arXiv subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Hans Peter Nilles.
We provide a simple example of dilaton stabilization in the framework of heterotic string theory. It requires a gaugino condensate and an up-lifting sector similar to the one postulated in type IIB string theory. Its signature is a hybrid mediation of supersymmetry breakdown with a variant of a mirage pattern for the soft breaking terms. The set-up is suited for the discussion of heterotic MSSM candidates.
Supersymmetry breakdown via gaugino condensation in heterotic string theory can lead to models with a doubly suppressed gravitino mass. A TeV scale gravitino can emerge from a condensate as large as the grand unified scale. We analyze the properties of these models and discuss applications for particle physics and cosmology.
In a previous paper, referred to as a "Mini-Landscape" search, we explored a "fertile patch" of the heterotic landscape based on a Z6-II orbifold with SO(10) and E6 local GUT structures. In the present paper we extend this analysis. We find many models with the minimal supersymmetric standard model spectra and an exact R parity. In all of these models, the vector-like exotics decouple along D flat directions. We present two "benchmark" models which satisfy many of the constraints of a realistic supersymmetric model, including non-trivial Yukawa matrices for 3 families of quarks and leptons and Majorana neutrino masses for right-handed neutrinos with non-trivial See-Saw masses for the 3 light neutrinos. In an appendix we comment on the important issue of string selection rules and in particular the so-called "gamma-rule".
Gauginos might play a crucial role in the search for supersymmetry at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). Mass predictions for gauginos are rather robust and often related to the values of the gauge couplings. We analyse the ratios of gaugino masses in the LHC energy range for various schemes of supersymmetry breakdown and mediation. Three distinct mass patterns emerge.
We study the origin of non-Abelian discrete flavor symmetries in superstring theory. We classify all possible non-Abelian discrete flavor symmetries which can appear in heterotic orbifold models. These symmetries include D_4 and Delta(54). We find that the symmetries of the couplings are always larger than the symmetries of the compact space. This is because they are a consequence of the geometry of the orbifold combined with the space group selection rules of the string. We also study possible breaking patterns. Our analysis yields a simple geometric understanding of the realization of non-Abelian flavor symmetries.
In the context of flux compactifications, metastable vacua with a small positive cosmological constant are obtained by combining a sector where supersymmetry is broken dynamically with the sector responsible for moduli stabilization, which is known as the F-uplifting. We analyze this procedure in a model-independent way and study phenomenological properties of the resulting vacua.
We explore a ``fertile patch'' of the heterotic landscape based on a Z_6-II orbifold with SO(10) and E_6 local GUT structures. We search for models allowing for the exact MSSM spectrum. Our result is that of order 100 out of a total 3\times 10^4 inequivalent models satisfy this requirement.
We give a complete classification of Z_N orbifold compactification of the heterotic SO(32) string theory and show its potential for realistic model building. The appearance of spinor representations of SO(2n) groups is analyzed in detail. We conclude that the heterotic SO(32) string constitutes an interesting part of the string landscape both in view of model constructions and the question of heterotic-type I duality.
Consistent uplifting of AdS vacua in string theory often requires extra light degrees of freedom in addition to those of a (Kaehler) modulus. Here we consider the possibility that de Sitter and Minkowski vacua arise due to hidden sector matter interactions. We find that, in this scheme, the hierarchically small supersymmetry breaking scale can be explained by the scale of gaugino condensation and that interesting patterns of the soft terms arise. In particular, a matter-dominated supersymmetry breaking scenario and a version of the mirage mediation scheme appear in the framework of spontaneously broken supergravity.
We study spontaneous gauge symmetry breaking in the framework of orbifold compactifcations of heterotic string theory. In particular we investigate the electroweak symmetry breakdown via the Higgs mechanism. Such a breakdown can be achieved by continuous Wilson lines. Exploiting the geometrical properties of this scheme we develop a new technique which simplifies the analysis used in previous discussions.
