Orthogonal symmetries and Clifford algebras

Involutions of the Clifford algebra of a quadratic space induced by orthogonal symmetries are investigated.Comment: 22 page

Rwanda, Burundi, and Their Ethnic Conflicts

This paper demonstrably dispels the assumption that ethnic conflict in Rwanda and Burundi is a chronic endemic phenomenon. It emphasizes the consolidation of the caste system during the colonial era, intra regional disparities within the two communities, high population densities, very weak economic bases, poverty, and international interference as some of the cardinal dynamics behind the current deadly contentions within the two states. An analysis behind the genocidal tendencies in the two countries is well illustrated, with special emphasis on the Rwandese tragedy of 1994 as well as its parallels and divergences with the Nazi Holocaust

Light neutralino dark matter in MSSM

Three dark matter direct detection experiments, DAMA, COGENT and CRESST, have reported a possible signal of WIMP interaction corresponding to very light particles, close to the edge of the XENON 100 and CDMS sensitivity. Imposing the latest constraints from colliders, flavour physics, electroweak precision tests and direct and indirect dark matter searches, we show that viable MSSM scenarios with a light neutralino, in agreement with all the present data, are feasible. An analysis of the characteristics of the resulting scenarios will be presented.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, contribution to the ICHEP 2012 Conference proceedings, 4-11 July 2012, Melbourne, Australi

On split products of quaternion algebras with involution in characteristic two

The question of whether a split tensor product of quaternion algebras with involution over a field of characteristic two can be expressed as a tensor product of split quaternion algebras with involution, is shown to have an affirmative answer

An update of the constraints on the phenomenological MSSM from the new LHC Higgs results

Updated results on the search of Higgs bosons at the LHC with up to 17/fb of data have just been presented by the ATLAS and CMS collaborations. New constraints are provided by the LHCb and XENON experiments with the observation of the rare decay B_s -> mu+mu- and new limits on dark matter direct detection. In this paper, we update and extend the results on the implications of these data on the phenomenological Minimal Supersymmetric extension of the Standard Model (pMSSM) by using high statistics, flat scans of its 19 parameters. The new LHC data on bb and tau tau decays of the lightest Higgs state and the new CMS limits from the tau tau searches for the heavier Higgs states set stronger constraints on the pMSSM parameter space.Comment: 14 pages, 8 figures. This update is based on results presented at HCP 2012 and the December 2012 CERN Council LHC Jamboree. It features larger scan statistics and additional plot

Implications of LHC Higgs and SUSY searches for MSSM

The implications of the LHC SUSY searches as well as the discovery of a new bosonic state compatible with the lightest Higgs boson will be discussed in the context of constrained and general MSSM scenarios. Exploring the MSSM through the Higgs sector is an alternative and complementary path to direct searches, and tight constraints on the MSSM parameter space can be obtained.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, contribution to the ICHEP 2012 Conference proceedings, 4-11 July 2012, Melbourne, Australi