Related papers: Stringy surprises
We review recent progress in embedding the supersymmetric standard model into string theory. We discuss how, with the incorporation of certain aspects of grand unification, a search strategy can be developed that allows to efficiently find…
Deriving the Yukawa couplings and the resulting fermion masses and mixing angles of the Standard Model (SM) from a more fundamental theory remains one of the central outstanding problems in theoretical high-energy physics. It has long been…
The low energy effective action of string theory depends strongly on the process of compactification and the localization of fields in extra dimensions. Explicit string constructions towards the minimal supersymmetric standard model (MSSM)…
I discuss several aspects of strings as unified theories. After recalling the difficulties of the simplest supersymmetric grand unification schemes I emphasize the distinct features of string unification. An important role in constraining…
The significant heavy threshold effect is found in the supersymmetric SU(5) model with two adjoint scalars, one of which is interpreted as a massive string mode decoupled from the lower-energy particle spectra. This threshold related with…
We consider the phenomenological implications of a class of compactified string theories which naturally reproduces the flavour multiplet structure of the Standard Model. The implications for gauge unification depends on which of three…
A consistent theory of supersymmetry breaking must have a hidden sector, an observable sector, and must be embedded in a locally supersymmetric theory which arises from string theory. For phenomenological reasons it must also transmit…
This is a pedagogical review article surveying the various approaches towards understanding gauge coupling unification within string theory. As is well known, one of the major problems confronting string phenomenology has been an apparent…
The most promising MSSM candidates of the heterotic string reveal some distinctive properties. These include gauge-top unification, a specific solution to the mu-problem and mirage pattern for the gaugino masses. The location of the top-…
String theory and supersymmetry are theoretical ideas that go beyond the standard model of particle physics and show promise for unifying all forces. After a brief introduction to supersymmetry, we discuss the prospects for its experimental…
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…
The perturbative analysis of models of open and closed superstrings presents a number of surprises. For instance, variable numbers of antisymmetric tensors ensure their consistency via generalized Green-Schwarz cancellations and a novel…
We argue that in large classes of string compactifications with a MSSM-like structure substantial flavor violating SUSY-breaking soft terms are generically induced. We specify to the case of flavor dependent soft-terms in type IIB/F-theory…
We show that a recent proposal by Nambu to generate a hierarchy among Yukawa couplings in the standard model may be easily implemented in superstring models. In such models, two of the main ingredients of the Nambu proposal find a natural…
We provide string theory examples where a toy model of a SUSY GUT or the MSSM is embedded in a compactification along with a gauge sector which dynamically breaks supersymmetry. We argue that by changing microscopic details of the model…
We study gauge theories where quasi-hidden sectors are added to the MSSM for the sake of string consistency conditions which would otherwise not be satisfied. We focus on quiver gauge theories motivated by weakly coupled type II orientifold…
The recent conjecture of possible equivalence between the string scale $M_S$ and the minimal supersymmetric standard model unification scale M_U ~ 2.5 x 10^{16} GeV is considered in the context of string models. This conjecture suggests…
Over the past three decades, considerable effort has been devoted to studying the rich and diverse phenomenologies of heterotic strings exhibiting spacetime supersymmetry. Unfortunately, during this same period, there has been relatively…
We present models of flavorful supersymmetry in higher dimensions. The Higgs fields and the supersymmetry breaking field are localized in the same place in the extra dimension(s). The Yukawa couplings and operators generating the…
Recent developemnts in string compactifications in the presence of antisymmetric field backgrounds suggest a new simple and predictive structure for soft terms in the MSSM depending only on two parameters. They give rise to a positive…