rule out a much larger parameter space out of reach of present direct search experiments, even in the presence of additional relativistic degrees of freedom around the TeV corner. We also study the consequence of these constraints on dark matter in DLRM by considering a right handed real fermion quintuplet to be the dominant dark matter component in the universe., Comment: 29 pages, 8 figures, matches version accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. D

We scrutinise the widely studied minimal scotogenic model of dark matter (DM) and radiative neutrino mass from the requirement of a strong first order electroweak phase transition (EWPT) and observable gravitational waves at future planned space based experiments. The scalar DM scenario is similar to inert scalar doublet extension of standard model where a strong first order EWPT favours a portion of the low mass regime of DM which is disfavoured by the latest direct detection bounds. In the fermion DM scenario, we get newer region of parameter space which favours strong first order EWPT as the restriction on mass ordering within inert scalar doublet gets relaxed. While such leptophilic fermion DM remains safe from stringent direct detection bounds, newly allowed low mass regime of charged scalar can leave tantalising signatures at colliders and can also induce charged lepton flavour violation within reach of future experiments. While we get such new region of parameter space satisfying DM relic, strong first order EWPT with detectable gravitational waves, light neutrino mass and other relevant constraints, we also improve upon previous analysis in similar model by incorporating appropriate resummation effects in effective finite temperature potential., 36 pages, 6 figures, matches version accepted for publication in JCAP

We propose a novel mechanism to realize leptogenesis through the Breit-Wigner resonance of a dark $U(1)_D$ gauge boson $Z_D$, which mediates lepton number violating annihilations of dark matter (DM) in the context of the scotogenic model with a $U(1)_D$. The processes occur out of equilibrium and the DM freezes out lately giving rise to the observed abundance. The CP violation required for leptogenesis can be achieved by the interference between tree-level t-channel scattering of DM and the subsequent 1-loop mediated by $Z_D$, which arises due to the unremovable imaginary part of either the $Z_D$ propagator coming from its self-energy correction or the 1-loop giving rise to the effective coupling of $Z_D\bar{\nu}\nu$., Comment: 15 pages and 5 figures, added 2 References

International audience; The Andaman and Nicobar ophiolites, in the forearc of the western Sunda subduction zone, underwent enigmatic, rapid Cenozoic vertical motions: shallow-water sediments with abundant arc debris characterize the middle Paleocene-middle Eocene and are under-and overlain by significantly deeper sediments. Recent paleomagnetic results revealed a near-equatorial paleolatitude of the West Burma Block and the associated subduction zone, at a similar latitude as the Andaman forearc until the early Eocene, providing a new avenue toward explaining the unusual stratigraphy. Here, we studied the provenance of the clastic sediments of the Andaman-Nicobar accretionary ridge using petrography, geochemistry, and detrital zircon geochronology. We found that the Paleocene-Eocene Namunagarh Grit is likely to be derived from a then proximal, 60 Ma old arc that was likely located in the ocean to the north (present-day east) of the West Burma Block, west of Andaman-Nicobar. The Oligocene-lower Miocene East Andaman Flysch contains West Burma Block debris that traveled much farther and mixed with sediments derived from Sundaland. The West Andaman and Great Nicobar Flysch have an additional Himalayan source consistent with derivation from the downgoing plate. We interpret this history as reflecting the late Paleocene-early Eocene collision of the West Burma Block, likely then part of the Australian Plate, with the Andaman forearc causing uplift and proximal sedimentation shed from the colliding arc. Subsequent northward motion of the West Burma Block caused subsidence of the Andaman forarc and N-S opening of the Andaman Sea, which opened a pathway for Sundaland-derived sediments to reach the Andaman ophiolites. The recently proposed high Cenozoic mobility of the West Burma Block remains to be reconciled in detail with geological observations in Myanmar and Sundaland, but our results show that this scenario provides ample opportunity to explain the previously enigmatic stratigraphic evolution of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

This paper describes new measurements on the characteristics of waves in churn and annular flow. The measurements were for air-water flow in an 11 mm diameter vertical tube, a diameter close to the equivalent diameter of nuclear reactor channels. These measurements extend the parameter space of previous publications into the low and gas and liquid mass flow rates important for nuclear reactor fault studies. Detailed measurements of the flow characteristics are reported, including the identification of a new regime we designate ‘pre-annular flow’, in which the liquid film between the waves appears to be stationary. The results of these measurements at low mass fluxes are compared with predictions in this low mass flux region using the principal literature correlations, all of which were actually obtained from elsewhere in the parameter space. Reassuringly, the broad conclusion is that despite this, these correlations obtained from elsewhere are safe to continue to be used in this low mass flux region. A new interpretation of the criteria for onset of entrainment was also obtained from the study.

