Related papers: Weak scale: Dynamical determination versus acciden…
We consider a long range scalar force that mainly couples to dark matter and unstable Standard Model states, like the muon, with tiny strength. Probing this type of force would present a challenge to observations. We point out that the…
We find that some equilibrium systems and their non-equilibrium counterparts actually show the same jerky response or avalanche behavior on many scales in response to slowly changing external conditions. In other words, their static and…
We argue that classical scale invariance provides a technically natural solution to the problem of the radiative stability of the electroweak scale. Some realistic electroweak scale-invariant models are considered and their possible…
Unless the scale of electroweak symmetry breaking is stabilized dynamically, most of the universes in a multiverse theory will lack an observable weak nuclear interaction. Such "weakless universes" could support intelligent life based on…
Simple models for ruptures along a heterogeneous earthquake fault zone are studied, focussing on the interplay between the roles of disorder and dynamical effects. A class of models are found to operate naturally at a critical point whose…
A possible explanation is offered for the longstanding mystery surrounding the meaning of the fine structure constant. The reasoning is based on a discrete self-similar cosmological paradigm that has shown promise in explaining the general…
Although the cosmic concordance cosmology is quite successful in fitting data, fine tuning and coincidence problems apparently weaken it. We review several possibilities to ease its problems, by considering various kinds of dynamical Dark…
We reconsider the naturalness from the viewpoint of effective field theories, motivated by the alternative scenario that the standard model holds until a high-energy scale such as the Planck scale. We propose a calculation scheme of…
The breaking of the electroweak symmetry, and origin of the associated ``weak scale,'' may be due to a new strong interaction. Theoretical developments over the past decade have led to viable models and mechanisms that are consistent with…
There has been a long-standing and at times fractious debate whether complex and large systems can be stable. In ecology, the so-called `diversity-stability debate' arose because mathematical analyses of ecosystem stability were either…
The decay constant of the QCD axion is required by observation to be small compared to the Planck scale. In theories of "natural inflation," and certain proposed anthropic solutions of the cosmological constant problem, it would be…
The dynamics of weak vs. strong first order phase transitions is investigated numerically for 2+1 dimensional scalar field models. It is argued that the change from a weak to a strong transition is itself a (second order) phase transition,…
The relevance of the Planck scale to a theory of quantum gravity has become a worryingly little examined assumption that goes unchallenged in the majority of research in this area. However, in all scientific honesty, the significance of…
If there is explicit violation of baryon plus lepton number at some energy scale, then the electroweak theory depends upon a {\theta}-angle. Due to a singular integration over small scale size instantons, this {\theta}-dependence is…
We discuss the concept of discrete scale invariance and how it leads to complex critical exponents (or dimensions), i.e. to the log-periodic corrections to scaling. After their initial suggestion as formal solutions of renormalization group…
If scale invariance is a classical symmetry then both the Planck scale and the weak scale should emerge as quantum effects. We show that this can be realized in simple scale invariant theories with a hidden sector. The weak/Planck scale…
We investigate the extent to which perturbative calculations of the electroweak phase transition are arbitrary and uncertain, owing to their gauge, renormalisation scale and scheme dependence, as well as treatments of the Goldstone…
We contrast two sets of conditions that govern the transition in which classical dynamics emerges from the evolution of a quantum system. The first was derived by considering the trajectories seen by an observer (dubbed the ``strong''…
Inhomogeneities in deposition may lead to formation of rough surfaces, whose height fluctuations can be probed directly by scanning microscopy, or indirectly by scattering. Analytical or numerical treatments of simple growth models suggest…
We start from classical general relativity coupled to matter fields. Each configuration variable and its conjugate momentum, as also space-time points, are raised to the status of matrices [equivalently operators]. These matrices obey a…