Related papers: The non-topological $Z^\prime$ string in the 331 m…
We present a construction of a perturbatively stable non-supersymmetric type II closed string model in four dimensions. It is based on a freely acting Scherk-Schwarz Z2-deformation of a supersymmetric construction which is recovered in…
We review the possibility that the Supersymmetric Standard Model arises from orbifold constructions of the E_8 x E_8 Heterotic Superstring, and the phenomenological properties that such a model should have. In particular, trying to solve…
We demonstrate that field theories involving explicit breaking of continous symmetries, incorporate two generic classes of topological defects each of which is stable for a particular range of parameters. The first class includes defects of…
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…
We describe a class of supersymmetric unified models with the following properties: i) the full breaking of the gauge group is achieved by Higgs fields in the fundamental representation; ii) the correct unification of the strong and…
In this Thesis we investigate properties of stability, rigidity and unitarity of the string landscape in ten and lower dimensions. The dissertation explores these aspects by intertwining a detailed analysis of string vacua, with and without…
We analyze the stability of the Higgs sector of a three-site model with flavor-non-universal gauge interactions, whose spectrum of non-Standard-Model states spans three orders of magnitude. This model is inspired by deconstructing a…
It has been pointed out that cosmic string solutions can exist in gauge field theories with broken symmetry even when $\pi _1(G/H)$ is trivial. The stability of such semilocal defects is not guaranteed by topology and depends on dynamical…
We present a version of the twin Higgs mechanism with minimal symmetry structure and particle content. The model is built upon a composite Higgs theory with global $SO(6)/SO(5)$ symmetry breaking. The leading contribution to the Higgs…
Topological defects are a fossil relic of early Universe phase transitions, with cosmic strings being the best motivated example. While in most cases one studies Nambu-Goto or Abelian-Higgs strings, one also expects that cosmologically…
We consider an open-string realisation of $\mathcal{N}=2\to \mathcal{N}=0$ spontaneous breaking of supersymmetry in four-dimensional Minkowski spacetime. It is based on type IIB orientifold theory compactified on $T^2\times…
We discuss the appearance of topological structures from the spontaneous breaking of $E_6$ to the Standard Model via its maximal subgroup $SO(10) \times U(1)_\psi$. They include dumbbells, metastable strings, as well as domain walls bounded…
This thesis is the discussion of heterotic and type I string phenomenology. The heterotic string model is based on the free--fermionic formalism. This is the first case where non--Abelian VEV's, as opposed to singlet VEV's are required for…
To illuminate how electroweak symmetry breaking shapes the physical world, we investigate toy models in which no Higgs fields or other constructs are introduced to induce spontaneous symmetry breaking. Two models incorporate the standard…
We investigate dynamics of the homogeneous time-dependent SU(2) Yang-Mills fields governed by the non-Abelian Born-Infeld lagrangian which arises in superstring theory as a result of summation of all orders in the string slope parameter…
We analyze the extension of the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model which includes extra Y=(0,\pm 1) supersymmetric triplets with a global SU(2)_L \otimes SU(2)_R symmetry spontaneousy broken to the custodial SU(2)_V by the vacuum…
We give a topological classification of stable and unconfined massive particles and strings (and some instantons) in worldvolume theories of M5-branes and their dimensional reductions, generalizing Witten's classification of strings in SYM.…
The discovery of the Higgs boson at the LHC supports the hypothesis that the Standard Model provides an effective parameterisation of all subatomic experimental data up to the Planck scale. String theory, which provides a viable…
Cosmic strings with the property of D-parity symmetry are studied in this paper. They are of a Z-2 type of strings that could appear in the spontaneous breaking of SU(7) and would present extraordinary properties in a background of ordinary…
We study the classical cosmic string solution in a theory with dynamical $U(1)$ symmetry breaking. We calculate the energy per unit length of the string and compare it to that obtained in a model with a fundamental Higgs. We find that the…