arXiv subjects

Keith R. Dienes

Publications and source records attributed to Keith R. Dienes.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

arXiv2008

Kerr Black Holes are Not Unique to General Relativity

Considerable attention has recently focused on gravity theories obtained by extending general relativity with additional scalar, vector, or tensor degrees of freedom. In this paper, we show that the black-hole solutions of these theories are essentially indistinguishable from those of general relativity. Thus, we conclude that a potential observational verification of the Kerr metric around an astrophysical black hole cannot, in and of itself, be used to distinguish between these theories. On the other hand, it remains true that detection of deviations from the Kerr metric will signify the need for a major change in our understanding of gravitational physics.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2007

Supersymmetry versus Gauge Symmetry on the Heterotic Landscape

One of the goals of the landscape program in string theory is to extract information about the space of string vacua in the form of statistical correlations between phenomenological features that are otherwise uncorrelated in field theory. Such correlations would thus represent predictions of string theory that hold independently of a vacuum-selection principle. In this paper, we study statistical correlations between two features which are likely to be central to any potential description of nature at high energy scales: gauge symmetries and spacetime supersymmetry. We analyze correlations between these two kinds of symmetry within the context of perturbative heterotic string vacua, and find a number of striking features. We find, for example, that the degree of spacetime supersymmetry is strongly correlated with the probabilities of realizing certain gauge groups, with unbroken supersymmetry at the string scale tending to favor gauge-group factors with larger rank. We also find that nearly half of the heterotic landscape is non-supersymmetric and yet tachyon-free at tree level; indeed, less than a quarter of the tree-level heterotic landscape exhibits any supersymmetry at all at the string scale.

hep-th↗

arXiv2006

Fighting the Floating Correlations: Expectations and Complications in Extracting Statistical Correlations from the String Theory Landscape

The realization that string theory gives rise to a huge landscape of vacuum solutions has recently prompted a statistical approach towards extracting phenomenological predictions from string theory. Unfortunately, for most classes of string models, direct enumeration of all solutions is not computationally feasible and thus statistical studies must resort to other methods in order to extract meaningful information. In this paper, we discuss some of the issues that arise when attempting to extract statistical correlations from a large data set to which our computational access is necessarily limited. Our main focus is the problem of ``floating correlations''. As we discuss, this problem is endemic to investigations of this type and reflects the fact that not all physically distinct string models are equally likely to be sampled in any random search through the landscape, thereby causing statistical correlations to ``float'' as a function of sample size. We propose several possible methods that can be used to overcome this problem, and we show through explicit examples that these methods lead to correlations and statistical distributions which are not only stable as a function of sample size, but which differ significantly from those which would have been naively apparent from only a partial data set.

hep-th↗

arXiv2006

A Hybrid Model of Neutrino Masses and Oscillations: Bulk Neutrinos in the Split-Fermion Scenario

Higher-dimensional models of neutrino physics with one or more right-handed neutrinos in the bulk have attracted considerable attention in recent years. However, a critical issue for such models is to find a way of introducing the required flavor dependence needed for generating neutrino oscillations. In this paper, we point out that a natural ``minimal'' framework that accomplishes this can be constructed by combining the bulk-neutrino hypothesis for right-handed neutrinos with the split-fermion scenario for left-handed neutrinos. This combination leads to a unique flavor signature for neutrino phenomenology which easily incorporates large flavor mixing angles. This hybrid scenario also has a number of additional important features. For example, one previous difficulty of the split-fermion scenario applied to neutrinos has been that the mass matrix is exponentially sensitive to neutrino displacements within the brane. However, in our hybrid scenario, the interactions between the brane and bulk naturally convert this dependence from exponential to linear. Another important feature is that our hybrid scenario provides its own natural regulator for Kaluza-Klein sums. Thus, in our scenario, all Kaluza-Klein summations are manifestly finite, even in cases with multiple extra dimensions. But most importantly, our mechanism completely decouples the effective neutrino flavor mixing angles from the sizes of the overlaps between the neutrino wavefunctions within the brane. Thus, we are able to obtain large neutrino mixing angles even when these neutrinos have significant spatial separations and their overlaps vanish.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2006

