Related papers: Approximate Lorentz invariance of the vacuum: a ph…
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…
Combining the quantum scale invariance with the absence of new degrees of freedom above the electroweak scale leads to stability of the latter against perturbative quantum corrections. Nevertheless, the hierarchy between the weak and the…
In the Standard Model the Fermi constant is associated with the vacuum expectation value of the Higgs field $<\Phi>$, `the condensate', usually believed to be a nearly cut-off independent quantity. General arguments related to the…
We point out a novel possible mechanism by which the electroweak hierarchy problem can be avoided in the (effective) quantum field theory. Assuming the existence of a UV complete underlying fundamental theory and treating the cutoff scale…
We argue that the SM in the Higgs phase does not suffer form a "hierarchy problem" and that similarly the "cosmological constant problem" resolves itself if we understand the SM as a low energy effective theory emerging from a cut-off…
The hypothesis of a discrete fabric of the universe--the "Planck scale"--is always on stage, since it solves mathematical and conceptual problems in the infinitely small. However, it clashes with special relativity, which is designed for…
We discuss the cosmological constant puzzle and possible connections to the (meta-)stability of the Higgs vacuum suggested by recent LHC results. A possible explanation involves new critical phenomena in the ultraviolet, close to the Planck…
We argue that the Standard Model (SM) in the Higgs phase does not suffer from a "hierarchy problem" and that similarly the "cosmological constant problem" resolves itself if we understand the SM as a low energy effective theory emerging…
We study the consistency of having Lorentz invariance as a low energy approximation within the quantum field theory framework. A model with a scalar and a fermion field is used to show how a Lorentz invariance violating high momentum scale,…
The standard electroweak theory of leptons and the conformal groups of spacetime Weyl's transformations are at the core of a general relativistic, conformally covariant scalar tensor theory aimed at the resolution of the most intriguing…
Motivated by the stability of the electroweak Higgs vacuum we consider the possibility that the Standard Model might work up to large scales between about $10^{10}$ GeV and close to the Planck scale. A plausible scenario is an emergent…
Fundamental scale invariance implies the scale invariant standard model. Both the Fermi scale and the Planck mass are given by fields, and their ratio is dictated by a dimensionless cosmon-Higgs coupling. For an ultraviolet fixed point of…
The suspicion that the existence of a minimal uncertainty in position measurements violates Lorentz invariance seems unfounded. It is shown that the existence of such a nonzero minimal uncertainty in position is not only consistent with…
If physics at the Planck scale requires new conceptions of space-time, then generic renormalizable field theories predict observable violations of Lorentz invariance in the low energy sector. The little recognized ``Lorentz Fine Tuning…
The spacetime short-distance structure at the Planck scale is governed by the Planck length, usually interpreted as a three-dimensional Euclidian length. As such, it is not Lorentz invariant and clashes with Einstein's special relativity,…
The fundamental laws of physics are required to be invariant under local spatial scale change. In 3-dimensional space, this leads to a variation in Planck constant \hbar and speed of light c. They vary as \hbar ~ a^(1/2) and c ~ a^(-1/2), a…
Scale invariance supplemented by the requirement of the absence of new heavy particles may play an important role in addressing the hierarchy problem. We discuss how the Standard Model may become scale invariant at the quantum level above a…
The implementation of a Planck-scale high frequency and short wavelength cutoff in quantum theories on expanding backgrounds may have potentially nontrivial implications, such as the breaking of local Lorentz invariance and the existence of…
One of the most puzzling current experimental physics paradoxes is the arrival on Earth of Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays with energies above the GZK threshold. The recent observation of 20TeV photons from Mk 501 is another somewhat similar…
If the fine structure constant $\alpha =e^2/(\hbar c)$ were to change, then a number of interpretations would be possible, attributing this change either to variations in the electron charge, the dielectric constant of the vacuum, the speed…