One of the major objectives of this dissertation has been the seek for inflationary models, coming from supersymmetric theories, which are compatible with recent cosmological data and, more specifically, with measurements of the spectral index from the WMAP3 data. A particular particle physics model, the extended SUSY Pati-Salam model with Yukawa quasi-unification, was examined thoroughly with respect to its cosmology and it was found that it incorporates a number of inflationary scenarios which can become compatible with recent data. The study of these scenarios brought out variations of cosmological models which might be important in cosmological research.
A survey is given of supersymmetry and supergravity and their phenomenology. Some of the topics discussed are the basic ideas of global supersymmetry, the minimal supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM) and its phenomenology, the basic ideas of local supersymmetry (supergravity), grand unification, supersymmetry breaking in supergravity grand unified models, radiative breaking of $SU(2) \times U(1)$, proton decay, cosmological constraints, and predictions of supergravity grand unified models. While the number of detailed derivations are necessarily limited, a sufficient number of results are give…
The cosmological consequences of particle physics grand unified theories (GUTs) are studied. Cosmological models are implemented in realistic particle physics models. Models consistent from both particle physics and cosmological considerations are selected. (...)
The supersymmetric grand unified theory with the Hosotani mechanism predicts the existence of adjoint chiral supermultiplets at the SUSY breaking scale. In particular, the SU(2) triplet and the singlet chiral superfields affect the Higgs sector. We investigate the contributions from these adjoint chiral multiplets to the masses of the Higgs sector particles and their couplings to the standard model particles. We show that the predicted values of the Higgs sector parameters deviate from the standard model and the minimal supersymmetric standard model by O(1)% - O(10)%.
The supersymmetric SU(5) grand unified theory with the gauge symmetry broken by the Hosotani mechanism naturally solves the mass hierarchy problem between the colored Higgs triplet and the electroweak Higgs doublet, and predicts the existence of adjoint chiral superfields with masses of the order of the supersymmetry breaking scale as a byproduct. In addition to the two SU(2)_L Higgs doublets of the minimal supersymmetric standard model, the Higgs sector is extended by an SU(2)_L triplet chiral supermultiplet with hypercharge zero and a neutral singlet one. Such new triplet and singlet chiral …
In the supersymmetric SU(5) grand unified theory whose gauge symmetry is broken by virtue of the Hosotani mechanism, the huge mass splitting between the colored Higgs triplet and the electroweak Higgs doublet superfields is naturally realized. As a byproduct, the existence of adjoint chiral superfields with masses of the order of the supersymmetry breaking scale is predicted, leading to the Higgs sector that contains an SU(2)_L triplet chiral multiplet with hypercharge zero and a neutral singlet one in addition to the two SU(2)_L doublets of the minimal supersymmetric standard model. We focus …
Grand unified theories can lead to non-universal boundary conditions for the gaugino masses at the unification scale. We consider the implications of such non-universal boundary conditions for the composition of the lightest neutralino as well as for the upper bound on its mass in the simplest supersymmetric grand unified theory based on the SU(5) gauge group. We derive sum rules for neutralino and chargino masses in different representations of SU(5) which lead to different non-universal boundary conditions for the gaugino masses at the unification scale. We also consider the phenomenological…
The cosmological relic density of a Bino-like Lightest Supersymmetric Particle is calculated in the framework of the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model. We include annihilation and coannihilation effects of the Bino with the lightest stau and with the other sleptons, which happen to have comparable masses with it. Coannihilation turns out to be crucial for reducing the Bino relic density to an acceptable level. Phenomenological constraints, also, results from the inclusion of the supersymmetric corrections to the CP-even Higgs boson and b-quark masses and the branching ratio of b -->s gamma…
In the 3-family grand unified string models constructed so far, there is only one adjoint (and no higher dimensional representation) Higgs field in the grand unified gauge group. In this preliminary analysis, we address the proton-decay problem in the 3-family E_6 and related SO(10) string models. In particular, we analyze the doublet-triplet splitting (within certain assumptions about non-perturbative dynamics). It appears that generically some fine-tuning is necessary to arrange for a pair of Higgs doublets to be light, while having color Higgs triplets superheavy. We also discuss charge-2/3…
Three topics on phenomenology in supersymmetric models are reviewed, namely, the Higgs sector in the supersymmetric model, B and K meson decay in the supergravity model and lepton flavor violation processes in supersymmetric grand unified theory.
