High Energy Physics

The fluid/gravity correspondence relates hydrodynamic flows in D spacetime dimensions to black hole dynamics in D+1 dimensions. It is an extension of black hole thermodynamics, where charges are upgraded into local currents, and the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy - into a local entropy current. I will propose a definition for a generalized local current of Wald entropy relevant to higher-curvature gravity. As an example, I will consider 5d gravity with a U(1) gauge field and a gravitational Chern-Simons term. This corresponds to a charged fluid in 4d spacetime, whose charge current has a gravitational anomaly. I will discuss the effects of this anomaly on the generalized entropy curent and the flow equations.

The Enriched Xenon Observatory (EXO) collaboration has observed the two-neutrino double beta decay of 136Xe with EXO-200, a prototype to the full EXO detector in development. This second order process, predicted by the Standard Model, has been observed for several nuclei but not for 136Xe. The observed decay rate provides new input to matrix element calculations and to the search for the more interesting neutrino-less double-beta decay, the most sensitive probe for the existence of Majorana particles and the measurement of the neutrino mass scale. The motivation to search for neutrino-less double-beta decay will be discussed. An overview of experimental efforts, and the status of calculations of nuclear matrix elements will be given. The EXO-200 detector and underground site at WIPP, New Mexico, will be presented, and the observation of the two-neutrino decay discussed. The presentation will then focus on the development of EXO Full, a multi-tonne detector with the ability to identify the daugther ion as a powerful background reduction tool, with SNOLAB a possible site.