Related papers: A Clockwork Axion
We consider renormalisable models extended in the scalar sector by a generic scalar field in addition to the standard model Higgs boson field, and work out the effective theory for the latter in the decoupling limit. We match the full…
A general discussion of the renormalization of the quantum theory of a scalar field as an effective field theory is presented. The renormalization group equations in a mass-independent renormalization scheme allow us to identify the…
The low energy effective theory of the N=1 supersymmetric SU(5) gauge theory with chiral superfields in the 5* and 10 representations is constructed. Instead of postulating the confinement of SU(5) (confining picture), only the confinement…
We propose a bosonic $U(1)$ rotor model on a three dimensional space-time lattice. With the inclusion of a Maxwell term, we show that the low-energy semi-classical behavior of our model is consistent with the Chern-Simons field theory, $S=…
We present a novel framework for obtaining large hierarchies in axion decay constants as well as trans-Planckian field excursions, with no need for tuning or a large number of fields. We consider a model with two or more CFTs with a common…
Scalar QED is studied with higher order derivatives for the scalar field kinetic energy. A local potential is generated for the gauge field due to the covariant derivatives and the vacuum with non-vanishing expectation value for the scalar…
We re-examine large scalar fields within effective field theory, in particular focussing on the issues raised by their use in inflationary models (as suggested by BICEP2 to obtain primordial tensor modes). We argue that when the large-field…
The generalized symmetric space sine-Gordon theories are a series of 1+1-integrable field theories that are classically equivalent to superstrings on symmetric space spacetimes F/G. They are formulated in terms of a semi-symmetric space as…
Slow-roll inflation requires the inflaton field to have an exceptionally flat potential, which combined with measurements of the scale of inflation demands some degree of fine-tuning. Alternatively, the flatness of the potential could be…
We address two closely related problems associated with the singlet scalars' potential that are often present in supersymmetric U(1)' models, especially those which maintain the gauge unification of the MSSM in a simple way. The first is…
A topological monopole-like field configuration exists for Yang-Mills gauge fields in a 4+1 dimensions. When the extra dimension is compactified to 3+1 dimensions with periodic lattice boundary conditions, these objects reappear in the low…
Models with a light, additional gauge boson are attractive extensions of the standard model. Often these models are only considered as effective low energy theory without any assumption about an UV completion. This leaves not only the…
Solid-like behavior at low energies and long distances is usually associated with the spontaneous breaking of spatial translations at microscopic scales, as in the case of a lattice of atoms. We exhibit three quantum field theories that are…
Exact discrete symmetries, if non-linearly realized, can reduce the ultraviolet sensitivity of a given theory. The scalars stemming from spontaneous symmetry breaking are massive without breaking the discrete symmetry, and those masses are…
An exact renormalization group for theories of a scalar chiral superfield is formulated, directly in four dimensional Euclidean space. By constructing a projector which isolates the superpotential from the full Wilsonian effective action,…
We describe a novel technique that renders theories of $N$ axions tractable, and more generally can be used to efficiently analyze a large class of periodic potentials of arbitrary dimension. Such potentials are complex energy landscapes…
Axions are light pseudoscalar bosons postulated with many motivations in particle physics and cosmology, including the strong CP problem and the dark matter in our Universe. In this lecture notes, we discuss a variety of known ultraviolet…
We present a model with a complex and a real scalar fields and a potential whose symmetry is explicitly broken by Planck-scale physics. For exponentially small breaking, the model accounts for the period of inflation in the early universe…
We construct a theory of fields living on continuous geometries with fractional Hausdorff and spectral dimensions, focussing on a flat background analogous to Minkowski spacetime. After reviewing the properties of fractional spaces with…
We find renormalization group transformations for the compactified Randall-Sundrum scenario by integrating out an infinitesimal slice of ultraviolet degrees of freedom near the Planck brane. Under these transformations the coefficients of…