The presence of fields at an intermediate scale between the Electroweak and the Grand Unification scale modifies the evolution of the gauge couplings and consequently the running of other parameters of the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model, such as gauginos and scalar masses. The net effect is a modification of the low energy spectrum which affects both the collider phenomenology and the dark matter relic density.
The grand unified theories are theoretically well motivated, but they typically have less direct indications on the low energy physics and it is not easy to test them. Here, we discuss a scenario of them which naturally solves the so-called doublet-triplet splitting problem and, at the same time, generally predicts characteristic collider phenomenology. Then, we may get a hint on the breaking of the grand unified symmetry at the on-going and next-generation collider experiments.
We investigate the role that baryon number violating interactions may play in $B$ phenomenology. Present in various grand unified theories, supersymmetric theories with R-parity violation and composite models, a diquark state could be quite light. Using the data on B decays as well as $B - {\bar B}$ mixing, we find strong constraints on the couplings that such a light diquark state may have with the Standard Model quarks.
We consider the doublet-triplet fermionic model in the scheme of the custodial limit when the dark matter (DM) candidate is pure doublet and lies at the electroweak scale. This scheme, despite being an appealing and promising DM model, is severely constrained by the interplay between the DM relic density constraint and the LHC measurement of the Higgs diphoton decay rate. In this work, the DM relic density is considered to arise from either a nonstandard cosmology scenario or as a part of a larger sector encompassing other DM particles, this in order to saturate the observed relic abundance. F…
Low energy supersymmetric models provide a solution to the hierarchy problem and also have the necessary ingredients to solve two of the most outstanding issues in cosmology: the origin of dark matter and baryonic matter. One of the most attractive features of this framework is that the relevant physical processes are related to interactions at the weak scale and therefore may be tested in collider experiments in the near future. This is true for the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM) as well as for its extension with the addition of one singlet chiral superfield, the so-called nMSSM…
A review is given on the consistency checks of GUT, which unify the electroweak and strong nuclear forces into a single theory. Such theories predict a new kind of force, which could provide answers to several open questions in cosmology. The possible role of such a ``primeval'' force will be discussed in the framework of the Big Bang Theory. Although such a force cannot be observed directly, there are several predictions of GUT's, which can be verified at low energies. The MSSM distinguishes itself from other GUT's by a successful prediction of many unrelated phenomena with a minimum number o…
Grand unified theories (GUTs) can lead to non-universal gaugino masses at the unification scale. We study the implications of such non-universal gaugino masses for the composition of the lightest neutralino in supersymmetric (SUSY) theories based on SU(5) gauge group. We also consider the phenomenological implications of non-universal gaugino masses for the phenomenology of Higgs bosons in the context of Large Hadron Collider.
After introducing the basic ingredients of Loop Quantum Cosmology, I will briefly discuss some of its phenomenological aspects. Those can give some useful insight about the full Loop Quantum Gravity theory and provide an answer to some long-standing questions in early universe cosmology.
Recent measurements of the values of gauge coupling constants as well as neutrino properties support the idea of a grand unified (GUT) description of particle physics at a large scale of $M_{GUT}\sim 10^{16}$ GeV. We discuss a strategy to incorporate this picture in the framework of superstring theory. In such a scheme successful predictions of GUTs can be realized while some of the more problematic aspects of grand unification might be avoided. The most promising models are expected in the framework of the heterotic $E_8\times E_8$ string theory.
