arXiv subjects

John March-Russell

Publications and source records attributed to John March-Russell.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

arXiv1999

Logarithmic Unification From Symmetries Enhanced in the Sub-Millimeter Infrared

In theories with TeV string scale and sub-millimeter extra dimensions the attractive picture of logarithmic gauge coupling unification at $10^{16}$ GeV is seemingly destroyed. In this paper we argue to the contrary that logarithmic unification {\it can} occur in such theories. The rationale for unification is no longer that a gauge symmetry is restored at short distances, but rather that a geometric symmetry is restored at large distances in the bulk away from our 3-brane. The apparent `running' of the gauge couplings to energies far above the string scale actually arises from the logarithmic variation of classical fields in (sets of) two large transverse dimensions. We present a number of N=2 and N=1 supersymmetric D-brane constructions illustrating this picture for unification.

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arXiv1999

Early Inflation and Cosmology in Theories with Sub-Millimeter Dimensions

We discuss early cosmology in theories where the fundamental Planck mass is close to the TeV scale. In such theories the standard model fields are localized to a (3+1)-dimensional wall with n new transverse sub-millimeter sized spatial dimensions. The topic touched upon include: early inflation that occurs while the size of the new dimensions are still small, the spectrum and magnitude of density perturbations, the post-inflation era of contraction of our world while the internal dimensions evolve to their final ``large'' radius, and the production of gravitons in the bulk during these two eras. The radion moduli problem is also discussed.

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arXiv1999

Rapid Asymmetric Inflation and Early Cosmology in Theories with Sub-Millimeter Dimensions

It was recently pointed out that the fundamental Planck mass could be close to the TeV scale with the observed weakness of gravity at long distances being due the existence of new sub-millimeter spatial dimensions. In this picture the standard model fields are localized to a $(3+1)$-dimensional wall or ``3-brane''. We show that in such theories there exist attractive models of inflation that occur while the size of the new dimensions are still small. We show that it is easy to produce the required number of efoldings, and further that the density perturbations $δρ/ρ$ as measured by COBE can be easily reproduced, both in overall magnitude and in their approximately scale-invariant spectrum. In the minimal approach, the inflaton field is just the moduli describing the size of the internal dimensions, the role of the inflationary potential being played by the stabilizing potential of the internal space. We show that under quite general conditions, the inflationary era is followed by an epoch of contraction of our world on the brane, while the internal dimensions slowly expand to their stabilization radius. We find a set of exact solutions which describe this behavior, generalizing the well-known Kasner solutions. During this phase, the production of bulk gravitons remains suppressed. The period of contraction is terminated by the blue-shifting of Hawking radiation left on our wall at the end of the inflationary de Sitter phase. The temperature to which this is reheated is consistent with the normalcy bounds. We give a precise definition of the radion moduli problem.

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arXiv1998

Neutrino Masses from Large Extra Dimensions

Recently it was proposed that the standard model (SM) degrees of freedom reside on a $(3+1)$-dimensional wall or ``3-brane'' embedded in a higher-dimensional spacetime. Furthermore, in this picture it is possible for the fundamental Planck mass $\mst$ to be as small as the weak scale $\mst\simeq O(\tev)$ and the observed weakness of gravity at long distances is due the existence of new sub-millimeter spatial dimensions. We show that in this picture it is natural to expect neutrino masses to occur in the $10^{-1} - 10^{-4}\ev$ range, despite the lack of any fundamental scale higher than $\mst$. Such suppressed neutrino masses are not the result of a see-saw, but have intrinsically higher-dimensional explanations. We explore two possibilities. The first mechanism identifies any massless bulk fermions as right-handed neutrinos. These give naturally small Dirac masses for the same reason that gravity is weak at long distances in this framework. The second mechanism takes advantage of the large {\it infrared} desert: the space in the extra dimensions. Here, small Majorana neutrino masses are generated by breaking lepton number on distant branes.