Perioperative visual loss (POVL) is a rare but potentially serious complication of long-duration surgeries in prone position under general anesthesia. The mechanism of visual loss after surgery, and its incidence, is difficult to determine. It is primarily associated with cardiothoracic and spine surgeries. The proposed causes include corneal injury, retinal ischemia (central retinal artery occlusion/branch retinal artery occlusion [CRAO/BRAO]), ischemic optic neuropathy (ION), and cortical blindness. A large, recent multicenter case-control study has identified risk factors associated with ION for patients undergoing spinal instrumentation surgery in prone position. These include male sex, obesity, use of Wilson's frame, long duration of anesthesia/surgery, larger estimated blood loss, and larger relative use of crystalloids for compensation of blood loss. This report describes a relatively healthy, 71-year-old female patient who developed significant visual impairment after thoracolumbar spine surgery in prone position under general anesthesia. The case raises dilemmas regarding the preoperative identification of patients who should be informed of the risk of POVL, and by whom.

We propose that neutrino Dirac masses can be generated through a scotogenic scenario while violating the lepton number by four units by extending the standard model to have an anomaly free U(1)B−L, which is spontaneously broken to a residual Z4 symmetry. Z4 symmetry ensures the Dirac nature of neutrinos and simultaneously stabilizes dark matter. Although neutrinoless double beta decay is exactly absent, this model predicts a nonzero neutrinoless quadruple beta decay (0ν4β). It is shown that the 0ν4β can be enhanced thanks to the introduction of a new scalar field without affecting tiny neutrino masses and the relic density of dark matter. We perform numerical analysis for a 0ν4β, dark matter, and direct detection by imposing cosmological, collider, and theoretical constraints.

We address the possibility of realizing successful leptogenesis from dark matter annihilations in the scotogenic model of neutrino masses to explain the same order of magnitude abundance of dark matter and baryons in the present Universe. After showing that the minimal model in this category cannot satisfy all these requirements, we study a minimal extension of this model and find that the scale of leptogenesis can be as low as 5 TeV, lower than the one in vanilla leptogenesis scenario in scotogenic model along with the additional advantage of explaining the baryon-dark matter coincidence. Due to such low scale, the model remains predictive at dark matter direct detection and rare decay experiments looking for charged lepton flavour violating processes.

In this work we demonstrate how Scotogenic model can arise naturally from an $SU(7)$ grand unified theory. Our model also includes a low scale Pati-Salam $SU(4)_c\times SU(2)_L\times U(1)_R$ symmetry which unifies quarks and leptons. $\mathbb{Z}_2$ symmetry needed for the realization of Scotogenic scenario is a residual symmetry and not \emph{ad hoc}. A short fermion masses and dark matter analysis is included.

The ANtarctic Impulsive Transient Antenna (ANITA) collaboration has observed two EeV-energy, upward going events originating from below the horizon. As no standard model (SM) particles, propagating through the earth at such energy and exit angles, can give rise to the required survival probability for the observed events, several beyond standard model (BSM) proposals have come up. We propose a scenario where a $Z_2$ odd sector is responsible for such anomalous events. The next to lightest $Z_2$ odd particle or the next to lightest stable particle (NLSP), created from ultra high energy neutrino interactions with nucleons, can pass through the earth and then decay into the lightest $Z_2$ odd particle or the lightest stable particle (LSP) and a tau lepton. The long-lived nature of the NLSP requires its coupling with the LSP to be very small, keeping the LSP out of thermal equilibrium in the early universe. The LSP can then be a non-thermal dark matter while the tau leptons produced from NLSP decay after passing through the earth can explain the ANITA events. We first show that a purely non-thermal dark matter scenario can not give rise to the required event rates while a hybrid scenario where dark matter can have both thermal as a well non-thermal contribution to its relic abundance, serves the purpose., 21 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in Physical Review D