Gauge Coupling Unification in Gauge-Higgs GUT: Theory and Phenomenology
Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik（马克斯·普朗克核物理研究所）；PRISMA + Cluster of Excellence & Mainz Institute for Theoretical Physics, FB 08 - Physics, Mathematics and Computer Science, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz（美因茨约翰内斯·古腾堡大学）
Unification of the interactions of the Standard Model is possible in its simplest supersymmetric extension. The implications of the $λ_t$ fixed-point solution on the top mass and on Higgs phenomenology is discussed. Expected correlations between the masses of various supersymmetric particles are detailed.
In the first part of the talk, I explain what empirical evidence points to the need for having an effective grand unification-like symmetry possessing the symmetry SU(4)-color in 4D. If one assumes the premises of a future predictive theory including gravity--be it string/M theory or a reincarnation--this evidence then suggests that such a theory should lead to an effective grand unification-like symmetry as above in 4D, near the string-GUT-scale, rather than the standard model symmetry. Advantages of an effective supersymmetric G(224) = SU(2)$_L \times$ SU(2)$_R \times$ SU(4)$^c$ or SO(10) sy…
We investigate a construction of five-dimensional (5D) grand unified theories (GUTs) on an interval, which we call iGUTs. We analyze supersymmetric SO(10) iGUT as an example, where the gauge multiplet is spread over the 5D bulk. The SO(10) is directly reduced to the standard model gauge symmetry through the interval boundary conditions. Notice that this rank reduction is impossible in case of GUTs on orbifolds. Four scenarios are possible according to locations (bulk or brane) of Higgs and matter fields. We investigate the gauge-coupling unification, the proton decay, the SO(10) GUT features s…
The weakly coupled vacuum of $E_8\otimes E_8$ heterotic string theory remains an attractive scenario for phenomenolgy and cosmology. The particle spectrum is reviewed and the issues of gauge coupling unification, dilaton stabilization and modular cosmology are discussed. A specific model for condensation and supersymmetry breaking, that respects known constraints from string theory and is phenomenologically viable, is described.
We make a comprehensive study of the theory and phenomenology of a low energy supersymmetric standard model originating from a string-inspired $E_6$ grand unified gauge group. The Exceptional Supersymmetric Standard Model (ESSM) considered here is based on the low energy SM gauge group together with an extra $Z'$ corresponding to an extra $U(1)_{N}$ gauge symmetry under which right--handed neutrinos have zero charge. The low energy matter content of the ESSM corresponds to three 27 representations of the $E_6$ symmetry group, to ensure anomaly cancellation, plus an additional pair of Higgs--li…
4D Higgs field is identified with the extra-dimensional component of gauge potentials in the gauge-Higgs unification scenario. $SO(5) \times U(1)$ gauge-Higgs EW unification in the Randall-Sundrum warped space is successful at low energies. The Higgs field appears as an Aharonov-Bohm phase $θ_H$ in the fifth dimension. Its mass is generated at the quantum level and is finite. The model yields almost the same phenomenology as the standard model for $θ_H < 0.1$, and predicts $Z'$ bosons around 6 - 10 TeV with very broad widths. The scenario is genelarized to $SO(11)$ gauge-Higgs grand unificatio…
The see-saw mechanism for neutrino masses based on the Grand Unification leads to the mass of the heaviest neutrino ($\approx ν_τ$) in the range $(2 - 3)\cdot 10^{-3}$ eV and hence to a solution of the solar neutrino problem through the $ν_e-ν_\t$ conversion. We suggest the existence of a light singlet fermion $S$ which mixes predominantly with muon neutrino through the mixing mass $m_{μs} \sim O(1)$ eV. The introduction of such a singlet allows one (i) to solve the atmospheric neutrino problem via the $ν_μ \leftrightarrow S$ oscillations, (ii) to explain the LSND result and (iii) to get two c…
A class of grand unified theories with symmetry breaking scale of order $10^{16} GeV$ have a Higgs particle with mass in the $TeV$ scale. The cosmology of such theories is very different from usual. We study the cosmic strings obtained in such theories. These strings are much fatter than usual and their mass per unit length is reduced, resulting in a significant reduction in their cosmological effects. We also study the temperature evolution of such models.
