We explore the possible values of the $μ\to e γ$ branching ratio, $\text{BR}(μ\rightarrow eγ)$, and the electron dipole moment (eEDM), $d_e$, in no-scale SU(5) super-GUT models with the boundary conditions that soft supersymmetry-breaking matter scalar masses vanish at some high input scale, $M_{\rm in}$, above the GUT scale, $M_{\rm GUT}$. We take into account the constraints from the cosmological cold dark matter density, $Ω_{CDM} h^2$, the Higgs mass, $M_h$, and the experimental lower limit on the lifetime for $p \to K^+ \bar ν$, the dominant proton decay mode in these super-GUT models. Reconciling this limit with $Ω_{CDM} h^2$ and $M_h$ requires the Higgs field responsible for the charge-2/3 quark masses to be twisted, and possibly also that responsible for the charge-1/3 and charged-lepton masses, with model-dependent soft supersymmetry-breaking masses. We consider six possible models for the super-GUT initial conditions, and two possible choices for quark flavor mixing, contrasting their predictions for proton decay with versions of the models in which mixing effects are neglected. We find that $τ\left(p\rightarrow K^+ \barν\right)$ may be accessible to the upcoming Hyper-Kamiokande experiment, whereas all the models predict $\text{BR}(μ\rightarrow eγ)$ and $d_e$ below the current and prospective future experimental sensitivities or both flavor choices, when the dark matter density, Higgs mass and current proton decay constraints are taken into account. However, there are limited regions with one of the flavor choices in two of the models where $μ\to e$ conversion on a heavy nucleus may be observable in the future. Our results indicate that there is no supersymmetric flavor problem in the class of no-scale models we consider.
Gauge coupling unification in the Supersymmetric Standard Models strongly implies the Grand Unified Theories (GUTs). With the grand desert hypothesis, we show that the supersymmetric GUTs can be probed at the future proton-proton (pp) colliders and Hyper-Kamiokande experiment. For the GUTs with the GUT scale $M_{GUT} \le 1.0\times 10^{16}$ GeV, we can probe the dimension-six proton decay via heavy gauge boson exchange at the Hyper-Kamiokande experiment. Moreover, for the GUTs with $M_{GUT} \ge 1.0\times 10^{16}$ GeV, we for the first time study the upper bounds on the gaugino and sfermion mass…
We point out that the null results of the hadronic electric dipole moment (EDM) searches constrain orbifold grand unified theories (GUTs), where the GUT symmetry and supersymmetry (SUSY) are both broken by boundary conditions in extra dimensions and it leads to rich fermion and sfermion flavor structures. A marginal chromoelectric dipole moment (CEDM) of the up quark is induced by the misalignment between the CP violating left- and right-handed up-type squark mixings, in contrast to the conventional four-dimensional SUSY GUTs. The up quark CEDM constraint is found to be as strong as those from…
We study phenomenological aspects of supersymmetric SO(10) GUTs with sum rules among soft SUSY breaking parameters. In particular, the sum rule related to the stau mass leads to the constraints from the requirements of successful electroweak breaking and the positivity of stau mass squared. The bottom quark mass is also estimated.
We consider orbifold GUTs with N=1 supersymmetry in which the Standard Model (SM) gauge couplings are unified at M_GUT =~ 2 x 10^16 GeV with one of the third family (charged) Yukawa couplings. With split supersymmetry the SM Higgs mass is estimated to be 131 +/- 10 GeV for gauge-top quark Yukawa unification, which increases to 146 +/- 8 GeV for gauge-bottom quark (or gauge-tau lepton) Yukawa unification.