Statistics on the Heterotic Landscape: Gauge Groups and Cosmological Constants of Four-Dimensional Heterotic Strings

Recent developments in string theory have reinforced the notion that the space of stable supersymmetric and non-supersymmetric string vacua fills out a ``landscape'' whose features are largely unknown. It is then hoped that progress in extracting phenomenological predictions from string theory -- such as correlations between gauge groups, matter representations, potential values of the cosmological constant, and so forth -- can be achieved through statistical studies of these vacua. To date, most of the efforts in these directions have focused on Type I vacua. In this note, we present the first results of a statistical study of the heterotic landscape, focusing on more than 10^5 explicit non-supersymmetric tachyon-free heterotic string vacua and their associated gauge groups and one-loop cosmological constants. Although this study has several important limitations, we find a number of intriguing features which may be relevant for the heterotic landscape as a whole. These features include different probabilities and correlations for different possible gauge groups as functions of the number of orbifold twists. We also find a vast degeneracy amongst non-supersymmetric string models, leading to a severe reduction in the number of realizable values of the cosmological constant as compared with naive expectations. Finally, we also find strong correlations between cosmological constants and gauge groups which suggest that heterotic string models with extremely small cosmological constants are overwhelmingly more likely to exhibit the Standard-Model gauge group at the string scale than any of its grand-unified extensions. In all cases, heterotic worldsheet symmetries such as modular invariance provide important constraints that do not appear in corresponding studies of Type I vacua.

hep-th↗

arXiv2005

How to Extrapolate A String Model to Finite Temperature: Interpolations and Implications for the Hagedorn Transition

In this paper, we discuss the important question of how to extrapolate a given zero-temperature string model to finite temperature. It turns out that this issue is surprisingly subtle, and we show that many of the standard results require modification. For concreteness, we focus on the case of the ten-dimensional SO(32) heterotic string, and show that the usual finite-temperature extrapolation for this string is inconsistent at the level of a proper worldsheet theory. We then derive the proper extrapolation, and in the process uncover a universal Hagedorn temperature for all tachyon-free closed string theories in ten dimensions --- both Type II and heterotic. As we discuss, these results are not in conflict with the well-known exponential growth in the degeneracies of string states in such models. This writeup is a concise summary of our recent paper hep-th/0505233, here presented using a ``bottom-up'' approach based on determining self-consistent finite-temperature extrapolations of zero-temperature string models. Some new results and observations are also added.

hep-th↗

arXiv2005

Re-Identifying the Hagedorn Transition

The Hagedorn transition in string theory is normally associated with an exponentially rising density of states, or equivalently with the existence of a thermal string winding mode which becomes tachyonic above a specific temperature. However, the details of the Hagedorn transition turn out to depend critically on the precise manner in which a zero-temperature string theory is extrapolated to finite temperature. In this paper, we argue that for broad classes of closed string theories, the traditional Hagedorn transition is completely absent when the correct extrapolation is used. However, we also argue that there is an alternative ``re-identified'' Hagedorn transition which is triggered by the thermal winding excitations of a different, ``effective'' tachyonic string ground state. These arguments allow us to re-identify the Hagedorn temperature for heterotic strings. Moreover, we find that all tachyon-free closed string models in ten dimensions share the same (revised) Hagedorn temperature, resulting in a universal Hagedorn temperature for both Type II and heterotic strings. We also comment on the possibility of thermal spin-statistics violations at the Planck scale.