We construct and discuss a "realistic" example of SUSY SU(5) GUT model, with an additional U(1) flavour symmetry, that is not plagued by the need of large fine tunings, like those associated with doublet-triplet splitting in the minimal model, and that leads to an acceptable phenomenology. This includes coupling unification with a value of alpha_s(m_Z) in much better agreement with the data than in the minimal version, an acceptable hierarchical pattern for fermion masses and mixing angles, also including neutrino masses and mixings, and a proton decay rate compatible with present limits (but …
Finite Unified Theories (FUTs) are N=1 supersymmetric Grand Unified Theories that can be made all-loop finite. The requirement of all-loop finiteness leads to a severe reduction of the free parameters of the theory and, in turn, to a large number of predictions. Here SU(5) FUTs are investigated in the context of low-energy phenomenology observables. We present a detailed scanning of these FUTs, including theoretical uncertainties at the unification scale and applying all phenomenological constraints. Taking into account the restrictions from the top and bottom quark masses, we can discriminate…
It is the goal of this dissertation to demonstrate that beyond the standard model, certain theories exist which solve conflicts between observation and theory -- conflicts such as massive neutrinos, dark matter, unstable Higgs vacuum, and recent Planck observations of excess relativistic degrees of freedom in the early universe. Theories explored include a D-brane inspired construct of U(3) X Sp(1) X U(1) X U(1) extension of the standard model, in which we demonstrate several possible observables that may be detected at the LHC, and an ability to stabilize the Higgs mechanism. The extended mod…
Within the supersymmetric SO(10) grand unified theory (GUT), a new mechanism, giving the light Higgs doublet as a pseudo-Goldstone mode, is suggested. Realizing this mechanism, we present an explicit model with fully realistic phenomenology. In particular, desirable symmetry breaking and natural all-order hierarchy are achieved. The constructed model allows one to have a realistic fermion pattern, nucleon stability, and successful gauge coupling unification. The suggested mechanism opens prospects in the field for a novel $SO(10)$ GUT model building and for further investigations.
Finite Unified Theories (FUTs) are N=1 supersymmetric Grand Unified Theories that can be made all-loop finite. The requirement of all-loop finiteness leads to a severe reduction of the free parameters of the theory and, in turn, to a large number of predictions. FUTs are investigated in the context of low-energy phenomenology observables. We present a detailed scanning of the all-loop finite SU(5) FUTs, where we include the theoretical uncertainties at the unification scale and we apply several phenomenological constraints. Taking into account the restrictions from the top and bottom quark mas…
We discuss the minimal supersymmetric $U(1)_{B-L}\times U(1)_R$ extension of the standard model. Gauge couplings unify as in the MSSM, even if the scale of $U(1)_{B-L}\times U(1)_R$ breaking is as low as order TeV and the model can be embedded into an SO(10) grand unified theory. The phenomenology of the model differs in some important aspects from the MSSM, leading potentially to rich phenomenology at the LHC. It predicts more light Higgs states and the mostly left CP-even Higgs has a mass reaching easily 125 GeV, with no constraints on the SUSY spectrum. Right sneutrinos can be the lightest …
Mirror world, a parallel hidden sector with microphysics identical to ordinary particle physics, can have several interesting phenomenological and astrophysical implications and mirror matter can be a natural candidate for dark matter in the universe. In this thesis we analyze in detail some of its implications in cosmology, in particular at the primordial nucleosynthesis epoch. Big Bang Nucleosynthesis limits require that the temperature T' of the mirror world should be at least twice lower than that of the ordinary world T. We present numerical calculations regarding the nucleosynthesis epoc…
We construct a realistic Supersymmetric Grand Unified Theory of Flavour based on PSL(2,7) x SO(10), where the quarks and leptons in the 16 of SO(10) are assigned to the complex triplet representation of PSL(2,7), while the flavons are assigned to a combination of sextets and anti-triplets of PSL(2,7). Using a D-term vacuum alignment mechanism, we require the flavon sextets of PSL(2,7) to be aligned along the 3-3 direction leading to the third family Yukawa couplings, while the flavon anti-triplets describe the remaining Yukawa couplings. Other sextets are aligned along the neutrino flavour sym…