D3-brane probes of exceptional Yukawa points in F-theory GUTs are natural hidden sectors for particle phenomenology. We find that coupling the probe to the MSSM yields a new class of N = 1 conformal fixed points with computable infrared R-charges. Quite surprisingly, we find that the MSSM only weakly mixes with the strongly coupled sector in the sense that the MSSM fields pick up small exactly computable anomalous dimensions. Additionally, we find that although the states of the probe sector transform as complete GUT multiplets, their coupling to Standard Model fields leads to a calculable thr…
We have discussed the stop mass and possible signal processes within a class of SUSY GUTs with non-universal gaugino masses. This class of models predicts the stop mass in a wide range from about 400 GeV to 8 TeV, and the DM constraints bound it as $m_{\tilde{t}_{1}}\gtrsim 500$ GeV. Being the lightest supersymmetric particle the neutralino always takes part in possible signal processes, and its mass is realized as heavy as about 2.3 TeV in the fundamental parameter space. Similarly, the lightest chargino mass can be realized beyond 3 TeV, while the DM constraints bound its mass at about 2.7 T…
We consider supersymmetric grand unified theories with soft supersymmetry-breaking scalar masses $m_0$ specified above the GUT scale (super-GUTs) and patterns of Yukawa couplings motivated by upper limits on flavour-changing interactions beyond the Standard Model. If the scalar masses are smaller than the gaugino masses $m_{1/2}$, as is expected in no-scale models, the dominant effects of renormalization between the input scale and the GUT scale are generally expected to be those due to the gauge couplings, which are proportional to $m_{1/2}$ and generation-independent. In this case, the input…
The infra-red attractive force of the bulk gauge interactions is applied to soften the supersymmetric flavor problem in the orbifold SU(5) GUT of Kawamura. Then this force aligns in the infra-red regime the soft supersymmetry breaking terms out of their anarchical disorder at a fundamental scale, in such a way that flavor-changing neutral currents as well as dangerous CP-violating phases are suppressed at low energies. It is found that this dynamical alignment is sufficiently good compared with the current experimental bounds, as long as the diagonalization matrices of the Yukawa couplings are…
A Supersymmetric Grand unified model is constructed based on SO(10)xSO(10) symmetry in which new types of Yukawa matrices couple standard and exotic fermions. Evolution of these couplings from the Grand Unified scale to the electroweak scale causes some of them to be driven to their fixed points. This solves the supersymmetric alignment problem and ensures that there are no observable flavor changing neutral currents mediated by supersymmetric particles. Fermion hierarchy and neutrino mixing constraints are automatically satisfied in this formalism.
Grand Unified Theories (GUTs) are attractive candidates for more fundamental elementary particle theories. They can not only unify the Standard Model (SM) interactions but also different types of SM fermions, in particular quarks and leptons, in joint representations of the GUT gauge group. We discuss how comparing predictive supersymmetric GUT models with the experimental results for quark and charged lepton masses leads to constraints on the SUSY spectrum. We show an example from a recent analysis where the resulting superpartner masses where found just beyond the reach of LHC run 1, but ful…
We consider a class of seven-dimensional N=1 supersymmetric orbifold GUTs in which the Standard Model (SM) gauge couplings and one of the Yukawa couplings (top quark, bottom quark or tau lepton) are unified, without low energy supersymmetry, at M_{GUT} \simeq 4 \times 10^{16} GeV. With gauge-top quark Yukawa coupling unification the SM Higgs boson mass is estimated to be 135 \pm 6 GeV, which increases to 144 \pm 4 GeV for gauge-bottom quark (or gauge-tau lepton) Yukawa coupling unification.
The specific shape of the squark, slepton and gaugino mass spectra, if measured with suficient accuracy, can provide invaluable information not only about the dynamics underpinning their origin at some very high scale such as the unification scale MG, but also about the intermediate scale physics encountered throughout their RGE evolution down to the energy scale accessible for the LHC. In this work, we study general features of the TeV scale soft SUSY breaking parameters stemming from a generic mSugra configuration within certain classes of SUSY SO(10) GUTs with different intermediate symmetr…
We discuss fermion masses and mixings in models derived from orbifold GUTs such that gauge coupling unification is achieved without low energy supersymmetry by utilizing a non-canonical U(1)_Y. A gauged U(1)_X flavor symmetry plays an essential role, and the Green-Schwarz mechanism is invoked in anomaly cancellations. Models containing vector-like particles with masses close to M_{GUT} are also discussed.
