arXiv subjects

Thomas Appelquist

Publications and source records attributed to Thomas Appelquist.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2003

Fermion Masses and Mixing in Extended Technicolor Models

We study fermion masses and mixing angles, including the generation of a seesaw mechanism for the neutrinos, in extended technicolor (ETC) theories. We formulate an approach to these problems that relies on assigning right-handed $Q=-1/3$ quarks and charged leptons to ETC representations that are conjugates of those of the corresponding left-handed fermions. This leads to a natural suppression of these masses relative to the $Q=2/3$ quarks, as well as the generation of quark mixing angles, both long-standing challenges for ETC theories. Standard-model-singlet neutrinos are assigned to ETC representations that provide a similar suppression of neutrino Dirac masses, as well as the possibility of a realistic seesaw mechanism with no mass scale above the highest ETC scale of roughly $10^3$ TeV. A simple model based on the ETC group SU(5) is constructed and analyzed. This model leads to non-trivial, but not realistic mixing angles in the quark and lepton sectors. It can also produce sufficiently light neutrinos, although not simultaneously with a realistic quark spectrum. We discuss several aspects of the phenomenology of this class of models.

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arXiv2003

Nonexotic Neutral Gauge Bosons

We study theoretical and experimental constraints on electroweak theories including a new color-singlet and electrically-neutral gauge boson. We first note that the electric charges of the observed fermions imply that any such Z' boson may be described by a gauge theory in which the Abelian gauge groups are the usual hypercharge along with another U(1) component in a kinetic-diagonal basis. Assuming that the observed quarks and leptons have generation-independent U(1) charges, and that no new fermions couple to the standard model gauge bosons, we find that their U(1) charges form a two-parameter family consistent with anomaly cancellation and viable fermion masses, provided there are at least three right-handed neutrinos. We then derive bounds on the Z' mass and couplings imposed by direct production and Z-pole measurements. For generic charge assignments and a gauge coupling of electromagnetic strength, the strongest lower bound on the Z' mass comes from Z-pole measurements, and is of order 1 TeV. If the new U(1) charges are proportional to B-L, however, there is no tree-level mixing between the Z and Z', and the best bounds come from the absence of direct production at LEPII and the Tevatron. If the U(1) gauge coupling is one or two orders of magnitude below the electromagnetic one, these bounds are satisfied for most values of the Z' mass.

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arXiv2003

Dynamical Symmetry Breaking of Extended Gauge Symmetries

We construct asymptotically free gauge theories exhibiting dynamical breaking of the left-right, strong-electroweak gauge group $G_{LR} = {\rm SU}(3)_c \times {\rm SU}(2)_L \times {\rm SU}(2)_R \times {\rm U}(1)_{B-L}$, and its extension to the Pati-Salam gauge group $G_{422}={\rm SU}(4)_{PS} \times {\rm SU}(2)_L \times {\rm SU}(2)_R$. The models incorporate technicolor for electroweak breaking, and extended technicolor for the breaking of $G_{LR}$ and $G_{422}$ and the generation of fermion masses, including a seesaw mechanism for neutrino masses. These models explain why $G_{LR}$ and $G_{422}$ break to ${\rm SU}(3)_c \times {\rm SU}(2)_L \times {\rm U}(1)_Y$, and why this takes place at a scale ($\sim 10^3$ TeV) which is large compared to the electroweak scale.

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arXiv2002

Universal Extra Dimensions and the Higgs Boson Mass

We study the combined constraints on the compactification scale 1/R and the Higgs mass m_H in the standard model with one or two universal extra dimensions. Focusing on precision measurements and employing the Peskin-Takeuchi S and T parameters, we analyze the allowed region in the (m_H, 1/R) parameter space consistent with current experiments. For this purpose, we calculate complete one-loop KK mode contributions to S, T, and U, and also estimate the contributions from physics above the cutoff of the higher-dimensional standard model. A compactification scale 1/R as low as 250 GeV and significantly extended regions of m_H are found to be consistent with current precision data.