hep-th↗

arXiv2005

A Calculable Toy Model of the Landscape

Motivated by recent discussions of the string-theory landscape, we propose field-theoretic realizations of models with large numbers of vacua. These models contain multiple U(1) gauge groups, and can be interpreted as deconstructed versions of higher-dimensional gauge theory models with fluxes in the compact space. We find that the vacuum structure of these models is very rich, defined by parameter-space regions with different classes of stable vacua separated by boundaries. This allows us to explicitly calculate physical quantities such as the supersymmetry-breaking scale, the presence or absence of R-symmetries, and probabilities of stable versus unstable vacua. Furthermore, we find that this landscape picture evolves with energy, allowing vacua to undergo phase transitions as they cross the boundaries between different regions in the landscape. We also demonstrate that supergravity effects are crucial in order to stabilize most of these vacua, and in order to allow the possibility of cancelling the cosmological constant.

hep-th↗

arXiv2005

Thermal Duality Confronts Entropy: A New Approach to String Thermodynamics?

One of the most intriguing features of string thermodynamics is thermal duality, which relates the physics at temperature T to the physics at inverse temperature 1/T. Unfortunately, the traditional definitions of thermodynamic quantities such as entropy and specific heat are not invariant under thermal duality transformations. In this paper, we propose several novel approaches towards dealing with this issue. One approach yields a "bootstrap" method of extracting possible exact, closed-form solutions for finite-temperature effective potentials in string theory. Another approach involves extending the usual definition of entropy by introducing additional terms which are suppressed by powers of the string scale. At high temperatures, however, these string corrections become significant and lead to a variety of surprising new phenomena as the temperature is increased.

hep-th↗

arXiv2003

Adventures in Thermal Duality (I): Extracting Closed-Form Solutions for Finite-Temperature Effective Potentials in String Theory

Thermal duality, which relates the physics of closed strings at temperature T to the physics at the inverse temperature 1/T, is one of the most intriguing features of string thermodynamics. Unfortunately, the classical definitions of thermodynamic quantities such as entropy and specific heat are not invariant under the thermal duality symmetry. In this paper, we investigate whether there might nevertheless exist special solutions for the string effective potential such that the duality symmetry will be preserved for all thermodynamic quantities. Imposing this as a constraint, we derive a series of unique functional forms for the complete temperature-dependence of the required string effective potentials. Moreover, we demonstrate that these solutions successfully capture the leading behavior of a variety of actual one-loop effective potentials for duality-covariant finite-temperature string ground states. This leads us to conjecture that our solutions might actually represent the exact effective potentials when contributions from all orders of perturbation theory are included.

hep-th↗

arXiv2003

Adventures in Thermal Duality (II): Towards a Duality-Covariant String Thermodynamics

In a recent companion paper, we observed that the rules of ordinary thermodynamics generally fail to respect thermal duality, a symmetry of string theory under which the physics at temperature T is related to the physics at the inverse temperature 1/T. Even when the free energy and internal energy exhibit the thermal duality symmetry, the entropy and specific heat are defined in such a way that this symmetry is destroyed. In this paper, we propose a modification of the traditional definitions of these quantities, yielding a manifestly duality-covariant thermodynamics. At low temperatures, these modifications produce "corrections" to the standard definitions of entropy and specific heat which are suppressed by powers of the string scale. These corrections may nevertheless be important for the full development of a consistent string thermodynamics. We find, for example, that the string-corrected entropy can be smaller than the usual entropy at high temperatures, suggesting a possible connection with the holographic principle. We also discuss some outstanding theoretical issues prompted by our approach.

hep-th↗

arXiv2003

GUT Precursors and Non-Trivial Fixed Points in Higher-Dimensional Gauge Theories

Within the context of traditional logarithmic grand unification at M_GUT = 10^(16) GeV, we show that it is nevertheless possible to observe certain GUT states such as X and Y gauge bosons at lower scales, perhaps even in the TeV range. We refer to such states as ``GUT precursors.'' Such states offer an interesting alternative possibility for new physics at the TeV scale, even when the scale of gauge coupling unification remains high, and suggest that it may be possible to probe GUT physics directly even within the context of high-scale gauge coupling unification. More generally, our results also suggest that it is possible to construct self-consistent ``hybrid'' models containing widely separated energy scales, and give rise to a Kaluza-Klein realization of non-trivial fixed points in higher-dimensional gauge theories. We also discuss how such theories may be deconstructed at high energies.

hep-th↗

arXiv2002

Beautified with Goodly Shape: Rethinking the Properties of Large Extra Dimensions

hep-ph↗

arXiv2002

Kaluza-Klein States versus Winding States: Can Both Be Above the String Scale?