Recent progress in string theory moduli stabilization has motivated a mixed modulus-anomaly mediated supersymmetry breaking scenario, also dubbed `mirage mediation'. This scenario has a number of phenomenologically attractive features, in particular with respect to the cosmological gravitino/moduli problem. In this note, we investigate the issues of fine-tuning associated with obtaining the correct electroweak symmetry breaking scale in the mirage mediation scenario. We find that, due to lighter gluinos, the fine-tuning is smaller than that in other mediation mechanisms.
Flux compactifications of string theory seem to require the presence of a fine-tuned constant in the superpotential. We discuss a scheme where this constant is replaced by a dynamical quantity which we argue to be a `continuous Chern--Simons term'. In such a scheme, the gaugino condensate generates the hierarchically small scale of supersymmetry breakdown rather than adjusting its size to a constant. A crucial ingredient is the appearance of the hierarchically small quantity exp(- ) which corresponds to the scale of gaugino condensation. Under rather general circumstances, this leads to a scenario of moduli stabilization, which is endowed with a hierarchy between the mass of the lightest modulus, the gravitino mass and the scale of the soft terms, m_modulus ~ m_3/2 ~ ^2 m_soft. The `little hierarchy' is given by the logarithm of the ratio of the Planck scale and the gravitino mass, ~ log(M_Pl/m_3/2) ~ 4pi^2. This exhibits a new mediation scheme of supersymmetry breakdown, called mirage mediation. We highlight the special properties of the scheme, and their consequences for phenomenology and cosmology.
We examine the structure of soft supersymmetry breaking terms in KKLT models of flux compactification with low energy supersymmetry. Moduli are stabilized by fluxes and nonperturbative dynamics while a de Sitter vacuum is obtained by adding supersymmetry breaking anti-branes. We discuss the characteristic pattern of mass scales in such a set-up as well as some features of 4D N=1 supergravity breakdown by anti-branes. Anomaly mediation is found to always give an important contribution and one can easily arrange for flavor-independent soft terms. In its most attractive realization, the modulus mediation is comparable to the anomaly mediation, yielding a quite distinctive sparticle spectrum. In addition, the axion component of the modulus/dilaton superfield dynamically cancels the relative CP phase between the contributions of anomaly and modulus mediation, thereby avoiding dangerous SUSY CP violation.
We show how one can obtain geometric scaling properties from the Balitsky-Kovchegov (BK) equation. We start by explaining how, this property arises for the b-independent BK equation. We show that it is possible to extend this model to the full BK equation including momentum transfer. The saturation scale behaves like max(q,Q_T) where q is the momentum transfer and Q_T a typical scale of the target.
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.
If the inflaton is a pseudo-scalar axion, the axion shift symmetry can protect the flatness of its potential from too large radiative corrections. This possibility, known as natural inflation, requires an axion scale which is greater than the (reduced) Planck scale. It is unclear whether such a high value is compatible with an effective field theoretical description, and if the global axionic symmetry survives quantum gravity effects. We propose a mechanism which provides an effective large axion scale, although the original one is sub-Planckian. The mechanism is based on the presence of two axions, with a potential provided by two anomalous gauge groups. The effective large axion scale is due to an almost exact symmetry between the couplings of the axions to the anomalous groups. We also comment on a possible implementation in heterotic string theory.
Orbifold compactification of heterotic E8 x E8 string theory is a source for promising grand unified model building. It can accommodate the successful aspects of grand unification while avoiding problems like doublet-triplet splitting in the Higgs sector. Many of the phenomenological properties of the 4-dimensional effective theory find an explanation through the geometry of compact space and the location of matter and Higgs fields. These geometrical properties can be used as a guideline for realistic model building.
We review the mechanism of gaugino condensation in the framework of the $d=10$ heterotic string and its $d=11$ extension of Horava and Witten. In particular we emphasize the relation between the gaugino condensate and the flux of the antisymmetric tensor fields of higher dimensional supergravity. Its potential role for supersymmetry breakdown and moduli stabilization is investigated.