arXiv subjects

C. P. Burgess

Publications and source records attributed to C. P. Burgess.

At least 145 records · Page 8Linked to original sources

arXiv2005

Deviations From Newton's Law in Supersymmetric Large Extra Dimensions

Deviations from Newton's Inverse-Squared Law at the micron length scale are smoking-gun signals for models containing Supersymmetric Large Extra Dimensions (SLEDs), which have been proposed as approaches for resolving the Cosmological Constant Problem. Just like their non-supersymmetric counterparts, SLED models predict gravity to deviate from the inverse-square law because of the advent of new dimensions at sub-millimeter scales. However SLED models differ from their non-supersymmetric counterparts in three important ways: (i) the size of the extra dimensions is fixed by the observed value of the Dark Energy density, making it impossible to shorten the range over which new deviations from Newton's law must be seen; (ii) supersymmetry predicts there to be more fields in the extra dimensions than just gravity, implying different types of couplings to matter and the possibility of repulsive as well as attractive interactions; and (iii) the same mechanism which is purported to keep the cosmological constant naturally small also keeps the extra-dimensional moduli effectively massless, leading to deviations from General Relativity in the far infrared of the scalar-tensor form. We here explore the deviations from Newton's Law which are predicted over micron distances, and show the ways in which they differ and resemble those in the non-supersymmetric case.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2005

MSLED, Neutrino Oscillations and the Cosmological Constant

We explore the implications for neutrino masses and mixings within the minimal version of the supersymmetric large-extra-dimensions scenario (MSLED). This model was proposed in {\tt hep-ph/0404135} to extract the phenomenological implications of the promising recent attempt (in {\tt hep-th/0304256}) to address the cosmological constant problem. Remarkably, we find that the simplest couplings between brane and bulk fermions within this approach can lead to a phenomenologically-viable pattern of neutrino masses and mixings that is also consistent with the supernova bounds which are usually the bane of extra-dimensional neutrino models. Under certain circumstances the MSLED scenario can lead to a lepton mixing (PMNS) matrix close to the so-called bi-maximal or the tri-bimaximal forms (which are known to provide a good description of the neutrino oscillation data). We discuss the implications of MSLED models for neutrino phenomenology.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2005

Multiple Inflation, Cosmic String Networks and the String Landscape

Motivated by the string landscape we examine scenarios for which inflation is a two-step process, with a comparatively short inflationary epoch near the string scale and a longer period at a much lower energy (like the TeV scale). We quantify the number of $e$-foldings of inflation which are required to yield successful inflation within this picture. The constraints are very sensitive to the equation of state during the epoch between the two inflationary periods, as the extra-horizon modes can come back inside the horizon and become reprocessed. We find that the number of $e$-foldings during the first inflationary epoch can be as small as 12, but only if the inter-inflationary period is dominated by a network of cosmic strings (such as might be produced if the initial inflationary period is due to the brane-antibrane mechanism). In this case a further 20 $e$-foldings of inflation would be required at lower energies to solve the late universe's flatness and horizon problems.

hep-th↗

arXiv2005

Casimir Energies for 6D Supergravities Compactified on T_2/Z_N with Wilson Lines

We compute (as functions of the shape and Wilson-line moduli) the one-loop Casimir energy induced by higher-dimensional supergravities compactified from 6D to 4D on 2-tori, and on some of their Z_N orbifolds. Detailed calculations are given for a 6D scalar field having an arbitrary 6D mass m, and we show how to extend these results to higher-spin fields for supersymmetric 6D theories. Particular attention is paid to regularization issues and to the identification of the divergences of the potential, as well as the dependence of the result on m, including limits for which m^2 A<< 1 and m^2 A>> 1 where A is the volume of the internal 2 dimensions. Our calculation extends those in the literature to very general boundary conditions for fields about the various cycles of these geometries. The results have potential applications towards Supersymmetric Large Extra Dimensions (SLED) as a theory of the Dark Energy. First, they provide an explicit calculation within which to follow the dependence of the result on the mass of the bulk states which travel within the loop, and for heavy masses these results bear out the more general analysis of the UV-sensitivity obtained using heat-kernel methods. Second, because the potentials we find describe the dynamics of the classical flat directions of these compactifications, within SLED they would describe the present-day dynamics of the Dark Energy.

