Related papers: GUT Relations from String Theory Compactifications
We discuss the appearance of modular functions at the one-loop gauge and gravitational couplings in (0,2) non-decomposable N=1 four dimensional orbifold compactifications of the heterotic string. We define the limits for the existence of…
We revisit the question of gauge coupling unification at the string scale in orbifold compactifications of the heterotic string for the supersymmetric Standard Model. In the presence of discrete Wilson lines threshold corrections with…
We consider Grand Unified Theories based on $SO(10)$ which originate from $M$ theory on $G_2$ manifolds. In this framework we are naturally led to a novel solution of the doublet-triplet splitting problem involving an extra $\overline{{\bf…
We construct non-geometric string compactifications by using the F-theory dual of the heterotic string compactified on a two-torus with two Wilson line parameters, together with a close connection between modular forms and the equations for…
I discuss several issues concerning the use of string models as unified theories of all interactions. After a short review of gauge coupling unification in the string context, I discuss possible motivations for the construction of $SU(5)$…
We consider four-dimensional supersymmetric compactifications of the E8 x E8 heterotic string on Calabi-Yau manifolds endowed with vector bundles with structure group SU(N) x U(1) and five-branes. After evaluating the Green-Schwarz…
It is shown that non-renormalizable gravitational interactions in the Higgs sector of supersymmetric grand unified theories (GUT's) can produce the breaking of the unifying gauge group $G$ at the GUT scale $M_{\rm GUT} \sim 10^{16}$~GeV.…
We present a non-perturbative model of Gauge-Higgs Unification. We consider a five-dimensional pure SU(2) gauge theory with orbifold boundary conditions along the fifth dimension, such that the symmetry is reduced to U(1) at the fixed…
The conventional supersymmetric grand unified theories suffer from two serious problems, the large mass splitting between doublet and triplet Higgs multiplets, and the too long lifetime of the proton. A unification model based on a…
We introduce continuous Wilson lines to reduce the rank of the gauge group in orbifold constructions. In situations where the orbifold twist can be realised as a rotation in the root lattice of a grand unified group we derive an appealing…
We study a five-dimensional pure SU(2) gauge theory formulated on the orbifold and discretized on the lattice by means of Monte Carlo simulations. The gauge symmetry is explicitly broken to U(1) at the orbifold boundaries. The action is the…
In a series of papers, we pointed out that an anomalous $U(1)_A$ gauge symmetry naturally solves various problems in grand unified theories (GUTs) and that a horizontal gauge symmetry, $SU(2)_H$ or $SU(3)_H$, not only realizes the…
Using an effective field theory approach, we address the effects on the gauge couplings of one and two additional compact dimensions in the presence of a constant background (gauge) field. Such background fields are a generic presence in…
With the apparent discovery of the Higgs boson, the Standard Model has been confirmed as the theory accounting for all sub-atomic phenomena. This observation lends further credence to the perturbative unification in Grand Unified Theories…
Boundary conditions on an extra-dimensional interval can be chosen to break bulk gauge symmetries and to reduce the rank of the gauge group. We consider this mechanism in models with gauge trinification. We determine the boundary conditions…
Compactifications of heterotic theories on smooth Calabi-Yau manifolds remains one of the most promising approaches to string phenomenology. In two previous papers, http://arXiv.org/abs/arXiv:1106.4804 and…
Elimination of the fibre coordinate dependence from the connection form transformation rule for a bundle with a coset manifold standard fibre reduces the structure group. The nonlinear SU(4) action on an $S^7$ bundle is applied to the…
We investigate gauge coupling unification for F-theory respectively Type IIB orientifold constructions of SU(5) GUT theories with gauge symmetry breaking via non-trivial hypercharge flux. This flux has the non-trivial effect that it splits…
A solution of the vortex type is given in a six-dimensional $SU(2)\times U(1)$ pure gauge theory coupled to Einstein gravity in a compactified background geometry. We construct the solution of an effective abelian Higgs model in terms of…
This thesis contributes with a number of topics to the subject of string compactifications. In the first half of the work, I discuss the Hodge plot of Calabi-Yau threefolds realised as hypersurfaces in toric varieties. The intricate…