arXiv subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Howard Georgi.
The peculiar propagator of scale invariant unparticles has phases that produce unusual patterns of interference with standard model processes. We illustrate some of these effects in $e^+e^-\toμ^+μ^-$.
I discuss some simple aspects of the low-energy physics of a nontrivial scale invariant sector of an effective field theory -- physics that cannot be described in terms of particles. I argue that it is important to take seriously the possibility that the unparticle stuff described by such a theory might actually exist in our world. I suggest a scenario in which some details of the production of unparticle stuff can be calculated. I find that in the appropriate low energy limit, unparticle stuff with scale dimension $d_{\mathcal{U}}$ looks like a non-integral number $d_{\mathcal{U}}$ of invisible particles. Thus dramatic evidence for a nontrivial scale invariant sector could show up experimentally in missing energy distributions.
{I construct a renormalizable $SU(2)^{89}\times U(1)$ gauge theory with standard-model-like phenomenology for the gauge bosons masses and the weak interactions of the light fermions (including the $b$) but in which all vacuum expectation values are about 2 TeV. This is a deconstructed version of a Higgsless model with a flat extra dimension. The fermions are delocalized on the theory space in an unusual way, with LH and RD fermions on alternate nodes.
Motivated by recent works on ``Higgsless theories,'' I discuss an $SU(2)_0\times SU(2)^{N}\times U(1)$ gauge theory with arbitrary bifundamental (or custodial SU(2) preserving) symmetry breaking between the gauge subgroups and with ordinary matter transforming only under the U(1) and $SU(2)_0$. When the couplings, $g_j$, of the other SU(2)s are very large, this reproduces the standard model at the tree level. I calculate the $W$ and $Z$ masses and other electroweak parameters in a perturbative expansion in $1/g_j^2$, and give physical interpretations of the results in a mechanical analog built out of masses and springs. In the mechanical analog, it is clear that even for arbitrary patterns of symmetry breaking, it is not possible (in the perturbative regime) to raise the Higgs mass by a large factor while keeping the $S$ parameter small.
We discuss exact results for the full nonperturbative effective superpotentials of four dimensional $\mathcal{N}=1$ supersymmetric U(N) gauge theories with additional chiral superfield in the adjoint representation and the free energies of the related zero dimensional bosonic matrix models with polynomial potentials in the planar limit using the Dijkgraaf-Vafa matrix model prescription and integrating in and out. The exact effective superpotentials are produced including the leading Veneziano-Yankielowicz term directly from the matrix models. We also discuss how to use integrating in and out as a tool to do random matrix integrals in the large $N$ limit.
We summarize our findings on the quantum moduli constraints and superpotentials of an infinite family of moose extensions of $n_f = n_c$ SUSY QCD. For $n_c=2$, we perform concrete calculations using traditional integrating out techniques as well as Intriligator's ``integrating in'' technique. Checking the constraints and superpotentials in the limits of setting $Λ$'s to zero or integrating out mass terms, we find that the quantum moduli constraints are local in theory space and are equivalent to a consistent structure of ``splitting relations'' amongst the different theories. Extending the results to arbitrary $n_c$, we show that the splitting relations, along with a set of rules for flowing from a high energy theory to a low energy theory, incorporate much of the physics of the moose chain. The relations can be used both to simplify perturbative calculations of symmetry breaking and to incorporate nonperturbative effects.
We introduce a technique for restoring general coordinate invariance into theories where it is explicitly broken. This is the analog for gravity of the Callan-Coleman-Wess-Zumino formalism for gauge theories. We use this to elucidate the properties of interacting massless and massive gravitons. For a single graviton with a Planck scale Mpl and a mass mg, we find that there is a sensible effective field theory which is valid up to a high-energy cutoff Lambda parametrically above mg. Our methods allow for a transparent understanding of the many peculiarities associated with massive gravitons, among them the need for the Fierz-Pauli form of the Lagrangian, the presence or absence of the van Dam-Veltman-Zakharov discontinuity in general backgrounds, and the onset of non-linear effects and the breakdown of the effective theory at large distances from heavy sources. The natural sizes of all non-linear corrections beyond the Fierz-Pauli term are easily determined. The cutoff scales as Lambda ~ (mg^4 Mpl)^(1/5) for the Fierz-Pauli theory, but can be raised to Lambda ~ (mg^2 Mpl)^(1/3) in certain non-linear extensions. Having established that these models make sense as effective theories, there are a number of new avenues for exploration, including model building with gravity in theory space and constructing gravitational dimensions.
We present examples of four dimensional, non-supersymmetric field theories in which ultraviolet supersymmetry breaking effects, such as bose-fermi splittings and the vacuum energy, are suppressed by $(α/4 π)^{N}$, where $α$ is a weak coupling factor and $N$ can be made arbitrarily large. The particle content and interactions of these models are conveniently represented by a graph with sites and links, describing the gauge theory space structure. While the theories are supersymmetric ``locally'' in theory space, supersymmetry can be explicitly broken by topological obstructions.