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arXiv1998

CP Violation, Higgs Couplings, and Supersymmetry

Supersymmetric extensions of the standard model generically contain additional sources of CP violation. We discuss how at one loop a potentially large CP violating coupling of the lightest Higgs, h^0, to leptons is induced in the minimal supersymmetric standard model (MSSM). The CP violating couplings of h^0 in extensions of the MSSM, such as the next-to-minimal supersymmetric standard model (NMSSM) are also considered. We indicate how this CP violation might be observed; in particular a polarization-dependent production asymmetry, in the context of a muon collider, provides a means to access this coupling cleanly. In the MSSM, existing limits on the electric dipole moment (EDM) of the electron, coupled with standard universality assumptions, severly constrains any such signal. Nevertheless, extensions of the MSSM, such as the NMSSM, allow CP-violating signals as large as 100%.

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arXiv1998

Stabilization of Sub-Millimeter Dimensions: The New Guise of the Hierarchy Problem

A new framework for solving the hierarchy problem was recently proposed which does not rely on low energy supersymmetry or technicolor. The fundamental Planck mass is at a $\tev$ and the observed weakness of gravity at long distances is due the existence of new sub-millimeter spatial dimensions. In this picture the standard model fields are localized to a $(3+1)$-dimensional wall or ``3-brane''. The hierarchy problem becomes isomorphic to the problem of the largeness of the extra dimensions. This is in turn inextricably linked to the cosmological constant problem, suggesting the possibility of a common solution. The radii of the extra dimensions must be prevented from both expanding to too great a size, and collapsing to the fundamental Planck length $\tev^{-1}$. In this paper we propose a number of mechanisms addressing this question. We argue that a positive bulk cosmological constant $\barΛ$ can stabilize the internal manifold against expansion, and that the value of $\barΛ$ is not unstable to radiative corrections provided that the supersymmetries of string theory are broken by dynamics on our 3-brane. We further argue that the extra dimensions can be stabilized against collapse in a phenomenologically successful way by either of two methods: 1) Large, topologically conserved quantum numbers associated with higher-form bulk U(1) gauge fields, such as the naturally occurring Ramond-Ramond gauge fields, or the winding number of bulk scalar fields. 2) The brane-lattice-crystallization of a large number of 3-branes in the bulk. These mechanisms are consistent with theoretical, laboratory, and cosmological considerations such as the absence of large time variations in Newton's constant during and after primordial nucleosynthesis, and millimeter-scale tests of gravity.

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arXiv1998

Black Holes and Sub-millimeter Dimensions

Recently, a new framework for solving the hierarchy problem was proposed which does not rely on low energy supersymmetry or technicolor. The fundamental Planck mass is at a TeV and the observed weakness of gravity at long distances is due the existence of new sub-millimeter spatial dimensions. In this letter, we study how the properties of black holes are altered in these theories. Small black holes---with Schwarzschild radii smaller than the size of the new spatial dimensions---are quite different. They are bigger, colder, and longer-lived than a usual $(3+1)$-dimensional black hole of the same mass. Furthermore, they primarily decay into harmless bulk graviton modes rather than standard-model degrees of freedom. We discuss the interplay of our scenario with the holographic principle. Our results also have implications for the bounds on the spectrum of primordial black holes (PBHs) derived from the photo-dissociation of primordial nucleosynthesis products, distortion of the diffuse gamma-ray spectrum, overclosure of the universe, gravitational lensing, as well as the phenomenology of black hole production. For example, the bound on the spectral index of the primordial spectrum of density perturbations is relaxed from 1.25 to 1.45-1.60 depending on the epoch of the PBH formation. In these scenarios PBHs provide interesting dark matter candidates; for 6 extra dimensions MACHO candidates with mass $\sim 0.1M_\odot$ can arise. For 2 or 3 extra dimensions PBHs with mass $\sim 2000 M_\odot$ can occur and may act as both dark matter and seeds for early galaxy and QSO formation.

hep-th↗

arXiv1998

The Fayet-Iliopoulos term in Type-I string theory and M-theory

The magnitude of the Fayet-Iliopoulos term is calculated for compactifications of Type-I string theory and Horava-Witten M-theory in which there exists a pseudo-anomalous U(1)_X. Contrary to various conjectures, it is found that in leading order in the perturbative expansion around the weakly-coupled M-theory or Type-I limits, a result identical to that of the weakly-coupled E_8xE_8 heterotic string is obtained. The result is independent of the values chosen for the Type-I string scale or the size of the M-theory 11th dimension, only depending upon Newton's constant and the unified gauge coupling.