Constraints from flavour changing neutral currents are discussed in the context of predictive Grand Unified Supersymmetric Theories. Uncertainties in the estimation of their amplitudes are minimized by using a successful mass matrix ansatz which predicts the arbitrary parameters of the Standard Model. Furthermore, Renormalization Group Equations are used in order to express the sparticle masses involved, in terms of the gaugino mass $m_{1/2}$, the universal scalar mass $m_0$ and the trilinear coupling $A$ at the GUT scale. Modifications in the low energy expressions for the squark masses due t…
We investigate gauge coupling unification in higher dimensional GUT models with split supersymmetry. We focus on 5d and 6d orbifold GUTs, which permit a simple solution to several problems of 4D GUTs as well as control over GUT scale threshold corrections. In orbifold GUTs, calculable threshold corrections can raise or lower the prediction for $α_s(M_Z)$ in a way that depends on the location of Higgs fields. On the other hand, split supersymmetry lowers the prediction for $α_s(M_Z)$. Consequently, split supersymmetry changes the preferred location of the Higgs fields in orbifold GUTs. In the s…
We study phenomenological aspects of supersymmetric SU(5) grand unified theories with non-universal gaugino masses. For large tan beta, we investigate constraints from the requirement of successful electroweak symmetry breaking, the positivity of stau mass squared and the b to s gamma decay rate. In the allowed region, the nature of the lightest supersymmetric particle is determined. Examples of mass spectra are given. We also calculate loop corrections to the bottom mass due to superpartners.
We discuss the fermion mass problem in SUSY GUTs, including such ideas as texture zeroes, and Georgi-Jarlskog textures. We focus on a specific supersymmetric model based on the gauge group $SU(4)\otimes SU(2)_L \otimes SU(2)_R$. In this model the gauge group is broken to that of the standard model at $10^{16}$ GeV, and supersymmetry is broken at low-energy. The model may be regarded as a ``surrogate SUSY GUT'', and has several advantages over the $SU(5)$ and $SO(10)$ SUSY GUTs, such as the absence of the doublet-triplet splitting problem, and a simpler Higgs sector which does not involve any l…
I review some recent results on the Higgs sector of minimal SO(10) grand unified theories both with and without supersymmetry. It is shown that nonsupersymmetric SO(10) with just one adjoint triggering the first stage of the symmetry breaking does provide a successful gauge unification when radiative corrections are taken into account in the scalar potential, while in the supersymmetric case it is argued that the troubles in achieving a phenomenologically viable breaking with representations up to the adjoint are overcome by considering the flipped SO(10) embedding of the hypercharge.
We analyse the complementarity between Lepton Flavour Violation (LFV) and LHC experiments in probing the Supersymmetric (SUSY) Grand Unified Theories (GUT) when neutrinos got a mass via the see--saw mechanism. Our analysis is performed in an SO(10) framework, where at least one neutrino Yukawa coupling is necessarily as large as the top Yukawa coupling. Our study thoroughly takes into account the whole RG running, including the GUT and the right handed neutrino mass scales, as well as the running of the observable neutrino spectrum. We find that the upcoming (MEG, SuperKEKB) and future (PRISM/…
Certain supersymmetric grand unified models predict that the coefficients of the quadratic terms in the MSSM Higgs potential should be degenerate at the GUT scale. We discuss some examples for such models, and we analyse the implications of this peculiar condition of a GUT-scale degenerate Higgs mass matrix for low-scale MSSM phenomenology. To this end we explore the parameter space which is consistent with existing experimental constraints by means of a Markov Chain Monte Carlo analysis.
A manifestly gauge invariant formulation of 5-dimensional supersymmetric Yang-Mills theories in terms of 4d superfields is derived. It relies on a supersymmetry and gauge-covariant derivative operator in the $x^5$ direction. This formulation allows for a systematic study of higher-derivative operators by combining invariant 4d superfield expressions under the additional restriction of 5d Lorentz symmetry. In cases where the 5d theory is compactified on a gauge-symmetry-breaking orbifold, the formalism can be used for a simple discussion of possible brane operators invariant under the restricte…
We construct an orbifold model in which all the standard model particles are unified in a gauge multiplet in higher dimensional supersymmetric gauge theory. We find that a flavor symmetry has to remain in four dimensions due to the discrete charge conservation for orbifold conditions if the colored Higgs components in the gauge multiplet are projected out. When the flavor symmetry originates from the E_8 bulk gauge symmetry, the successful unification model can be constructed. In the model, all the Dirac Yukawa couplings for quarks and leptons are generated by the higher dimensional gauge inte…
