Related papers: Addendum to Reconciling Grand Unification with Str…
It is well-known that heterotic string compactifications have, in spite of their conceptual simplicity and aesthetic appeal, a serious problem with precision gauge coupling unification in the perturbative regime of string theory. Using both…
We analyze gauge coupling unification in the context of heterotic strings on anisotropic orbifolds. This construction is very much analogous to effective 5 dimensional orbifold GUT field theories. Our analysis assumes three fundamental…
We consider the possibility that the unification of the electroweak interactions and the strong force arises from string theory, at energies significantly lower than the string scale. As a tool, an effective grand unified field theory in…
We present a class of heterotic compactifications where it is possible to lower the string unification scale down to the GUT scale, while preserving the validity of the perturbative analysis. We illustrate this approach with an explicit…
We show that large string threshold corrections can reconcile the string and MSSM unification scales in fermionic strings. This requires at least three moduli with large VEVs which are different from each other and MSSM states arising in an…
Higher-dimensional models of grand unification allow us to relate the top Yukawa coupling y_t to the gauge coupling g. The tree level relation y_t=g at the scale of grand unification implies, in the framework of the MSSM, a rather small…
In the standard model matter fields form complete representations of a grand unified group whereas Higgs fields belong to incomplete `split' multiplets. This remarkable fact is naturally explained by `local grand unification' in…
The lower limit to string coupling unification in weakly coupled heterotic strings was shown by Kaplunovsky to be around Lambda_H ~ 5 x 10^{17} GeV. In contrast, under the scenario of an intermediate scale desert, the SU(3)_C x SU(2)_L x…
In the framework of heterotic compactifications, we consider the one-loop corrections to the gauge couplings, which were shown to be free of any infra-red ambiguity. For a class of N=2 models, namely those that are obtained by toroidal…
We show that in the framework of grand unified theory (GUT) with anomalous $U(1)_A$ gauge symmetry, the success of the gauge coupling unification in the minimal SU(5) GUT is naturally explained, even if the mass spectrum of superheavy…
In this short note, we examine the relationship between the string coupling constant, $\gstring{}$, and the grand unified gauge coupling constant, $\alphagut{}$, in a highly successful class of models based on anisotropic orbifold…
Grand unified models in four dimensions typically suffer from the doublet-triplet splitting problem. This obstacle can be overcome in higher-dimensional settings, where a non-trivial gauge group topography can explain the simultaneous…
We derive the universal threshold corrections in heterotic string theory including a continuous Wilson line. Unification of gauge and gravitational couplings is shown to be possible even within perturbative string theory. The relative…
In this letter we consider the consequences for the LHC of light vector-like exotica with fractional electric charge. It is shown that such states are found in orbifold constructions of the heterotic string. Moreover, these exotica are…
The compactification of the heterotic string on six-dimensional orbifolds is reviewed. Some important technical aspects of their construction are clarified and new parameters, called generalized discrete torsion, are introduced and related…
We calculate the weak scale MSSM spectrum starting from a heterotic string theory compactified on an anisotropic orbifold. Supersymmetry breaking is mediated by vector-like exotics that arise naturally in heterotic string theories. The…
We present a 6D orbifold model on $T^2/\Z2$ which emerges as intermediate step in the compactification of the heterotic string to the supersymmetric standard model in four dimensions. It has $\SU6$ gauge symmetry in the bulk and two pairs…
Grand unification groups (GUTs) are constructed from SO(32) heterotic string via $\Z_{12-I}$ orbifold compactification. So far, most phenomenological studies from string compactification relied on $\EE8$ heterotic string, and this invites…
We construct a compactification of the heterotic string on an orbifold T^6/Z_6 leading to the standard model spectrum plus vector--like matter. The standard model gauge group is obtained as an intersection of three SO(10) subgroups of E_8.…
Recently J. Giedt discussed a mechanism, entitled optical unification, whereby string scale unification is facilitated via exotic matter with intermediate scale mass. This mechanism guarantees that a virtual MSSM unification below the…