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arXiv2002

Neutrino Masses in Theories with Dynamical Electroweak Symmetry Breaking

We address the problem of accounting for light neutrino masses in theories with dynamical electroweak symmetry breaking. We discuss this in the context of a class of (extended) technicolor (ETC) models and analyze the full set of Dirac and Majorana masses that arise in such theories. As a possible solution, we propose a combination of suppressed Dirac masses and a seesaw involving dynamically generated $|ΔL|=2$ condensates of standard-model singlet, ETC-nonsinglet fermions. We show how this can be realized in an explicit ETC model. An important feature of this proposal is that, because of the suppression of Dirac neutrino mass terms, a seesaw yielding realistic neutrino masses does not require superheavy Majorana masses; indeed, these Majorana masses are typically much smaller than the largest ETC scale.

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arXiv2002

Neutrinos Vis-a-vis the Six-Dimensional Standard Model

We examine the origin of neutrino masses and oscillations in the context of the six-dimensional standard model. The space-time symmetries of this model explain proton stability and forbid Majorana neutrino masses. The consistency of the six-dimensional theory requires three right-handed neutrinos, and therefore Dirac neutrino masses are allowed. We employ the idea that the smallness of these masses is due to the propagation of the right-handed neutrinos in a seventh, warped dimension. We argue that this class of theories is free of gravitational anomalies. Although an exponential hierarchy arises between the neutrino masses and the electroweak scale, we find that the mass hierarchy among the three neutrino masses is limited by higher-dimension operators. All current neutrino oscillation data, except for the LSND result, are naturally accommodated by our model. In the case of the solar neutrinos, the model leads to the large mixing angle, MSW solution. The mechanism employed, involving three right-handed neutrinos coupled to a scalar in an extra dimension, may explain the features of the neutrino spectrum in a more general class of theories that forbid Majorana masses.

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arXiv2001

Proton Stability in Six Dimensions

We show that Lorentz and gauge invariance explain the long proton lifetime within the standard model in six dimensions. The baryon-number violating operators have mass dimension 15 or higher. Upon TeV-scale compactification of the two universal extra dimensions on a square $T^2/Z_2$ orbifold, a discrete subgroup of the 6-dimensional Lorentz group continues to forbid dangerous operators.

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arXiv2001

Bounds on Universal Extra Dimensions

We show that the bound from the electroweak data on the size of extra dimensions accessible to all the standard model fields is rather loose. These "universal" extra dimensions could have a compactification scale as low as 300 GeV for one extra dimension. This is because the Kaluza-Klein number is conserved and thus the contributions to the electroweak observables arise only from loops. The main constraint comes from weak-isospin violation effects. We also compute the contributions to the S parameter and the $Zb\bar{b}$ vertex. The direct bound on the compactification scale is set by CDF and D0 in the few hundred GeV range, and the Run II of the Tevatron will either discover extra dimensions or else it could significantly raise the bound on the compactification scale. In the case of two universal extra dimensions, the current lower bound on the compactification scale depends logarithmically on the ultra-violet cutoff of the higher dimensional theory, but can be estimated to lie between 400 and 800 GeV. With three or more extra dimensions, the cutoff dependence may be too strong to allow an estimate.

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arXiv2001

Universal Extra Dimensions and the Muon Magnetic Moment

We analyze the muon anomalous magnetic moment in the context of universal extra dimensions. Our computation shows that the bound from electroweak data on the size of these dimensions allows only a small shift in the muon magnetic moment given by Kaluza-Klein modes of standard model fields. In the well-motivated case of two universal extra dimensions, additional contributions arising from physics at scales where the effective 6-dimensional standard model breaks down, given by dimension-ten operators, have a natural size comparable to the sensitivity of the muon (g-2) experiment at BNL.

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arXiv2000

The 2+1 Dimensional NJL Model at Finite Temperature

We decribe properties of 2+1-dimensional Nambu-Jona-Lasinio (NJL) models at finite-temperature, beginning with the model with a discrete chiral symmetry. We then consider the model with a continuous $U(1) \times U(1)$ chiral symmetry, describing the restoration of the symmetry at finite temperature. In each case, we compute the free energy and comment on a recently proposed constraint based upon it. We conclude with a brief discussion of NJL models with larger chiral symmetries.