We discuss how the double missing partner mechanism solution to the doublet-triplet splitting problem in four-dimensional supersymmetric SU(5) Grand Unified Theories (GUTs) can be combined with predictive models for the quark-lepton Yukawa coupling ratios at the GUT scale. It is argued that towards this goal a second SU(5) breaking Higgs field in the adjoint representation is very useful and we discuss all possible renormalizable superpotentials with two adjoint Higgs fields and calculate the constraints on the GUT scale and effective triplet mass from a two-loop gauge coupling unification ana…
A general analysis is made of the question whether the d=5 proton decay operators coming from exchange of colored Higgsinos can be completely eliminated in a natural way in supersymmetric grand unified models. It is shown that they can indeed be in SO(10) while at the same time naturally solving the doublet-triplet splitting problem, having only two light Higgs doublets, and using no more than a single adjoint Higgs field. Accomplishing all of this requires that the vacuum expectation value of the adjoint Higgs field be proportional to the generator I_{3R} rather than to B-L, as is usually ass…
A D-parity violated SUSY SU(4) x SU(2) _ L x SU(2)_R gauge model with the Higgs sector 2{(4,1,2)+(4-bar,1, 2)}+(1,2,2)+some(1,1,1)'s is shown to have the following advantages: (i) It is the simplest and almost unique solution that satisfies M_X = M_{string} ~0.6 x 10^{18} GeV and M_{INT} ~ 5 x10^{11} GeV in superstring derived SUSY SO(10) GUTs. (ii) The proton is stable enough by the automatic "doublet-triplet splitting" closely connected with the D-parity violation. (iii) The minimization of SUSY one-loop effective potential in a toy model suggests that the SO(10) gauge theory tends to break …
We investigate grand unified theories (GUTs) in scenarios where electroweak (EW) symmetry breaking is triggered by a light composite Higgs, arising as a Nambu-Goldstone boson from a strongly interacting sector. The evolution of the standard model (SM) gauge couplings can be predicted at leading order, if the global symmetry of the composite sector is a simple group G that contains the SM gauge group. It was noticed that, if the right-handed top quark is also composite, precision gauge unification can be achieved. We build minimal consistent models for a composite sector with these properties, …
In a previous paper we have developed a novel method in order to parametrize the effect of the large number of HETs into as fewer parameters as possible. Apart from its obvious advantages this parametrization serves as a vehicle for the examination of the validity of a minimal SO(10) model concerning a series of constraints. Among them is demand for unification of the gauge couplings, the experimental values of the strong coupling constant and lower experimental bound of the proton lifetime. All of these claims lead to preferred regions both in the soft the superheavy parameter space. In this …
We summarize recent studies of realistic nonsupersymmetric Grand Unified Theories (GUTs) extended with a global $U(1)_{\rm PQ}$ symmetry, so as to accommodate the axion solution to the strong CP problem. Aside from solving the CP problem and unifying the gauge structure of the SM, these models can also yield realistic spectra and mixings, including neutrino masses, and allowing for a consistent cosmological history that accounts for inflation, dark matter and baryogenesis. In our studies of $SO(10)$ and $SU(5)$ theories, we determined the mass and couplings of the axion in terms of the relevan…
We consider 5 dimensional E_6 and E_7 supersymmetric grand unified theories (GUTs) on an orbifold S^1/Z_2, in which the Higgs fields arise from the 5th components of the 5D gauge fields. We introduce matter fields in 5 dimensions, then the Yukawa interactions are induced from the gauge interactions among the 5th component of gauge fields and the bulk hyper-multiplets. The adjoint and fundamental representations of bulk matter fields can induce all Yukawa interactions of the standard model in E_6 GUT. Furthermore, realistic fermion mass hierarchies and flavor mixings with the CP violating phase…
We discuss in detail the flavour structure of the supersymmetric SO(10) grand unified models with the three traditional 16-dimensional matter spinors mixed with a set of extra 10-dimensional vector multiplets which can provide the desired sensitivity of the SM matter spectrum to the GUT symmetry breakdown at the renormalizable level. We put the qualitative argument that a successful fit of the quark and lepton data requires an active participation of more than a single vector matter multiplet on a firm, quantitative ground. We find that the strict no-go obtained for the fits of the charged sec…
In a scenario with heavy supersymmetric sfermions and decoupled supersymmetric Higgs sector, a well tempered neutralino is the remaining candidate for thermal single-component sub-TeV dark matter. Well tempered neutralinos are studied in the context of supersymmetric grand unified theories with third family Yukawa coupling unification. A global chi^2 analysis is performed, including the observables MW, MZ, GF, alpha_em, alpha_s(MZ), Mt, mb(mb), Mtau, b -> s gamma, BR(Bs -> mu^+ mu^-), Mh and Omegah^2. Tensions in simultaneously fitting the Higgs and bottom quark masses while also avoiding glui…