When closed strings propagate in extra compactified dimensions, a rich spectrum of Kaluza-Klein states and winding states emerges. Since the masses of Kaluza-Klein states and winding states play a reciprocal role, it is often believed that either the lightest Kaluza-Klein states or the lightest winding states must be at or below the string scale. In this paper, we demonstrate that this conclusion is no longer true for compactifications with non-trivial shape moduli. Specifically, we demonstrate that toroidal compactifications exist for which all Kaluza-Klein states as well as all winding states are heavier than the string scale. This observation could have important phenomenological implications for theories with reduced string scales, suggesting that it is possible to cross the string scale without detecting any states associated with spacetime compactification.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2001

Shadows of the Planck Scale: The Changing Face of Compactification Geometry

By studying the effects of the shape moduli associated with toroidal compactifications, we demonstrate that Planck-sized extra dimensions can cast significant ``shadows'' over low-energy physics. These shadows can greatly distort our perceptions of the compactification geometry associated with large extra dimensions, and place a fundamental limit on our ability to probe the geometry of compactification simply by measuring Kaluza-Klein states. We also discuss the interpretation of compactification radii and hierarchies in the context of geometries with non-trivial shape moduli. One of the main results of this paper is that compactification geometry is effectively renormalized as a function of energy scale, with ``renormalization group equations'' describing the ``flow'' of geometric parameters such as compactification radii and shape angles as functions of energy.

hep-th↗

arXiv2001

Shape versus Volume: Making Large Flat Extra Dimensions Invisible

Much recent attention has focused on theories with large extra compactified dimensions. However, while the phenomenological implications of the volume moduli associated with such compactifications are well understood, relatively little attention has been devoted to the shape moduli. In this paper, we show that the shape moduli have a dramatic effect on the corresponding Kaluza-Klein spectra: they change the mass gap, induce level crossings, and can even be used to interpolate between theories with different numbers of compactified dimensions. Furthermore, we show that in certain cases it is possible to maintain the ratio between the higher-dimensional and four-dimensional Planck scales while simultaneously increasing the Kaluza-Klein graviton mass gap by an arbitrarily large factor. This mechanism can therefore be used to alleviate (or perhaps even eliminate) many of the experimental bounds on theories with large extra spacetime dimensions.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2001

Solving the Hierarchy Problem without Supersymmetry or Extra Dimensions: An Alternative Approach

In this paper, we propose a possible new approach towards solving the gauge hierarchy problem without supersymmetry and without extra spacetime dimensions. This approach relies on the finiteness of string theory and the conjectured stability of certain non-supersymmetric string vacua. One crucial ingredient in this approach is the idea of ``misaligned supersymmetry'', which explains how string theories may be finite even without exhibiting spacetime supersymmetry. This approach towards solving the gauge hierarchy problem is therefore complementary to recent proposals involving both large and small extra spacetime dimensions. This approach may also give a new perspective towards simultaneously solving the cosmological constant problem.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2000

Neutrino Flavor Oscillations without Flavor Mixing Angles

We demonstrate that sizable neutrino flavor oscillations can be generated in a model with large extra spacetime dimensions even if the physics on the brane is flavor-diagonal, the bulk neutrino theory is flavor-neutral, and the brane/bulk couplings are flavor-blind. This is thus a compact model for addressing neutrino flavor oscillations in higher dimensions. We also discuss several phenomenological aspects of the ``bulk-mediated'' neutrino oscillations inherent in this model, and show that this model contains some potentially important new phenomenological features in the limit of large brane/bulk coupling.

hep-ph↗