We construct four dimensional gauge theories in which the successful supersymmetric unification of gauge couplings is preserved but accelerated by N-fold replication of the MSSM gauge and Higgs structure. This results in a low unification scale of $10^{13/N}$ TeV.
We propose a new class of four-dimensional theories for natural electroweak symmetry breaking, relying neither on supersymmetry nor on strong dynamics at the TeV scale. The new TeV physics is perturbative, and radiative corrections to the Higgs mass are finite. The softening of this mass occurs because the Higgs is an extended object in theory space, resulting in an accidental symmetry. A novel Higgs potential emerges naturally, requiring a second light SU(2) doublet scalar.
We construct renormalizable, asymptotically free, four dimensional gauge theories that dynamically generate a fifth dimension.
We discuss the form of the chiral anomaly on an S1/Z2 orbifold with chiral boundary conditions. We find that the 4-divergence of the higher-dimensional current evaluated at a given point in the extra dimension is proportional to the probability of finding the chiral zero mode there. Nevertheless the anomaly, appropriately defined as the five dimensional divergence of the current, lives entirely on the orbifold fixed planes and is independent of the shape of the zero mode. Therefore long distance four dimensional anomaly cancellation ensures the consistency of the higher dimensional orbifold theory.
We compute loop corrections to the effective action of a field theory on a five-dimensional $S_1/Z_2$ orbifold. We find that the quantum loop effects of interactions in the bulk produce infinite contributions that require renormalization by four-dimensional couplings on the orbifold fixed planes. Thus bulk couplings give rise to renormalization group running of brane couplings.
We note that orbifold boundary conditions that produce chiral fermion zero modes in compactified higher dimensional theories may distort scalar field vacuum expectation values, giving rise to nontrivial dependence on the extra dimensions. We illustrate this in a simple five dimensional model which has chiral fermion zero-modes stuck to fat branes. The model could provide a simple and explicit realization of the separation of quarks and leptons in the fifth dimension. We discuss the KK expansion in some detail. We find that there are in general non-zero-mode states stuck to the brane, like the chiral zero modes. We see explicitly the transition from states dominated by the internal structure of the fat brane to those dominated by the compactification.
We discuss an alternative to the topcolor seesaw mechanism. In our scheme, all the light quarks carry topcolor, and there are many composite SU(2) doublets. This makes it possible to get the observed top quark mass and observed $SU(2) \times U(1)$ breaking in a way that is quite different from the classic seesaw mechanism. We discuss a model of this kind that arises naturally in the context of dynamically broken topcolor. There are many composite scalars in a theory of this kind. This has important effects on the Pagels-Stokar relation and the Higgs mass. We find $m_{\rm Higgs} < 330$ GeV, lighter than in typical topcolor models. We also show that the electroweak singlet quarks in such a model can be lighter than the corresponding quarks in a seesaw model.
The top quark seesaw mechanism offers a method for constructing a composite Higgs field without the usual difficulties that accompany traditional technicolor or topcolor theories. The focus of this article is to study the phenomenology of the new physics required by this mechanism. After establishing a set of criteria for a plausible top quark seesaw theory, we develop two models, the first of which has a heavy weak singlet fermion with hypercharge 4/3 while the second has, in addition, a heavy weak singlet hypercharge -2/3 fermion. At low energies, these theories contain one or two Higgs doublets respectively. We then derive the low energy effective Higgs potential in detail for the two-doublet theory as well as study the likely experimental signatures for both theories. A strong constraint on the one-doublet model is the measured value of the rho parameter which permits the new heavy fermion to have a mass of about 5-7 TeV, when the Higgs has a mass greater than 300 GeV. In the two-doublet model, mixing of the new heavy Y=-2/3 fermion and the b quark affects the prediction for R_b. In order to agree with the current limits on R_b, the mass of this fermion should be at least 12 TeV. The mass of the heavy Y=4/3 fermion in the two-doublet model is not as sharply constrained by experiments and can be as light as 2.5 TeV.
We analyze a model of dynamically broken topcolor in the limit in which the number of colors is large. We show that the second order nature of the phase transition, necessary for the success of topcolor models, passes the nontrivial check of consistency with the large N limit. We also identify and discuss a class of theories that generalizes the topcolor phenomenon to a theory with a richer structure of fermions and global symmetries.
Observations of atmospheric neutrinos offer compelling evidence that neutrinos have mass and do oscillate. Preliminary data are compatible with maximal $ν_μ$--$ν_τ$ mixing, but not with pure $ν_μ$--$ν_e$ mixing. In a general three-family scenario with just one relevant squared-mass difference, atmospheric neutrino oscillations involve two mixing angles. The special cases mentioned above are not favored by convincing theoretical arguments. As more precise data are accumulated, both at Superkamiokande and at proposed or ongoing long-baseline experiments, it will become feasible and desirable to measure both angles. To this end, we offer a brief portfolio of illustrations from which the qualitative effects of the two mixing angles on various observable quantities can be discerned.