arXiv subjects

J. Terning

Publications and source records attributed to J. Terning.

16 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2013

A Naturally Light Dilaton and a Small Cosmological Constant

We present a non-supersymmetric theory with a naturally light dilaton. It is based on a 5D holographic description of a conformal theory perturbed by a close-to-marginal operator of dimension 4-epsilon, which develops a condensate. As long as the dimension of the perturbing operator remains very close to marginal (even for large couplings) a stable minimum at hierarchically small scales is achieved, where the dilaton mass squared is suppressed by epsilon. At the same time the cosmological constant in this sector is also suppressed by epsilon, and thus parametrically smaller than in a broken SUSY theory. As a byproduct we also present an exact solution to the scalar-gravity system that can be interpreted as a new holographic realization of spontaneously broken conformal symmetry. Even though this metric deviates substantially from AdS space in the deep IR it still describes a non-linearly realized exactly conformal theory. We also display the effective potential for the dilaton for arbitrary holographic backgrounds.

hep-th↗

arXiv2008

Dimensions of Supersymmetric Operators from AdS/CFT

We examine the AdS/CFT correspondence through a manifestly 5D supersymmetric formalism, corresponding to a 4D N=1 supersymmetric CFT. We find that the dimensions of scalar and fermionic component operators are simply related, and that there is a smooth transition of scalar operator dimensions through the value d_s = 2. By using this formalism, we also show that the formula used in the string literature for the dimension of fermion operators is incomplete.

hep-th↗

arXiv2007

A GIM Mechanism from Extra Dimensions

We explore how to protect extra dimensional models from large flavor changing neutral currents by using bulk and brane flavor symmetries. We show that a GIM mechanism can be built in to warped space models such as Randall-Sundrum or composite Higgs models if flavor mixing is introduced via UV brane kinetic mixings for right handed quarks. We give a realistic implementation both for a model with minimal flavor violation and one with next-to-minimal flavor violation. The latter does not suffer from a CP problem. We consider some of the existing experimental constraints on these models implied by precision electroweak tests.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2003

Fermions on an Interval: Quark and Lepton Masses without a Higgs

We consider fermions on an extra dimensional interval. We find the boundary conditions at the ends of the interval that are consistent with the variational principle, and explain which ones arise in various physical circumstances. We apply these results to higgsless models of electroweak symmetry breaking, where electroweak symmetry is not broken by a scalar vacuum expectation value, but rather by the boundary conditions of the gauge fields. We show that it is possible to find a set of boundary conditions for bulk fermions that would give a realistic fermion mass spectrum without the presence of a Higgs scalar, and present some sample fermion mass spectra for the standard model quarks and leptons as well as their resonances.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2003

Variations of Little Higgs Models and their Electroweak Constraints

We calculate the tree-level electroweak precision constraints on a wide class of little Higgs models including: variations of the Littlest Higgs SU(5)/SO(5), SU(6)/Sp(6), and SU(4)^4/SU(3)^4. By performing a global fit to the precision data we find that for generic regions of the parameter space the bound on the symmetry breaking scale f is several TeV, where we have kept the normalization of f constant in the different models. For example, the ``minimal'' implementation of SU(6)/Sp(6) is bounded by f>3.0 TeV throughout most of the parameter space, and SU(4)^4/SU(3)^4 is bounded by f^2 = f_1^2+f_2^2 > (4.2 TeV)^2. In certain models, such as SU(4)^4/SU(3)^4, a large f does not directly imply a large amount of fine tuning since the heavy fermion masses that contribute to the Higgs mass can be lowered below f for a carefully chosen set of parameters. We also find that for certain models (or variations) there exist regions of parameter space in which the bound on f can be lowered into the range 1-2 TeV. These regions are typically characterized by a small mixing between heavy and standard model gauge bosons, and a small (or vanishing) coupling between heavy U(1) gauge bosons and the light fermions. Whether such a region of parameter space is natural or not is ultimately contingent on the UV completion.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2003

Gauge Theories on an Interval: Unitarity without a Higgs

We consider extra dimensional gauge theories on an interval. We first review the derivation of the consistent boundary conditions (BC's) from the action principle. These BC's include choices that give rise to breaking of the gauge symmetries. The boundary conditions could be chosen to coincide with those commonly applied in orbifold theories, but there are many more possibilities. To investigate the nature of gauge symmetry breaking via BC's we calculate the elastic scattering amplitudes for longitudinal gauge bosons. We find that using a consistent set of BC's the terms in these amplitudes that explicitly grow with energy always cancel without having to introduce any additional scalar degree of freedom, but rather by the exchange of Kaluza--Klein (KK) gauge bosons. This suggests that perhaps the SM Higgs could be completely eliminated in favor of some KK towers of gauge fields. We show that from the low-energy effective theory perspective this seems to be indeed possible. We display an extra dimensional toy model, where BC's introduce a symmetry breaking pattern and mass spectrum that resembles that in the standard model.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2003

