Related papers: Stringy surprises
The possible existence of an exponentially large number of vacua in string theory behooves one to consider possibilities beyond our traditional notions of naturalness. Such an approach to electroweak physics was recently used in "Split…
String theory dynamics on certain fivebrane supertube backgrounds is described by an exactly solvable null-gauged WZW model. We use this description to compute the spectrum of closed string excitations on the three-charge non-supersymmetric…
String configurations have been identified in compactified Matrix theory at vanishing string coupling. We show how the interactions of these strings are determined by the Yang-Mills gauge field on the worldsheet. At finite string coupling,…
We investigate the options for imposing flavor symmetries on a minimal renormalizable non-supersymmetric $\mathrm{SU}(5)$ grand unified theory, without introducing additional flavor-related fields. Such symmetries reduce the number of free…
Tremendous phenomenological success of the Standard Model (SM) suggests that its flavor structure and gauge interactions may not be arbitrary but should have a fundamental first-principle explanation. In this work, we explore how the basic…
We review the main results of our investigations motivated by the tadpole potentials of ten-dimensional strings with broken supersymmetry. While these are at best partial indications, it is hard to resist the feeling that they do capture…
Four-dimensional compactifications of string theory provide a controlled set of possible gauge representations accounting for BSM particles and dark sector components. In this review, constraints from perturbative Type II string…
We study gauge coupling unification in the presence of extra dimensions compactified at a few TeV. Achieving unification requires a large number of gauge boson Kaluza-Klein excitations lighter than the string scale, such that the…
In Gravity Unified Theories all operators that are consistent with the local gauge and discrete symmetries are expected to arise in the effective low-energy theory. Given the absence of multiplets like 126 of SO(10) in string models, and…
In order to achieve gauge unification at the string scale M_X sim 5.10^17 GeV in the minimal supersymmetric standard model (MSSM) it is necessary to add extra gauge non-singlet representations at an intermediate scale M_I<M_X, leading to a…
Motivated by the fact that the string scale can be many orders of magnitude lower than the Planck mass, we investigate the required modifications in the MSSM $\beta$--functions in order to achieve intermediate ($10^{10-13}$GeV) scale…
We propose a scenario that leads to hierarchical Yukawa couplings and degenerate sfermion masses at the same time, in the context of extra-dimensional models, which can be naturally embedded in a wide class of string models. The hierarchy…
We describe three previously unnoticed components of the moduli space of minimally supersymmetric string theories in $d\geq 7$, describing in some detail their spectrum and duality properties. We find a new component in nine and eight…
It has long been conjectured that certain supersymmetric Yang-Mills (SYM) theories provide us with nonperturbative formulations of the string/M-theory. Although the supersymmetry (SUSY) on lattice is notoriously difficult in general, for a…
It is shown that four-dimensional N=1 supersymmetric QCD with massive flavors in the fundamental representation of the gauge group can be realized in the hidden sector of E8xE8 heterotic string vacua. The number of flavors can be chosen to…
In the context of the minimal supersymmetric standard model (MSSM), we discuss the introduction of exotic matter below the string scale $M_X$ in order to achieve gauge unification at $M_X$ (a constraint of a large class of string models).…
Warped compactifications with significant warping provide one of the few known mechanisms for naturally generating large hierarchies of physical scales. We demonstrate that this mechanism is realizable in string theory, and give examples…
Three family SU(3)_C x SU(2)_L x U(1)_Y string models in several constructions generically possess two features: (i) an extra local anomalous U(1)_A and (ii) numerous (often fractionally charged) exotic particles beyond those in the minimal…
We present an extensive search for a general class of flipped $SU(5)$ models built within the free fermionic formulation of the heterotic string. We describe a set of algorithms which constitute the basis for a computer program capable of…
We derive type IIB vacua which are very promising to put string theory to experimental test. These are Calabi-Yau compactifications with a 4D fibration over a 2D base. The moduli are fixed in such a way to obtain a very anisotropic…