hep-th↗

arXiv2005

Warped Reheating in Brane-Antibrane Inflation

We examine how reheating occurs after brane-antibrane inflation in warped geometries, such as those which have recently been considered for Type IIB string vacua. We adopt the standard picture that the energy released by brane annihilation is dominantly dumped into massive bulk (closed-string) modes which eventually cascade down into massless particles, but argue that the this need not mean that the result is mostly gravitons with negligible visible radiation on the Standard Model brane. We show that if the inflationary throat is not too strongly warped, and if the string coupling is sufficiently weak, then a significant fraction of the energy density from annihilation will be deposited on the Standard Model brane, even if it is separated from the inflationary throat by being in some more deeply warped throat. This is due to the exponential growth of the massive Kaluza-Klein wave functions toward the infrared ends of the throats. We argue that the possibility of this process removes a conceptual obstacle to the construction of multi-throat models, wherein inflation occurs in a different throat than the one in which the Standard Model brane resides. Such multi-throat models are desirable because they can help to reconcile the scale of inflation with the supersymmetry breaking scale on the Standard Model brane, and because they can allow cosmic strings to be sufficiently long-lived to be observable during the present epoch.

hep-th↗

arXiv2005

UV Sensitivity in Supersymmetric Large Extra Dimensions: The Ricci-flat Case

We examine the ultraviolet (UV)-sensitive part of the one-loop Casimir energy which is induced when various higher-dimensional supergravities are compactified to 4D on extra dimensions which are Ricci flat, but otherwise arbitrary. We identify the leading dependence on the mass of very massive higher-dimensional modes, as well as the UV divergent part of the contributions of modes which are massless in the higher-dimensional sense (but which consist of a KK tower of massive modes from the 4D perspective), and show how these are constrained by higher-dimensional general covariance. Some of the implications of co-dimension 2 branes are computed in the limit where their tension is small compared with the extra-dimensional Planck scale (but not small compared with the observed dark energy). Our results support the interpretation of supersymmetric large extra dimensions (SLED) in 6 dimensions as a potential solution to the cosmological constant problem (but do not yet completely clinch the case).

hep-th↗

arXiv2004

MSLED: A Minimal Supersymmetric Large Extra Dimensions Scenario

We propose a framework for the low-energy realization of supersymmetry which is very predictive, but differs radically in its phenomenological implications from the supersymmetric Standard Model (minimal or otherwise). The proposal consists of a supersymmetric version of the Large-Extra-Dimensions scenario, with the Standard Model living on a 3-brane, coupled to a bulk sector consisting of six-dimensional supergravity. This picture is motivated by a promising recent attempt (hep-th/0304256) to naturally understand the observed dark energy density, and this connection with dark energy prevents making the extra dimensions smaller than of order 5 $μ$m. The resulting inability to change this size makes the model very predictive, and easily falsifiable within the near future. Being supersymmetric, it may plausibly be embedded into a more fundamental theory such as string theory, in which case an additional 4 compact dimensions may also be present having inverse radii at the TeV scale or higher. The model is close to, but consistent with, current experimental constraints. We outline possible phenomenological implications for particle physics (both at accelerators and elsewhere), for precision tests of gravity, for astrophysics and for cosmology.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2004

Racetrack Inflation

We develop a model of eternal topological inflation using a racetrack potential within the context of type IIB string theory with KKLT volume stabilization. The inflaton field is the imaginary part of the Kähler structure modulus, which is an axion-like field in the 4D effective field theory. This model does not require moving branes, and in this sense it is simpler than other models of string theory inflation. Contrary to single-exponential models, the structure of the potential in this example allows for the existence of saddle points between two degenerate local minima for which the slow-roll conditions can be satisfied in a particular range of parameter space. We conjecture that this type of inflation should be present in more general realizations of the modular landscape. We also consider `irrational' models having a dense set of minima, and discuss their possible relevance for the cosmological constant problem.