Big Corrections from a Little Higgs

We calculate the tree-level expressions for the electroweak precision observables in the SU(5)/SO(5) littlest Higgs model. The source for these corrections are the exchange of heavy gauge bosons, explicit corrections due to non-linear sigma-model dynamics and a triplet Higgs VEV. Weak isospin violating contributions are present because there is no custodial SU(2) global symmetry. The bulk of these weak isospin violating corrections arise from heavy gauge boson exchange while a smaller contribution comes from the triplet Higgs VEV. A global fit is performed to the experimental data and we find that throughout the parameter space the symmetry breaking scale is bounded by f > 4 TeV at 95% C.L. Stronger bounds on f are found for generic choices of the high energy gauge couplings. We find that even in the best case scenario one would need fine tuning of less than a percent to get a Higgs mass as light as 200 GeV.

hep-ph↗

arXiv1997

Strong Coupling Electroweak Symmetry Breaking

We review models of electroweak symmetry breaking due to new strong interactions at the TeV energy scale and discuss the prospects for their experimental tests. We emphasize the direct observation of the new interactions through high-energy scattering of vector bosons. We also discuss indirect probes of the new interactions and exotic particles predicted by specific theoretical models. [Working group summary report from the Snowmass `96 summer study, to appear in the proceedings.]

hep-ph↗

arXiv1996

Precision Electroweak Constraints on Top-Color Assisted Technicolor

Using precision electroweak data, we put limits on ``natural'' top-color assisted technicolor models. Generically the new $U(1)$ gauge bosons in these models must have masses larger than roughly 2 TeV, although in certain (seemingly unrealistic) models the bound can be much lower.

hep-ph↗

arXiv1995

Direct Tests of Dynamical Electroweak Symmetry Breaking

We review the connection between $m_t$ and the $Zb\bar b$ vertex in ETC models and discuss the resulting experimental constraint on models with weak-singlet ETC bosons. We mention several recent efforts to bring ETC models into agreement with this constraint, and explore the most promising one (non-commuting ETC) in detail.

hep-ph↗

arXiv1995

Testing Extended Technicolor With $R_b$

We review the connection between $m_t$ and the $Zb\bar b$ vertex in ETC models and demonstrate the power of the resulting experimental constraint on models with weak-singlet ETC bosons. Some efforts to bring ETC models into agreement with experimental data on the $Zb\bar b$ vertex are mentioned, and the most promising one (non-commuting ETC) is discussed in detail.

hep-ph↗

arXiv1995

Limits on Non-Commuting Extended Technicolor

Using precision electroweak data, we put limits on non-commuting extended technicolor models. We conclude that these models are viable only if the ETC interactions are strong. Interestingly, these models predict a pattern of deviations from the standard model which can fit the data significantly better than the standard model does, even after taking into account the extra parameters involved.

hep-ph↗

arXiv1995

Isospin Breaking and Fine Tuning in Top-Color Assisted Technicolor

Recently, Hill has proposed a model in which new, potentially low-energy, top-color interactions produce a top-condensate ({\em a la} Nambu---Jona-Lasinio) and accommodate a heavy top quark, while technicolor is responsible for producing the $W$ and $Z$ masses. Here we argue that isospin breaking gauge interactions, which are necessary in order to split the top and bottom quark masses, are likely to couple to technifermions. In this case they produce a significant shift in the $W$ and $Z$ masses (i.e.~contribute to $Δρ_* = αT$) if the scale of the new interactions is near 1 TeV. In order to satisfy experimental constraints on $Δρ_*$, we find that either the effective top quark coupling or the top-color coupling must be adjusted to 1\%. Independent of the couplings of the technifermions, we show that the isospin-splitting of the top and bottom quarks implies that the top-color gauge bosons must have masses larger than about 1.4 TeV. Our analysis can also be applied to strong extended technicolor (ETC) models that produce the top-bottom splitting via isospin breaking ETC interactions.

hep-ph↗

arXiv1994

Limits on the Ununified Standard Model

The ununified standard model is an extension of the standard model that contains separate electroweak gauge groups for quarks and leptons. When it was originally proposed, data allowed the new gauge bosons to be quite light. We use recent data from precision electroweak measurements to put stringent bounds on the ununified standard model. In particular, at the 95% confidence level, we find that the ununified gauge bosons must have masses above about 2 TeV.

hep-ph↗

arXiv1994

A Heavy Top Quark and the $Zb\bar{b}$ Vertex in Non-Commuting Extended Technicolor

We explore corrections to electroweak parameters in the context of Extended Technicolor (ETC) models in which the ETC gauge-boson which generates the top-quark mass carries weak $SU(2)$ charge. For $m_t \sim 150$ GeV there exist potentially large corrections to the $Z$ decay width to $b$-quarks. Interestingly, in contrast to the situation in ETC models where the gauge-boson which generates the top-quark mass is a weak $SU(2)$ singlet, the corrections may {\it increase} the $Z \to b \bar{b}$ branching ratio.

hep-ph↗

arXiv1993

Walking Technicolor And The $Zb\bar b$ Vertex

A slowly running technicolor coupling will affect the size of non-oblique corrections to the $Zb\bar b$ vertex from extended technicolor dynamics. We show that while ``walking technicolor'' reduces the magnitude of the corrections, they generally remain large enough to be seen at LEP.

hep-ph↗