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arXiv1999

New Constraints on Chiral Gauge Theories

Recently, a new constraint on the structure of a wide class of strongly coupled field theories has been proposed. It takes the form of an inequality limiting the number of degrees of freedom in the infrared description of a theory to be no larger than the number of underlying, ultraviolet degrees of freedom. Here we apply this inequality to chiral gauge theories. For some models we find that it is always satisfied, while for others we find that the assumption of the validity of the inequality implies a strong additional restriction on the spectrum of massless composite particles.

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arXiv1999

A New Constraint on Strongly Coupled Field Theories

We propose a new constraint on the structure of strongly coupled field theories. The constraint takes the form of an inequality limiting the number of degrees of freedom in the infrared description of a theory relative to the number of underlying, ultraviolet degrees of freedom. We apply the inequality to a variety of theories (both supersymmetric and nonsupersymmetric), where it agrees with all known results and leads to interesting new constraints on low energy spectra. We discuss the relation of this constraint to Renormalization Group c-theorems.

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arXiv1998

The Phase Structure of an SU(N) Gauge Theory with N_f Flavors

We investigate the chiral phase transition in SU(N) gauge theories as the number of quark flavors, $N_f$, is varied. We argue that the transition takes place at a large enough value of $N_f$ so that it is governed by the infrared fixed point of the $β$ function. We study the nature of the phase transition analytically and numerically, and discuss the spectrum of the theory as the critical value of $N_f$ is approached in both the symmetric and broken phases. Since the transition is governed by a conformal fixed point, there are no light excitations on the symmetric side. We extend previous work to include higher order effects by developing a renormalization group estimate of the critical coupling.

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arXiv1997

Analyzing Chiral Symmetry Breaking in Supersymmetric Gauge Theories

We compare gap equation predictions for the spontaneous breaking of global symmetries in supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory to nonperturbative results from holomorphic effective action techniques. In the theory without matter fields, both approaches describe the formation of a gluino condensate. With $N_f$ flavors of quark and squark fields, and with $N_f$ below a certain critical value, the coupled gap equations have a solution for quark and gluino condensate formation, corresponding to breaking of global symmetries and of supersymmetry. This appears to disagree with the newer nonperturbative techniques, but the reliability of gap equations in this context and whether the solution represents the ground state remain unclear.

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arXiv1997

Postmodern Technicolor

Using new insights into strongly coupled gauge theories arising from analytic calculations and lattice simulations, we explore a framework for technicolor model building that relies on a non-trivial infrared fixed point, and an essential role for QCD. Interestingly, the models lead to a simple relation between the electroweak scale and the QCD confinement scale, and to the possible existence of exotic leptoquarks with masses of several hundred GeV.

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arXiv1997

The Zero Temperature Chiral Phase Transition in SU(N) Gauge Theories

We investigate the zero temperature chiral phase transition in an SU(N) gauge theory as the number of fermions $N_f$ is varied. We argue that there exists a critical number of fermions $N_f^c$, above which there is no chiral symmetry breaking or confinement, and below which both chiral symmetry breaking and confinement set in. We estimate $N_f^c$ and discuss the nature of the phase transition.

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arXiv1997

Instantons and the Chiral Phase Transition

We examine the role of instantons in the zero-temperature chiral phase transition in an SU(N) gauge theory. For a range of N_f (the number of fermion flavors) depending on N, the theory exhibits an infrared fixed point at coupling $α_*$. As N_f decreases, $α_*$ increases, and it eventually exceeds a critical value sufficient to trigger chiral symmetry breaking. For the case N = 2, we estimate the critical values of N_f and $α_*$ due to instantons by numerically solving a gap equation with an instanton-generated kernel. We find instanton effects of strength comparable to that of gluon exchange.

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arXiv1996

Phenomenology of the Top Mass in Realistic Extended Technicolor Models

Extended technicolor (ETC) theories typically require ETC gauge bosons lighter than of order 1 TeV, to perturbatively generate the $t$ quark mass. We point out that explicit models of $t-b$ mass splitting also typically contain additional TeV scale ETC gauge bosons transforming in the {\it adjoint} of technicolor, leading to large weak-isospin-breaking effects observable in the $ρ$ parameter. Viable ETC models may thus require a lowest ETC scale of order 10 TeV, with relatively strong and finely tuned couplings to generate $m_t$. Such models do not generate observable corrections to the $Zb{\bar b}$ vertex.

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