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arXiv1998

Supersymmetric D-term Inflation, Reheating and Affleck-Dine Baryogenesis

The phenomenology of supersymmetric models of inflation, where the inflationary vacuum energy is dominated by D-terms of a U(1), is investigated. Particular attention is paid to the questions of how to arrange for sufficient e-folds of inflation to occur, what kind of thermal history is expected after the end of inflation, and how to implement successful baryogenesis. Such models are argued to require a more restrictive symmetry structure than previously thought. In particular, it is non-trivial that the decays of the fields driving D-inflation can reheat the universe in such a way as to avoid the strong gravitino production constraints. We also show how the initial conditions for Affleck-Dine baryogenesis can arise in these models and that the simplest flat directions along which baryon number is generated can often be ruled out by the constraints coming from decoherence of the condensate in a hot environment. At the end, we find that successful reheating and baryogenesis can take place in a large subset of D-inflationary models.

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arXiv1997

Implications of Generalized Z-Z' Mixing

We discuss experimental implications of extending the gauge structure of the Standard Model to include an additional U(1) interaction broken at or near the weak scale. We work with the most general, renormalizable Lagrangian for the SU(2)\times U(1)\times U(1) sector, with emphasis on the phenomenon of gauge kinetic mixing between the two U(1) gauge fields, and do not restrict ourselves to any of the "canonical" Z' models often discussed in the literature. Low-energy processes and Z-pole precision measurements are specifically addressed.

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arXiv1997

Implications of a charged-current anomaly at HERA

We demonstrate that in the presence of mixing between different scalar leptoquark multiplets it is possible to simultaneously account for the HERA high-$Q^2$ neutral current anomaly, and produce a charged current anomaly of comparable magnitude. The reduced branching ratio to electrons and jets of the lightest leptoquark state results in a significant weakening of the CDF/D0 limits on scalar leptoquarks; masses consistent with the HERA neutral current excess are comfortably within the allowed range. We show that the possibilities for such a successful mixed leptoquark scenario are quite limited, and we investigate some aspects of their phenomenology.

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arXiv1997

Modified parton distributions and the HERA high-Q^2 anomaly

A recent proposal seeks to explain the anomaly in the HERA high-Q^2 neutral current e^+p data by modifying the parton distribution functions at moderate-to-high-x and large Q^2. We investigate the consequences of this proposal for the HERA high-Q^2 data itself, in the neutral current e^-p channel and especially in the charged current e^\pm p channels. We find that there are striking signatures in the charged current which already serve to rule out many possibilities, including the (symmetric) intrinsic charm hypothesis. For those not ruled out, interesting signals are predicted in e^-p scattering.

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arXiv1997

Kinetic Mixing and the Supersymmetric Gauge Hierarchy

The most general Lagrangian for a model with two U(1) gauge symmetries contains a renormalizable operator which mixes their gauge kinetic terms. Such kinetic mixing can be generated at arbitrarily high scales but will not be suppressed by large masses. In models whose supersymmetry (SUSY)-breaking hidden sectors contain U(1) gauge factors, we show that such terms will generically arise and communicate SUSY-breaking to the visible sector through mixing with hypercharge. In the context of the usual supergravity- or gauge-mediated communication scenarios with D-terms of order the fundamental scale of SUSY-breaking, this effect can destabilize the gauge hierarchy. Even in models for which kinetic mixing is suppressed or the D-terms are arranged to be small, this effect is a potentially large correction to the soft scalar masses and therefore introduces a new measurable low-energy parameter. We calculate the size of kinetic mixing both in field theory and in string theory, and argue that appreciable kinetic mixing is a generic feature of string models. We conclude that the possibility of kinetic mixing effects cannot be ignored in model-building and in phenomenological studies of the low-energy SUSY spectra.

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arXiv1997

Comments on the high-$Q^2$ HERA anomaly

Taking the reported high-Q^2 anomaly at HERA as a signal of new physics, we show that several independent considerations point towards s-channel leptoquark production as the most attractive interpretation. We argue that even this option is highly constrained by flavor-changing processes: the couplings must be accurately diagonal in the quark and lepton mass eigenstate basis and should preserve individual quark and lepton family numbers. We propose a dynamical mechanism that might produce this pattern; it has distinctive experimental consequences.