The early universe according to the big bang and the grand unified theories is discussed. The shortcomings of big bang are summarized together with their resolution by inflationary cosmology. Inflation, the subsequent oscillation and decay of the inflaton, and the resulting "reheating" of the universe are studied. The density perturbations produced by inflation and the temperature fluctuations of the cosmic background radiation are sketched. The hybrid inflationary model is described. Two "natural" extensions of this model which avoid the disaster encountered in its standard realization from t…
We derive the non-universal gaugino mass ratios in a supergravity (SUGRA) framework where the Higgs superfields belong to the non-singlet representations {\bf 54} and {\bf 770} in a SO(10) Grand Unified Theory (GUT). We evaluate the ratios for the phenomenologically viable intermediate breaking chain $SU(4)_C \times SU(2)_L \times SU(2)_R (G_{422})$. After a full calculation of the gaugino mass ratios, noting some errors in the earlier calculation for {\bf 54}, we obtain, using the renormalisation group equations (RGE), interesting low scale phenomenology of such breaking patterns. Here, we as…
The standard big bang cosmological model and the history of the early universe according to the grand unified theories of strong, weak and electromagnetic interactions are summarized. The shortcomings of big bang are discussed together with their resolution by inflationary cosmology. Inflation and the subsequent oscillation and decay of the inflaton field are studied. The density perturbations produced during inflation and their evolution during the matter dominated era are analyzed. The temperature fluctuations of the cosmic background radiation are summarized. Finally, the nonsupersymmetric …
In this review article, we present a systematic study of large volume type IIB string compactifications that addresses several interesting issues in string cosmology and string phenomenology within a single string compactification scheme. The issues in string cosmology include obtaining a metastable non-supersymmetric dS minimum without adding anti-D3 branes and obtaining slow-roll inflation with the required number of 60 e-foldings along with non-trivial non-Gaussianities and gravitational waves. For studying cosmology and phenomenology within a single string compactification scheme, we provi…
We have recently proposed attractor models for modulus fixing, inflation, supersymmetry breaking and dark energy based on no-scale supergravity. In this paper we develop phenomenological and cosmological aspects of these no-scale attractor models that underpin their physical applications. We consider models in which inflation is driven by a modulus field ($T$-type) with supersymmetry broken by a Polonyi field, or a matter field ($ϕ$-type) with supersymmetry broken by the modulus field. We derive the possible patterns of soft supersymmetry-breaking terms, which depend in $T$-type models whether…
We show that when the supersymmetric SU(5) model is extended to explain small neutrino masses by the type III seesaw mechanism, the new {\bf 24}-dimensional fields needed for the purpose can act as messengers for transmitting SUSY breaking from a hidden sector to the visible sector. For the three {\bf 24} case, the constraints of grand unification and suppressed lepton flavor violation restrict the seesaw scale in this case to be in the narrow range of $10^{12}-10^{13}$ GeV. The model predicts (i) a stable LSP gravitino with mass in the range of 1-10 MeV which can be a cold dark matter of the …
Left-Right symmetry including supersymmetry presents an important class of gauge models which may possess natural solutions to many issues of phenomenology. Cosmology of such models indicates a phase transition accompanied by domain walls. Such walls must be unstable in order to not conflict with standard cosmology, and can further be shown to assist with open issues of cosmology such as dilution of unwanted relic densities and leptogenesis. In this paper we construct a model of gauge mediated supersymmetry breaking in which parity breaking is also signalled along with supersymmetry breaking a…
These notes are intended as an introductory course for experimental particle physicists interested in the recent developments in astrophysics and cosmology. I will describe the standard Big Bang theory of the evolution of the universe, with its successes and shortcomings, which will lead to inflationary cosmology as the paradigm for the origin of the global structure of the universe as well as the origin of the spectrum of density perturbations responsible for structure in our local patch. I will present a review of the very rich phenomenology that we have in cosmology today, as well as eviden…