We calculate the high and low scale threshold corrections to the D=6 proton decay mode in supersymmetric SU(5) grand unified theories with higher-dimensional representation Higgs multiplets. In particular, we focus on a missing-partner model in which the grand unified group is spontaneously broken by the 75-dimensional Higgs multiplet and the doublet-triplet splitting problem is solved. We find that in the missing-partner model the D=6 proton decay rate gets suppressed by about 60%, mainly due to the threshold effect at the GUT scale, while the SUSY-scale threshold corrections are found to be …
We reexamine a succesful fermion mass Ansatz proposed by Giudice for a wide range of the ratio $tanβ=\frac {<\bar h>}{<h>}$ (where ${\bar h},h$ are the two standard higgs fields), in the context of supersymmetric grand unified theories. We find that the 7 predictions of the ansatz, $V_{us}, V_{cb}, V_{ub}, m_u, m_d, m_s$ and $m_b$ are in good agreement with the experiment when either {\it i) } $tanβ\simeq 1$ or {\it ii)} $tanβ\geq 30$. A correct prediction for the bottom mass gives a lower limit on $m_t\geq 125$ for case {\it (i)}, in agreement with the previous analysis, while in case {\it (i…
In supersymmetry, there are gauge invariant dimension 5 proton decay operators which must be suppressed by a mass scale much larger than the Planck mass. It is natural to expect that this suppression should be explained by a mechanism that explains the hierarchical structure of the fermion mass matrices. We apply this argument to the case where wave functions of chiral multiplets are localized under a kink background along an extra spatial dimension and the Yukawa couplings as well as the coefficients of the proton decay operators are determined by the overlap of the relevant wave functions. A…
We reconsider the minimal SU(5) Grand Unified Theory (GUT) in the context of no-scale supergravity, assuming that the soft supersymmetry-breaking parameters satisfy universality conditions at some input scale M_in above the GUT scale M_GUT. When setting up such a no-scale super-GUT model, special attention must be paid to avoiding the Scylla of rapid proton decay and the Charybdis of an excessive density of cold dark matter, while also having an acceptable mass for the Higgs boson. We do not find consistent solutions if none of the matter and Higgs fields are assigned to twisted chiral supermu…
We perform a detailed analysis of the SO(10) SUSY GUT model with D3 family symmetry of Dermisek and Raby (DR). The model is specified in terms of 24 parameters and predicts, as a function of them, the whole MSSM set of parameters at low energy scales. Concerning the SM subset of such parameters, the model is able to give a satisfactory description of the quark and lepton masses, of the PMNS matrix and of the CKM matrix. We perform a global fit to the model, including flavour changing neutral current (FCNC) processes Bs --> mu+ mu-, B --> Xs gamma, B --> Xs l+ l- and the B(d,s) - bar B(d,s) mas…
In this talk~\footnote{Talk presented at the IFT Workshop on Yukawa Couplings, Gainesville, FL, February 1994.} I summarize published work on a systematic operator analysis for fermion masses in a class of effective supersymmetric SO(10) GUTs \cite{adhrs}~\footnote{This work is in collaboration with G. Anderson, S. Dimopoulos, L.J. Hall, and G. Starkman.}. Given a minimal set of four operators at $M_G$, we have just 6 parameters in the fermion mass matrices. We thus make 8 predictions for the 14 low energy observables (9 quark and charged lepton masses, 4 quark mixing angles and $\tan β$). Sev…
Grand Unified Theories (GUT) predict proton decay as well as the formation of cosmic strings which can generate gravitational waves. We determine which non-supersymmetric $SO(10)$ breaking chains provide gauge unification in addition to a gravitational signal from cosmic string decay. We calculate the GUT and intermediate scales for these $SO(10)$ breaking chains by solving the renormalisation group equations at the two-loop level. This analysis predicts the GUT scale, hence the proton lifetime, in addition to the scale of cosmic string generation and thus the associated gravitational wave sig…
In this talk I summarize published work on a systematic operator analysis for fermion masses in a class of effective supersymmetric SO(10) GUTs\cite{adhrs}~\footnote{This work is in collaboration with G. Anderson, S. Dimopoulos, L.J. Hall, and G. Starkman.}. Given a minimal set of four operators at $M_G$, we have just 6 parameters in the fermion mass matrices. We thus make 8 predictions for the 14 low energy observables (9 quark and charged lepton masses, 4 quark mixing angles and $\tan β$). Several models, i.e. particular sets of dominant operators, are in quantitative agreement with the low …
In supersymmetric grand unified theories (GUTs) based on S^1/(Z_2 x Z'_2) orbifold constructions in 5 dimensions, Standard Model (SM) matter and Higgs fields can be realized in terms of 5d hypermultiplets. These hypermultiplets can naturally have large bulk masses, leading to a localization of the zero modes at one of the two branes or to an exponential suppression of the mass of the lowest-lying non-zero mode. We demonstrate that these dynamical features allow for the construction of an elegant 3-generation SU(5) model in 5 dimensions that explains all the hierarchies between fermion masses a…