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arXiv1997

Realizing Higher-Level Gauge Symmetries in String Theory: New Embeddings for String GUTs

We consider the methods by which higher-level and non-simply laced gauge symmetries can be realized in free-field heterotic string theory. We show that all such realizations have a common underlying feature, namely a dimensional truncation of the charge lattice, and we identify such dimensional truncations with certain irregular embeddings of higher-level and non-simply laced gauge groups within level-one simply-laced gauge groups. This identification allows us to formulate a direct mapping between a given subgroup embedding, and the sorts of GSO constraints that are necessary in order to realize the embedding in string theory. This also allows us to determine a number of useful constraints that generally affect string GUT model-building. For example, most string GUT realizations of higher-level gauge symmetries G_k employ the so-called diagonal embeddings G_k\subset G\times G \times...\times G. We find that there exist interesting alternative embeddings by which such groups can be realized at higher levels, and we derive a complete list of all possibilities for the GUT groups SU(5), SU(6), SO(10), and E_6 at levels k=2,3,4 (and in some cases up to k=7). We find that these new embeddings are always more efficient and require less central charge than the diagonal embeddings which have traditionally been employed. As a byproduct, we also prove that it is impossible to realize SO(10) at levels k>4. This implies, in particular, that free-field heterotic string models can never give a massless 126 representation of SO(10).

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arXiv1997

Building Models Of Gauge Mediated Supersymmetry Breaking Without A Messenger Sector

We propose a general scheme for constructing models in which the Standard Model (SM) gauge interactions are the mediators of supersymmetry breaking to the fields in the supersymmetric SM, but where the SM gauge groups couple directly to the sector which breaks supersymmetry dynamically. Despite the direct coupling, the models preserve perturbative unification of the SM gauge coupling constants. Furthermore, the supergravity contributions to the squark and slepton masses can be naturally small, typically being much less than 1% of the gauge mediated contributions. Both of these goals can be achieved without need of a fine-tuning or a very small coupling constant. This scheme requires run-away directions at the renormalizable level which are only lifted by non-renormalizable terms in the superpotential. To study the proposed scheme in practice, we develop a modified class of models based on $SU(N)\times SU(N-1)$ which allows us to gauge a $SU(N-2)$ global symmetry. However, we point out a new problem which can exist in models where the dynamical supersymmetry breaking sector and the ordinary sector are directly coupled -- the two-loop renormalization group has contributions which can induce negative $(mass)^2$ for the squarks and sleptons. We clarify the origin of the problem and argue that it is likely to be surmountable. We give a recipe for a successful model.

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arXiv1996

Low-Energy Signatures of Semi-perturbative Unification

We consider the low-energy signatures of, and high-energy motivations for, scenarios of semi-perturbative gauge coupling unification. Such scenarios can leave striking imprints on the low-energy sparticle spectrum, including novel gaugino mass ratios (including $M_2/M_1\approx1$), substantial compression of the intra-generational squark-to-slepton mass ratios, and an overall lifting of scalar masses relative to the gauginos. We also demonstrate that the unification scale can be raised to $M_X \approx 4\times10^{17}$ GeV while still in the perturbative regime -- close to the 1-loop heterotic string scale. We employ a 3-loop calculation of the running of the gauge couplings as a test of the perturbativity of the high-scale theory.

hep-ph↗

arXiv1996

Leptophobic U(1)'s and the R_b - R_c Crisis

In this paper, we investigate the possibility of explaining both the R_b excess and the R_c deficit reported by the LEP experiments through Z-Z' mixing effects. We have constructed a set of models consistent with a restrictive set of principles: unification of the Standard Model (SM) gauge couplings, vector- like additional matter, and couplings which are both generation-independent and leptophobic. These models are anomaly-free, perturbative up to the GUT scale, and contain realistic mass spectra. Out of this class of models, we find three explicit realizations which fit the LEP data to a far better extent than the unmodified SM or MSSM and satisfy all other phenomenological constraints which we have investigated. One realization, the η-model coming from E_6, is particularly attractive, arising naturally from geometrical compactifications of heterotic string theory. This conclusion depends crucially on the inclusion of a U(1) kinetic mixing term, whose value is correctly predicted by renormalization group running in the E_6 model given one discrete choice of spectra.

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