hep-th↗

arXiv2004

Towards a Natural Theory of Dark Energy: Supersymmetric Large Extra Dimensions

The first part of this article summarizes the evidence for Dark Energy and Dark Matter, as well as the naturalness issues which plague current theories of Dark Energy. The main point of this part is to argue why these naturalness issues should provide the central theoretical guidance for the search for a successful theory. The second part of the article describes the present status of what I regard as being the best mechanism yet proposed for addressing this issue: Six-dimensional Supergravity with submillimetre-sized Extra Dimensions (Supersymmetric Large Extra Dimensions, or SLED for short). Besides summarizing the SLED proposal itself, this section also describes the tests which this model has passed, the main criticisms which have been raised, and the remaining challenges which remain to be checked. The bottom line is that the proposal survives the tests which have been completed to date, and predicts several distinctive experimental signatures for cosmology, tests of gravity and for accelerator-based particle physics.

hep-th↗

arXiv2004

General Axisymmetric Solutions and Self-Tuning in 6D Chiral Gauged Supergravity

We re-examine the properties of the axially-symmetric solutions to chiral gauged 6D supergravity, recently found in refs. hep-th/0307238 and hep-th/0308064. Ref. hep-th/0307238 finds the most general solutions having two singularities which are maximally-symmetric in the large 4 dimensions and which are axially-symmetric in the internal dimensions. We show that not all of these solutions have purely conical singularities at the brane positions, and that not all singularities can be interpreted as being the bulk geometry sourced by neutral 3-branes. The subset of solutions for which the metric singularities are conical precisely agree with the solutions of ref. hep-th/0308064. Establishing this connection between the solutions of these two references resolves a minor conflict concerning whether or not the tensions of the resulting branes must be negative. The tensions can be both negative and positive depending on the choice of parameters. We discuss the physical interpretation of the non-conical solutions, including their significance for the proposal for using 6-dimensional self-tuning to understand the small size of the observed vacuum energy. In passing we briefly comment on a recent paper by Garriga and Porrati which criticizes the realization of self-tuning in 6D supergravity.

hep-th↗

arXiv2004

Inflationary String Theory?

The inflationary paradigm provides a robust description of the peculiar initial conditions which are required for the success of the Hot Big Bang model of cosmology, as well as of the recent precision measurements of temperature fluctuations within the cosmic microwave background. Furthermore, the success of this description indicates that inflation is likely to be associated with physics at energies considerably higher than the weak scale, for which string theory is arguably our most promising candidate. These observations strongly motivate a detailed search for inflation within string theory, although it has (so far) proven to be a hunt for a fairly elusive quarry. This article summarizes some of the recent efforts along these lines, and draws some speculative conclusions as to what the difficulty finding inflation might mean.

hep-th↗

arXiv2004

Regular S-Brane Backgrounds

We construct time-dependent S-brane solutions to the supergravity field equations in various dimensions which (unlike most such geometries) do not contain curvature singularities. The configurations we consider are less symmetric than are earlier solutions, with our simplest solution being obtained by a simple analytical continuation of the Kerr geometry. We discuss in detail the global structure and properties of this background. We then generalize it to higher dimensions and to include more complicated field configurations - like non vanishing scalars and antisymmetric tensor gauge potentials - by the usual artifice of applying duality symmetries.

hep-th↗

arXiv2004

Dimensionless Coupling of Bulk Scalars at the LHC

We identify the lowest-dimension interaction which is possible between Standard Model brane fields and bulk scalars in 6 dimensions. The lowest-dimension interaction is unique and involves a trilinear coupling between the Standard Model Higgs and the bulk scalar. Because this interaction has a dimensionless coupling, it depends only logarithmically on ultraviolet mass scales and heavy physics need not decouple from it. We compute its influence on Higgs physics at ATLAS and identify how large a coupling can be detected at the LHC. Besides providing a potentially interesting signal in Higgs searches, such couplings provide a major observational constraint on 6D large-extra-dimensional models with scalars in the bulk.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2004