We construct a class of supersymmetric SU(5) GUT models that produce nearly tribimaximal lepton mixing, the observed quark mixing matrix, and the quark and lepton masses, from discrete non-Abelian flavor symmetries. The SU(5) GUTs are formulated on two five-dimensional throats in the flat limit and the neutrino masses become small due to the type-I seesaw mechanism. The discrete non-Abelian flavor symmetries are given by semi-direct products of cyclic groups that are broken at the infrared branes at the tip of the throats. As a result, we obtain SU(5) GUTs that provide a combined description o…
We study $3$rd family Yukawa unification in the context of supersymmetric (SUSY) $\mathrm{SO}(10)$ GUTs and $\mathrm{SO}(10)$-motivated boundary conditions for the SUSY-breaking soft terms. We consider $μ<0$ such that the SUSY loop-threshold effects enable a good fit to all third family masses of the charged Standard Model (SM) fermions. We find that fitting the third family masses together with the mass of the SM-like Higgs particle, the scenario predicts the masses of the superpartner particles and of the extra Higgs states of the MSSM: while the sparticles are predicted to be comparatively …
Gauge and Yukawa (for the third family) coupling unification seem to be the best predictions of the grand-unified theories (GUTs). In supersymmetric GUTs, one also expects that the sparticle masses unify at the GUT scale (for sparticles embedded in the same GUT multiplet). I show under what circumstances GUTs do not lead to sparticle mass unification. In particular, I give examples of SU(5) and SO(10) SUSY GUTs in which squarks and sleptons of a family have different tree-level masses at the unification scale. The models have interesting relations between Yukawa couplings. For example, I prese…
We extend our previous study of supersymmetric Higgs inflation in the context of no-scale supergravity and grand unification, to include models based on the flipped SU(5) and the Pati-Salam group. Like the previous SU(5) GUT model, these yield a class of inflation models whose inflation predictions interpolate between those of the quadratic chaotic inflation and Starobinsky-like inflation, while avoiding tension with proton decay limits. We further analyse the reheating process in these models, and derive the number of e-folds, which is independent of the reheating temperature. We derive the c…
We recapitulate the latest results on the class of the simplest SO(10) grand unified models in which the GUT-scale symmetry breaking is triggered by an adjoint Higgs representation. We argue that the minimal survival approximation traditionally used in the GUT- and seesaw-scale estimates tends to be blind to very interesting parts of the parameter space in which some of the intermediate-scale states necessary for non-supersymmetric unification of the SM gauge couplings can be as light as to leave their imprints in the TeV domain. The stringent minimal-survival-based estimates of the B-L scale …
A $χ^2$ analysis of several SUSY GUTs recently discussed in the literature is presented. We obtain global fits to electroweak data, which include gauge couplings, gauge boson masses, BR($b\to sγ$) and masses of fermions of all three generations and their mixing angles. Thus we are able to test gauge unification, radiative electroweak symmetry breaking, SUSY sector (- in the context of supergravity induced SUSY breaking) and the Yukawa sector in each particular model self-consistently. One of the models studied provides a very good fit with $χ^2 \sim 1$ for 3 degrees of freedom, in a large regi…
A mechanism for the enhancement for proton lifetime in supersymmetric/supergravity (SUSY/SUGRA) grand unified theories (GUTs) and in string theory models is discussed where Higgsino mediated proton decay arising from color triplets (anti-triplets) with charges $Q=-1/3(1/3)$ and $Q=-4/3(4/3)$ is suppressed by an internal cancellation due to contributions from different sources. We exhibit the mechanism for an SU(5) model with $45_H+\bar{45}_H$ Higgs multiplets in addition to the usual Higgs structure of the minimal model. This model contains both $Q=-1/3(1/3)$ and $Q=-4/3(4/3)$ Higgs color trip…
The nature of R-parity violating interactions in two classes of string inspired supersymmetric grand unified theories (SISUSY GUT), based on the gauge groups $SO(10)$ (and its subgroup $SU(2)_L\times SU(2)_R\times SU(4)_c\equiv G_{224}$) as well as $[SU(3)]^3$, are discussed and their strengths are related to the ratio of symmetry breaking scales present in the model. We first argue that for the R-parity violating couplings $λ_{R\!\!\!/}$ to be suppressed to the desired level, the $B-L$ local symmetry must break at an intermediate scale $M_{B-L}$ since $λ_{R\!\!\!/} =M_{B-L}/M_{GUT}$. We then …
Gravity-mediated SUSY breaking models with R-parity conservation give rise to dark matter in the universe. I review neutralino dark matter in the minimal supergravity model (mSUGRA), models with non-universal soft SUSY breaking terms (NUSUGRA) which yield a well-tempered neutralino, and models with unified Yukawa couplings at the GUT scale (as may occur in an SO(10) SUSY GUT theory). These latter models have difficulty accommodating neutralino dark matter, but work very well if the dark matter particles are axions and axinos.