We discuss the possibility of realising a two-component dark matter (DM) scenario where the two DM candidates differ from each other by virtue of their production mechanism in the early universe. One of the DM candidates is thermally generated in a way similar to the weakly interacting massive particle (WIMP) paradigm where the DM abundance is governed by its freeze-out while the other candidate is produced only from non-thermal contributions similar to freeze-in mechanism. We discuss this in a minimal extension of the standard model where light neutrino masses arise radiatively in a way similar to the scotogenic models with DM particles going inside the loop. The lepton asymmetry is generated at the same time from WIMP DM annihilations as well as partially from the mother particle for non-thermal DM. This can be achieved while satisfying the relevant experimental bounds, and keeping the scale of leptogenesis or the thermal DM mass as low as 3 TeV, well within present experimental reach. In contrast to the TeV scale thermal DM mass, the non-thermal DM can be as low as a few keV, giving rise to the possibility of a sub-dominant warm dark matter (WDM) component that can have interesting consequences on structure formation. The model also has tantalizing prospects of being detected at ongoing direct detection experiments as well as the ones looking for charged lepton flavour violating process like $\mu \rightarrow e \gamma$., Comment: 29 pages, 9 figures, matches version accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. D

Hasan, M. Shahnaz/0000-0002-7493-7416; Abouqal, Redouane/0000-0002-6117-4341; Altindis, Mustafa/0000-0003-0411-9669; Masjedi, Mansoor/0000-0001-6175-9289; Popescu, Roxana/0000-0002-9387-1141; Mikaszewska-Sokolewicz, Malgorzata A/0000-0002-1148-7817; Meco, Basak Ceyda/0000-0003-2951-9634; Kumar, Perikala Vijayananda/0000-0001-8315-7000; Zand, Farid/0000-0003-3489-3372; Maghsoudi, Behzad/0000-0002-1279-8799; KAMARUL ZAMAN, MAZUIN/0000-0002-7920-6399; Gan, Chin Seng/0000-0002-6758-4798; Horoz, Ozden Ozgur/0000-0001-7590-650X; Medeiros, Eduardo A/0000-0002-6205-259X; Sabetian, Golnar/0000-0001-8764-2150; UNAL, SERHAT/0000-0003-1184-4711; Gan, Chin Seng/0000-0002-6758-4798; Delia, Muntean/0000-0001-9100-4530; Yalcin, Ata Nevzat/0000-0002-7243-7354; Leblebicioglu, Hakan/0000-0002-6033-8543; Horhat, Florin George/0000-0001-6133-0204; Yousef, Reham H. A./0000-0003-4004-3008; Delgado Aguirre, Hector Alberto/0000-0001-5448-7975; El Kholy, Amani/0000-0002-0645-7664; Rodriguez Ferrer, Marena Luz/0000-0002-8053-8454; Sanaei Dashti, Anahita/0000-0002-2827-3575; KARABAY, OGUZ/0000-0003-1514-1685; Barahona G., Nayide/0000-0003-3559-6900; Stagnaro, Juan Pablo/0000-0003-3836-9957; Alexandru Florin, Rogobete/0000-0003-1286-4431; KAYA, ZEYNEP/0000-0002-8468-2103; Dragan, Barbara/0000-0003-3108-4211; alvarez Moreno, carlos Arturo/0000-0001-5419-4494; Gonzalez Martinez, Marisela del Rocio/0000-0003-1474-736X; Jayatilleke, Kushlani/0000-0002-3931-6630; Unal, Necmettin/0000-0002-9440-7893; Duszynska, Wieslawa/0000-0002-5880-4904; Ngo, Quy Chau/0000-0002-6787-2757; Elmanakhly, Arwa/0000-0001-8557-0536; yildizdas, dincer/0000-0003-0739-5108; Kanj, Souha/0000-0001-6413-3396; Gupta, Umesh/0000-0001-7717-1404 WOS: 000392626300014 PubMed: 27742143 Background: We report the results of International Nosocomial Infection Control Consortium (INICC) surveillance study from January 2010-December 2015 in 703 intensive care units (ICUs) in Latin America, Europe, Eastern Mediterranean, Southeast Asia, and Western Pacific. Methods: During the 6-year study period, using Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Healthcare Safety Network (CDC-NHSN) definitions for device-associated health care-associated infection (DAHAI), we collected prospective data from861,284 patients hospitalized in INICC hospital ICUs for an aggregate of 3,506,562 days. Results: Although device use in INICC ICUs was similar to that reported from CDC-NHSN ICUs, DA-HAI rates were higher in the INICC ICUs: in the INICC medical-surgical ICUs, the pooled rate of central lineassociated bloodstream infection, 4.1 per 1,000 central line-days, was nearly 5-fold higher than the 0.8 per 1,000 central line-days reported from comparable US ICUs, the overall rate of ventilator-associated pneumonia was also higher, 13.1 versus 0.9 per 1,000 ventilator-days, as was the rate of catheterassociated urinary tract infection, 5.07 versus 1.7 per 1,000 catheter-days. From blood cultures samples, frequencies of resistance of Pseudomonas isolates to amikacin (29.87% vs 10%) and to imipenem (44.3% vs 26.1%), and of Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates to ceftazidime (73.2% vs 28.8%) and to imipenem (43.27% vs 12.8%) were also higher in the INICC ICUs compared with CDC-NHSN ICUs. Conclusions: Although DA-HAIs in INICC ICU patients continue to be higher than the rates reported in CDC-NSHN ICUs representing the developed world, we have observed a significant trend toward the reduction of DA-HAI rates in INICC ICUs as shown in each international report. It is INICC's main goal to continue facilitating education, training, and basic and cost-effective tools and resources, such as standardized forms and an online platform, to tackle this problem effectively and systematically. (C) 2016 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. VDR; Foundation to Fight against Nosocomial Infections The funding for design, development, maintenance, technical support, data validation, and report generation of the Surveillance Online System, and the activities carried out at International Nosocomial Infection Control Consortium headquarters, were provided by VDR and the Foundation to Fight against Nosocomial Infections.

