Related papers: Phase transition at high supersymmetry breaking sc…
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…
The decoupling of scalar particles in split supersymmetry makes the spectrum of squarks irrelevant for low energy processes. Nevertheless, the structure of the vacuum is sensitive to the spectrum of squarks, even when the supersymmetry…
We show that a cosmic string associated with spontaneous $U(1)_R$ symmetry breaking gives a constraint for supersymmetric model building. In some models, the string can be viewed as a tube-like domain wall with a winding number…
We review several mechanisms for supersymmetry breaking in orientifold models. In particular, we focus on non-supersymmetric open-string realisations that correspond to consistent flat-space solutions of the classical equations of motion.…
We study freely acting orbifolds of type IIB string theory on $T^5$ that spontaneously break supersymmetry from $\mathcal{N}=8$ to $\mathcal{N}=6,4,2$ or 0 in five dimensions. We focus on orbifolds that are a $\mathbb{Z}_p$ quotient by a…
In this paper we discuss the issues of supersymmetry breaking and moduli stabilization within the context of E_8 x E_8 heterotic orbifold constructions and, in particular, we focus on the class of "mini-landscape" models. In the…
The Standard Model is the low-energy limit of a microscopic theory which includes extra dimensions and new symmetries. A part of my thesis consisted in constructing a new class of models with two extra dimensions. We showed that these…
A class of non-supersymmetric string backgrounds can be constructed using twists that involve space-time fermion parity. We propose a non-perturbative definition of string theory in these backgrounds via gauge theories with supersymmetry…
Hypermultiplets are considered in the five-dimensional interval where all fields are continuous and the boundary conditions are dynamically obtained from the action principle. The orbifold boundary conditions are obtained as particular…
We improve the study of the lack of perturbative unitarity of noncommutative space-time quantum field theories derived from open string theory in electric backgrounds, enforcing the universality of the mechanism by which a tachyonic branch…
Fathoming interplay between symmetry and topology of many-electron wave-functions has deepened understanding of quantum many body systems, especially after the discovery of topological insulators. Topology of electron wave-functions…
In this talk, we present three examples of new non-trivial vacuum structures that can occur in supersymmetric field theories, along with explicit models in which they arise. The first vacuum structure is one in which supersymmetry is broken…
Recently it was proposed that the ten dimensional tachyonic superstring vacua may serve as good starting points for the construction of viable phenomenological models. Such phenomenologically viable models enlarge the space of possible…
Conserved quantities are obtained and analyzed in the new models with global scale invariance recently proposed. Such models allow for non tivial scalar field potentials and masses for particles, so that the scale symmetry must be broken…
Is perturbative stability intimately tied with the existence of spacetime fermions in string theory in more than two dimensions? Type 0'B string theory in ten-dimensional flat space is a rare example of a non-tachyonic, non-supersymmetric…
A semiclassical picture of spontaneous symmetry breaking in light front field theory is formulated. It is based on a finite-volume quantization of self-interacting scalar fields obeying antiperiodic boundary conditions. This choice avoids a…
We show that a tachyon condensate phase replaces the spacelike singularity in certain cosmological and black hole spacetimes in string theory. We analyze explicitly a set of examples with flat spatial slices in various dimensions which have…
We discuss supersymmetric $SU(2)$ gauge theory with a single matter field in the $I=3/2$ representation. This theory has a moduli space of exactly degenerate vacua. Classically it is the complex plane with an orbifold singularity at the…
We point out that some recently proposed string theory realizations of dynamical supersymmetry breaking actually do not break supersymmetry in the usual desired sense. Instead, there is a runaway potential, which slides down to a…
In these lectures, we review the physics of time-dependent orbifolds of string theory, with particular attention to orbifolds of three-dimensional Minkowski space. We discuss the propagation of free particles in the orbifold geometries,…