Grand Unified Theories (GUTs) are one of the most interesting high-energy completions of the Standard Model, because they provide a rich, powerful and elegant group-theoretical framework able to resolve a variety of problems remaining in our current understanding of particle physics. They usually act as motivators for many low energy BSM theories, such as left-right symmetric or supersymmetric models, and they serve to fill the gap between the experimentally reachable low energies and the physics in the ultraviolet. In recent years, however, they have fallen slightly from the spotlight, in fav…
We consider $b$-$τ$ unification in supersymmetric $SU(5)$ grand unified theories (GUTs) with extra matters. The renormalization group runnings of $b$ and $τ$ Yukawa coupling constants may be significantly affected by the existence of extra matters. If the extra matters interact with the standard model particles (and their superpartners) only through gauge interaction, the ratio of the $b$ to $τ$ Yukawa coupling constants at the GUT scale becomes suppressed compared to the case without extra matters. This is mainly due to the change of the renormalization group running of the $SU(3)_C$ gauge co…
We study CP-conserving non-minimal flavour violation in $A_4 \times SU(5)$ inspired Supersymmetric Grand Unified Theories (GUTs), focussing on the regions of parameter space where dark matter is successfully accommodated due to a light right-handed smuon a few GeV heavier than the lightest neutralino. In this region of parameter space we find that some of the flavour-violating parameters are constrained by the requirement of the dark matter relic density, due to the delicate interplay between the smuon and neutralino masses. By scanning over GUT scale flavour violating parameters, constrained …
Supersymmetric GUTs are the most natural extension of the Standard model unifying electroweak and strong forces. Despite their indubitable virtues, among these the gauge coupling unification and the quantization of the electric charge, one of their shortcomings is the large number of parameters used to describe the high energy thresholds (HET), which are hard to handle. We present a new method according to which the effects of the HET, in any GUT model, can be described by fewer parameters that are randomly produced from the original set of the parameters of the model. In this way, regions fav…
We show that the recently constructed 5-dimensional supersymmetric $S^1/(Z_2\times Z_2')$ orbifold GUT models allow an appealing explanation of the observed hierarchical structure of the quark and lepton masses and mixing angles. Flavor hierarchies arise from the geometrical suppression of some couplings when fields propagate in different numbers of dimensions, or on different fixed branes. Restrictions arising from locality in the extra dimension allow interesting texture zeroes to be easily generated. In addition the detailed nature of the SU(5)-breaking orbifold projections lead to simple t…
Cosmic strings of the GUT scale, generically formed during the SSB of supersymmetric hybrid inflation, are compatible with the most recent CMB data. The strong constraints on the allowed cosmic strings contribution to the measured temperature anisotropies impose limits on the free parameters of the inflationary models, namely the mass scales and the couplings.
We analyze the construction of non-supersymmetric three generation six-stack Pati-Salam (PS) $SU(4)_C \times SU(2)_L \times SU(2)_R$ GUT classes of models, by localizing D6-branes intersecting at angles in four dimensional orientifolded toroidal compactifications of type IIA. Special role in the models is played by the presence of extra branes needed to satisfy the RR tadpole cancellation conditions. The models contain at low energy {\em exactly the Standard model} with no extra matter and/or extra gauge group factors. They are build such that they represent deformations around the quark and l…