Models of spontaneous baryogenesis have an interaction term $\partial_\mu\theta j^\mu_B$ in the Lagrangian, where $j^\mu_B$ is the baryonic current and $\theta$ can be a pseudo-Nambu-Goldstone boson. Since the time component of this term, $\dot{\theta} j^0_B$, equals $\dot{\theta} n_B$ for a spatially homogeneous current, it is usually argued that this term implies a splitting in the energy of baryons and antibaryons thereby providing an effective chemical potential for baryon number. In thermal equilibrium, one {then obtains} $n_B \sim \dot{\theta} T^2$. We however argue that a term of this form in the Lagrangian does not contribute to the single particle energies of baryons and antibaryons. We show this for both fermionic and scalar baryons. But, similar to some recent work, we find that despite the above result the baryon number density obtained from a Boltzmann equation analysis can be proportional to $\dot{\theta} T^2$. Our arguments are very different from that in the standard literature on spontaneous baryogenesis., Comment: 16 pages, matches with the published version

We propose a way to generate tiny couplings of freeze-in massive particle dark matter with the Standard Model particles dynamically by considering an extension of the electroweak gauge symmetry. The dark matter is considered to be a singlet under this extended gauge symmetry which we have assumed to be the one in a very widely studied scenario called left-right symmetric model. Several heavy particles, that can be thermally inaccessible in the early Universe due to their masses being greater than the reheat temperature after inflation, can play the role of portals between dark matter and Standard Model particles through one loop couplings. Due to the loop suppression, one can generate the required non-thermal dark matter couplings without any need of highly fine tuned Yukawa couplings beyond that of electron Yukawa with the Standard Model like Higgs boson. We show that generic values of Yukawa couplings as large as $\mathcal{O}(0.01)$ to $\mathcal{O}(1)$ can keep the dark matter out of thermal equilibrium in the early Universe and produce the correct relic abundance later through the freeze-in mechanism. Though the radiative couplings of dark matter are tiny as required by the freeze-in scenario, the associated rich particle sector of the model can be probed at ongoing and near future experiments. The allowed values of dark matter mass can remain in a wide range from keV to TeV order keeping the possibilities of warm and cold dark matter equally possible., Comment: 28 pages, 7 figures, 2 tables, loop expressions corrected, conclusion remains unaltered, two new appendices are added