In this thesis we investigate several topics in neutrino physics, with an em- phasis on the phenomenology of the sterile neutrinos. We study the existence of a light sterile neutrino within the so called 3+1 scenario using the data of the medium baseline reactor experiments. We will also probe the parameters of the Large Extra Dimension model with the high energy atmospheric data of the IceCube experiment, and will find an equivalence between the Kaluza Klein modes and the sterile neutrinos. We will study the secret interaction of the ster- ile neutrinos which is proposed to solve the tension …
The axino, the fermionic superpartner of the axion, is a well-motivated candidate for cold dark matter if it is the lightest supersymmetric particle. Since the axino couples very weakly to the matter multiplets, the next-to-lightest supersymmetric particle (NLSP) has a long lifetime, which has important consequences for both cosmology and collider phenomenology. Assuming that a charged slepton is the NLSP, we calculate the complete leading one- and two-loop contributions to its decay. We analyze in detail constraints on the parameters space from cosmology and discuss how this scenario can be p…
Supersymmetric Gauge-Higgs Unification is a well-motivated new physics scenario, both in heterotic model building and from the perspective of higher-dimensional Grand Unified Theories. When combined with radion mediated supersymmetry breaking, it allows for very specific predictions concerning the high-scale parameters of the MSSM. Using an appropriately modified version of a standard RGE evolution code (SuSpect), we derive low-scale predictions which can be tested at the LHC. The phenomenological success of our setting depends crucially on the 5d Chern-Simons term, which has not been used in …
In these Lectures, we present a pedagogical introduction to weak scale supersymmetry phenomenology. A basic understanding of the Standard Model and of the ideas behind Grand Unification, but no prior knowledge of supersymmetry, is assumed. Topics covered include: What is supersymmetry and why do we bother with it? Working with a supersymmetric theory: A toy example Construction of supersymmetric Lagrangians The Minimal Supersymmetric Model The mSUGRA Model: A paradigm for SUSY phenomenology Decays of supersymmetric particles Production of supersymmetric particles at colliders Observational con…
Phenomenologically appealing supersymmetric grand unified theories have large gauge representations and thus are not asymptotically free. Their ultraviolet validity is limited by the appearance of a Landau pole well before the Planck scale. One could hope that these theories save themselves, before the inclusion of gravity, by generating an interacting ultraviolet fixed point, similar to the one recently discovered in non-supersymmetric gauge-Yukawa theories. Employing a-maximization, a-theorem, unitarity bounds, as well as positivity of other central charges we nonperturbatively rule out this…
We perform a detailed investigation of a Grand Unified Theory (GUT)-inspired theory of gauge-Higgs unification. Scanning the model's parameter space with adapted numerical techniques, we contrast the scenario's low energy limit with existing SM and collider search constraints. We discuss potential modifications of di-Higgs phenomenology at hadron colliders as sensitive probes of the gauge-like character of the Higgs self-interactions and find that for phenomenologically viable parameter choices modifications of the order of 20\% compared to the SM cross section can be expected. While these mod…
A brief discussion is presented assessing the achievements and challenges of string phenomenology: the subfield dedicated to study the potential for string theory to make contact with particle physics and cosmology. Building from the well understood case of the standard model as a very particular example within quantum field theory we highlight the very few generic observable implications of string theory, most of them inaccessible to low-energy experiments, and indicate the need to extract concrete scenarios and classes of models that could eventually be contrasted with searches in collider p…
