arXiv subjects

Yuri Shirman

Publications and source records attributed to Yuri Shirman.

45 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2000

Remarks on the Racetrack Scheme

There are only a small number of ideas for stabilizing the moduli of string theory. One of the most appealing of these is the racetrack mechanism, in which a delicate interplay between two strongly interacting gauge groups fixes the value of the coupling constant. In this note, we explore this scenario. We find that quite generally, some number of discrete tunings are required in order that the mechanism yield a small gauge coupling. Even then, there is no sense in which a weak coupling approximation is valid. On the other hand, certain holomorphic quantities can be computed, so such a scheme is in principle predictive. Searching for models which realize this mechanism is thus of great interest. We also remark on cosmology in these schemes.

hep-th↗

arXiv2000

Universal Aspects of Gravity Localized on Thick Branes

We study gravity in backgrounds that are smooth generalizations of the Randall-Sundrum model, with and without scalar fields. These generalizations include three-branes in higher dimensional spaces which are not necessarily Anti-de Sitter far from the branes, intersecting brane configurations and configurations involving negative tension branes. We show that under certain mild assumptions there is a universal equation for the gravitational fluctuations. We study both the graviton ground state and the continuum of Kaluza-Klein modes and we find that the four-dimensional gravitational mode is localized precisely when the effects of the continuum modes decouple at distances larger than the fundamental Planck scale. The decoupling is contingent only on the long-range behaviour of the metric from the brane and we find a universal form for the corrections to Newton's Law. We also comment on the possible contribution of resonant modes. Given this, we find general classes of metrics which maintain localized four-dimensional gravity. We find that three-brane metrics in five dimensions can arise from a single scalar field source, and we rederive the BPS type conditions without any a priori assumptions regarding the form of the scalar potential. We also show that a single scalar field cannot produce conformally-flat locally intersecting brane configurations or a p-brane in greater than (p+2)-dimensions.

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arXiv2000

Dynamical Supersymmetry Breaking

Supersymmetry is one of the most plausible and theoretically motivated frameworks for extending the Standard Model. However, any supersymmetry in Nature must be a broken symmetry. Dynamical supersymmetry breaking (DSB) is an attractive idea for incorporating supersymmetry into a successful description of Nature. The study of DSB has recently enjoyed dramatic progress, fueled by advances in our understanding of the dynamics of supersymmetric field theories. These advances have allowed for direct analysis of DSB in strongly coupled theories, and for the discovery of new DSB theories, some of which contradict early criteria for DSB. We review these criteria, emphasizing recently discovered exceptions. We also describe, through many examples, various techniques for directly establishing DSB by studying the infrared theory, including both older techniques in regions of weak coupling, and new techniques in regions of strong coupling. Finally, we present a list of representative DSB models, their main properties, and the relations between them.

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arXiv1999

Brane Junctions in the Randall-Sundrum Scenario

We present static solutions to Einstein's equations corresponding to branes at various angles intersecting in a single 3-brane. Such configurations may be useful for building models with localized gravity via the Randall-Sundrum mechanism. We find that such solutions may exist only if the mechanical forces acting on the junction exactly cancel. In addition to this constraint there are further conditions that the parameters of the theory have to satisfy. We find that at least one of these involves only the brane tensions and cosmological constants, and thus can not have a dynamical origin. We present these conditions in detail for two simple examples. We discuss the nature of the cosmological constant problem in the framework of these scenarios, and outline the desired features of the brane configurations which may bring us closer towards the resolution of the cosmological constant problem.

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arXiv1997

New Models of Gauge Mediated Dynamical Supersymmetry Breaking

We propose a simple class of nonrenormalizable models of gauge mediated dynamical supersymmetry breaking. The models do not have gauge singlet fields. The Standard Model gauge group is embedded in the global symmetry of the SUSY breaking sector. At the renormalizable level the models possess a set of classical flat directions. Only one of those flat directions is unlifted by quantum effects, and requires nonrenormalizable term to stabilize the potential for the corresponding modulus. Large vacuum expectation value of this modulus at the minimum of the potential generates mass terms for the messenger fields. There are no light messengers, thus this class of models evades difficulties encountered in earlier constructions using nonrenormalizable models.

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arXiv1996

Dynamical Supersymmetry Breaking versus Run-away behavior in Supersymmetric Gauge Theories

We consider Dynamical Supersymmetry Breaking (DSB) in models with classical flat directions. We analyze a number of examples, and develop a systematic approach to determine if classical flat directions are stabilized in the full quantum theory, or lead to run-away behavior. In some cases pseudo-flat directions remain even at the quantum level before taking into account corrections to the Kähler potential. We show that in certain limits these corrections are calculable. In particular, we find that in the Intriligator-Thomas $SU(2)$ and its generalizations, a potential for moduli is generated. Moreover, there is a region of the parameter space where Kähler potential corrections lead to calculable (local) minima at large but finite distance from the origin.

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arXiv1996

Variations on Minimal Gauge Mediated Supersymmetry Breaking

We study various modifications to the minimal models of gauge mediated supersymmetry breaking. We argue that, under reasonable assumptions, the structure of the messenger sector is rather restricted. We investigate the effects of possible mixing between messenger and ordinary squark and slepton fields and, in particular, violation of universality. We show that acceptable values for the $μ$ and $B$ parameters can naturally arise from discrete, possibly horizontal, symmetries. We claim that in models where the supersymmetry breaking parameters $A$ and $B$ vanish at tree level, $\tanβ$ could be large without fine tuning. We explain how the supersymmetric CP problem is solved in such models.

hep-ph↗

arXiv1996

Truly Strong Coupling and Large Radius in String Theory

String theory, if it describes nature, is probably strongly coupled. In light of recent developments in string duality, this means that the ``real world'' should correspond to a region of the classical moduli space which admits no weak coupling description. We exhibit, in the heterotic string, one such region of the moduli space, in which the coupling, $λ$, is large and the ``compactification radius'' scales as $λ^{1/3}$. We discuss some of the issues raised by the conjecture that the true vacuum lies in such a region. These include the question of coupling constant unification, and more generally the problem of what quantities one might hope to calculate and compare with experiment in such a picture.

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arXiv1995

New Tools for Low Energy Dynamical Supersymmetry Breaking

We report the construction of large new classes of models which break supersymmetry dynamically. We then turn to model building. Two of the principal obstacles to constructing simple models of dynamical supersymmetry breaking are the appearance of Fayet-Iliopoulos D terms and difficulties in generating a $μ$ term for the Higgs fields. Among the new models are examples in which symmetries prevent the appearance of Fayet-Iliopoulos terms. A gauge singlet field, that may play a role in explaining the hierarchy in quark and lepton parameters, can generate a suitable $μ$ term. The result is a comparatively simple model, with a low energy structure similar to that of the MSSM, but with far fewer arbitrary parameters. We begin the study of the phenomenology of these models.

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