We propose a novel scenario of generating lepton asymmetry via annihilation and coannihilation of dark sector particles including t-channel processes. In order to realistically implement this idea, we consider the scotogenic model having three right handed neutrinos and a new scalar doublet, all of which are odd under an in-built $Z_2$ symmetry. The lightest $Z_2$ odd particle, if electromagnetically neutral, can be a dark matter candidate while annihilation and coannihilation between different $Z_2$ odd particles into standard model leptons serve as the source of lepton asymmetry. The light neutrino masses arise at one loop level with $Z_2$ odd fields going inside the loop. We show that experimental data related to light neutrinos, dark matter relic abundance and baryon asymmetry can be simultaneously satisfied in the model for two different cases: one with fermion dark matter and the other with scalar dark matter. In both scenarios, t-channel annihilation as well as coannihilation of $Z_2$ odd particles play a non-trivial role in producing the non-zero CP asymmetry. Both the scenarios remain allowed from DM direct detection while keeping the scale of leptogenesis as low as TeV or less, lower than the one for vanilla leptogenesis scenario in scotogenic model along with the additional advantage of explaining the baryon-dark matter coincidence to some extent. Due to such low scale, the model is testable through rare decay experiments looking for charged lepton flavour violation., Comment: Version 2: Major revision, 32 pages, 8 figures, matches version accepted for publication in Eur. Phys. J. C

We present a detailed discussion on neutrinoless double beta decay $(0\nu \beta \beta)$ within left-right symmetric models based on the gauge symmetry of type $SU(2)_L \times SU(2)_R \times U(1)_{B-L}$ as well as $SU(3)_L \times SU(3)_R \times U(1)_{X}$ where fermion masses including that of neutrinos are generated through a universal seesaw mechanism. We find that one or more of the right-handed neutrinos could be as light as a few keV if left-right symmetry breaking occurs in the range of a few TeV to 100 TeV. With such light right-handed neutrinos, we perform a detailed study of new physics contributions to $0\nu \beta \beta$ and constrain the model parameters from the latest experimental bound on such a rare decay process. We find that the new physics contribution to $0\nu \beta \beta$ in such a scenario, particularly the heavy-light neutrino mixing diagrams, can individually saturate the existing experimental bounds, but their contributions to total $0\nu \beta \beta$ half-life cancels each other due to unitarity of the total $6\times 6$ mass matrix. The effective contribution to half-life therefore, arises from the purely left and purely right neutrino and gauge boson mediated diagrams. We find that the parameter space saturating the $0\nu \beta \beta$ bounds remain allowed from the latest experimental bounds on charged lepton flavour violating decays like $\mu \rightarrow e \gamma$. We finally include the bounds from cosmology and supernova to constrain the parameter space of the model., Comment: 42 pages, 9 figures, to appear in Int. J. Mod. Phys. A

We study the possibility of generating tiny Dirac masses of neutrinos in Left-Right Symmetric Model (LRSM) without requiring the existence of any additional symmetries. The charged fermions acquire masses through a universal seesaw mechanism due to the presence of additional vector like fermions. The neutrinos acquire a one-loop Dirac mass from the same additional vector like charged leptons without requiring any additional discrete symmetries. The model can also be extended by an additional $Z_2$ symmetry in order to have a scotogenic version of this scenario predicting a stable dark matter candidate. We show that the latest Planck upper bound on the effective number of relativistic degrees of freedom $N_{\text{eff}}=3.15 \pm 0.23$ tightly constrains the right sector gauge boson masses to be heavier than 3.548 TeV. This bound on gauge boson mass also affects the allowed values of right scalar doublet dark matter mass from the requirement of satisfying the Planck bound on dark matter relic abundance. We also discuss the possible implications of such a scenario in charged lepton flavour violation and generating observable electric dipole moment of leptons., 24 pages, 12 figures, Published version