We present a model that solves the strong CP problem via an axion parametrically heavier than the standard one. Within this picture the Standard Model quarks are embedded into a larger non-abelian Grand Color group that at high scales splits into ordinary QCD and an additional confining dynamics under which exotic chiral fermions are charged. Crucially, the vacuum expectation value of the axion is automatically relaxed to zero because the only renormalizable source of explicit CP violation, beyond those encoded in the topological angles, is contained in the Standard Model Yukawa couplings, and…
Gauge singlet extensions of the Standard Model (SM) scalar sector may help remedy its theoretical and phenomenological shortcomings while solving outstanding problems in cosmology. Depending on the symmetries of the scalar potential, such extensions may provide a viable candidate for the observed relic density of cold dark matter or a strong first order electroweak phase transition needed for electroweak baryogenesis. Using the simplest extension of the SM scalar sector with one real singlet field, we analyze the generic implications of a singlet-extended scalar sector for Higgs boson phenomen…
In many strongly-interacting models of electroweak symmetry breaking the lowest-lying observable particle is a pseudo-Goldstone boson of approximate scale symmetry, the pseudo-dilaton. Its interactions with Standard Model particles can be described using a low-energy effective nonlinear chiral Lagrangian supplemented by terms that restore approximate scale symmetry, yielding couplings of the pseudo-dilaton that differ from those of a Standard Model Higgs boson by fixed factors. We review the experimental constraints on such a pseudo-dilaton in light of new data from the LHC and elsewhere. The …
We discuss the phenomenology and cosmology of a Standard-like Model inspired by string theory, in which the gauge fields are localized on D-branes wrapping certain compact cycles on an underlying geometry, whose intersection can give rise to chiral fermions. The energy scale associated with string physics is assumed to be near the Planck mass. To develop our program in the simplest way, we work within the construct of a minimal model with gauge-extended sector U (3)_B \times Sp (1)_L \times U (1)_{I_R} \times U (1)_L. The resulting U (1) content gauges the baryon number B, the lepton number L,…
Within the context of SUSY GUTs, cosmic strings are generically formed at the end of hybrid inflation. However, the WMAP CMB measurements strongly constrain the possible cosmic strings contribution to the angular power spectrum of anisotropies. We investigate the parameter space of SUSY hybrid (F- and D- term) inflation, to get the conditions under which theoretical predictions are in agreement with data. The predictions of F-term inflation are in agreement with data, only if the superpotential coupling $κ$ is small. In particular, for SUSY SO(10), the upper bound is $κ\lsim 7\times 10^{-7}$. …
The Large Volume Scenario for getting a non-supersymmetric vacuum in type IIB string theory leads, through the Weyl anomaly and renormalization group running, to an interesting phenomenology. However, for gravitino masses below 500 TeV there are cosmological problems and the resulting Higgs mass is well below 124 GeV. Here we discuss the phenomenology and cosmology for gravitino masses which are $\gtrsim$ 500 TeV. We find that not only is the cosmological modulus problem alleviated and the right value for dark matter density obtained, but also the Higgs mass is in the 122-125 GeV range. Howeve…
Phenomenologically viable string vacua may require incorporating Kac-Moody algebras at level $\geq 2$. We exploit the free fermionic formulation to construct N=(0,2) world-sheet supersymmetric string models with specific phenomenological input: N=1 spacetime supersymmetry, three generations of chiral fermions in gauge groups $SO(10)$ or $SU(5)$, adjoint Higgses, and a single Yukawa coupling of a fundamental Higgs to the third generation. In this talk, we will show models of gauge group $SO(10)$ and of $SU(5)$ without any gauge singlet moduli, and show some novel features appearing in the conne…
One of the drawbacks of conventional grand unification scenarios has been that the unification scale is too high to permit direct exploration. In this paper, we show that the unification scale can be significantly lowered (perhaps even to the TeV scale) through the appearance of extra spacetime dimensions. Such extra dimensions are a natural consequence of string theories with large-radius compactifications. We show that extra spacetime dimensions naturally lead to gauge coupling unification at intermediate mass scales, and moreover may provide a natural mechanism for explaining the fermion ma…