Supersymmetric Large Extra Dimensions

This article summarizes the proposal to address the cosmological constant problem within the framework of supersymmetric large extra dimensions (SLED). The proposed mechanism is described, emphasizing the relaxation mechanism which ensures that low-energy particles like the electron do not contribute too large a vacuum energy. This is followed by a preliminary discussion of outstanding issues and observational consequences.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2004

Effective Actions, Boundaries and Precision Calculations of Casimir Energies

We perform the matching required to compute the leading effective boundary contribution to the QED lagrangian in the presence of a conducting surface, once the electron is integrated out. Our result resolves a confusion in the literature concerning the interpretation of the leading such correction to the Casimir energy. It also provides a useful theoretical laboratory for brane-world calculations in which kinetic terms are generated on the brane, since a lot is known about QED near boundaries.

hep-th↗

arXiv2004

Inflation in Realistic D-Brane Models

We find successful models of D-brane/anti-brane inflation within a string context. We work within the GKP-KKLT class of type IIB string vacua for which many moduli are stabilized through fluxes, as recently modified to include `realistic' orbifold sectors containing standard-model type particles. We allow all moduli to roll when searching for inflationary solutions and find that inflation is not generic inasmuch as special choices must be made for the parameters describing the vacuum. But given these choices inflation can occur for a reasonably wide range of initial conditions for the brane and antibrane. We find that D-terms associated with the orbifold blowing-up modes play an important role in the inflationary dynamics. Since the models contain a standard-model-like sector after inflation, they open up the possibility of addressing reheating issues. We calculate predictions for the CMB temperature fluctuations and find that these can be consistent with observations, but are generically not deep within the scale-invariant regime and so can allow appreciable values for $dn_s/d\ln k$ as well as predicting a potentially observable gravity-wave signal. It is also possible to generate some admixture of isocurvature fluctuations.

hep-th↗

arXiv2004

Supersymmetric Large Extra Dimensions and the Cosmological Constant: An Update

This article critically reviews the proposal for addressing the cosmological constant problem within the framework of supersymmetric large extra dimensions (SLED), as recently proposed in hep-th/0304256. After a brief restatement of the cosmological constant problem, a short summary of the proposed mechanism is given. The emphasis is on the perspective of the low-energy effective theory in order to see how it addresses the problem of why low-energy particles like the electron do not contribute too large a vacuum energy. This is followed by a discussion of the main objections, which are grouped into the following five topics: (1) Weinberg's No-Go Theorem. (2) Are hidden tunings of the theory required, and a problem? (3) Why should the mechanism not rule out earlier epochs of inflation? (4) How big are quantum effects, and which are the most dangerous? (5) Can the mechanism be consistent with cosmological constraints? It is argued that there are plausible reasons why the mechanism can thread the potential objections, but that a definitive proof that it does depends on addressing well-defined technical points. These points include identifying what fixes the size of the extra dimensions, checking how topological obstructions renormalize and performing specific calculations of quantum corrections. More detailed studies of these issues, which are well reach within our present understanding of extra-dimensional theories, are currently underway. As such, the jury remains out concerning the proposal, although the prospects for acquittal still seem good.

hep-th↗

arXiv2004

Phenomenological Constraints on Extra-Dimensional Scalars

We examine whether the ATLAS detector has sensitivity to extra-dimensional scalars (as opposed to components of higher-dimensional tensors which look like 4D scalars), in scenarios having the extra-dimensional Planck scale in the TeV range and $n \ge 2$ nonwarped extra dimensions. Such scalars appear as partners of the graviton in virtually all higher-dimensional supersymmetric theories. Using the scalar's lowest-dimensional effective couplings to quarks and gluons, we compute the rate for the production of a hard jet together with missing energy. We find a nontrivial range of graviscalar couplings to which ATLAS could be sensitive, with experiments being more sensitive to couplings to gluons than to quarks. Graviscalar emission increases the missing-energy signal by adding to graviton production, and so complicates the inference of the extra-dimensional Planck scale from an observed rate. Because graviscalar differential cross sections resemble those for gravitons, it is unlikely that these can be experimentally distinguished from one another should a missing energy signal be observed.

hep-ph↗