Related papers: How generic is cosmic string formation in SUSY GUT…
A model of generalised hybrid inflation in a supersymmetric QCD theory is proposed whose parameters are the gauge coupling and quark masses. Its gravitational coupling to another SQCD sector induces a metastable supersymmetry breaking…
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…
No-scale supergravity and the flipped SU(5)$\times$U(1) gauge group provide an ambitious prototype string-inspired scenario for physics below the string scale, which can accommodate the Starobinsky-like inflation favoured by observation…
Cosmological inflation and topological defects have been considered for a long time, either in disagreement or in competition. On the one hand an inflationary era is required to solve the shortcomings of the hot big bang model, while on the…
In supersymmetric extensions of the Standard Model, the observed particles come in fermion-boson pairs necessary for the realization of supersymmetry (SUSY). In spite of the expected abundance of super-partners for all the known particles,…
In the context of the standard SUSY GUT scenario, we present a detailed analysis of the softly broken finite supersymmetric grand unified theory. The model, albeit non-minimal, remains very rigid due to the requirement of finiteness. It is…
We study the formation and evolution of an interconnected string network in large-scale field-theory numerical simulations, both in flat spacetime and in expanding universe. The network consists of gauge U(1) strings of two different kinds…
The observed replication of fermions in three families is undoubtedly a reflection of a deeper symmetry underlying the standard model. In this paper we investigate one very elementary possibility, that physics above the grand unification…
Four-dimensional string theories predict in general the existence of light exotic particles with fractional electric charges. Such particles could escape present observations if they are confined by a gauge group of the "hidden" sector into…
With the apparent discovery of the Higgs boson, the Standard Model has been confirmed as the theory accounting for all sub-atomic phenomena. This observation lends further credence to the perturbative unification in Grand Unified Theories…
I discuss several issues concerning the use of string models as unified theories of all interactions. After a short review of gauge coupling unification in the string context, I discuss possible motivations for the construction of $SU(5)$…
Thermal inflation was proposed as a mechanism to dilute the density of cosmological moduli. Thermal inflation is driven by a complex scalar field possessing a large vacuum expectation value and a very flat potential, called a `flaton'. Such…
We discuss spontaneous supersymmetry (SUSY) breaking in a model with an anomalous $U(1)_A$ symmetry. In this model, the size of the each term in the superpotential is controlled by the $U(1)_A$ charge assignment and SUSY is spontaneously…
Starting with a study of the cosmological solution to the Einstein equations for the internal spacetime of an extreme supermassive cosmic string kink, and by evaluating the probability measure for the formation of such a kink in…
We construct a simple model of an SU(5) GUT with gauge mediated supersymmetry breaking from a metastable vacuum of a hidden sector. All mass parameters and hierarchies of our model are generated dynamically from retrofitting. This includes…
I elaborate on a link between the string--scale breaking of supersymmetry that occurs in a class of superstring models and the onset of inflation. The link rests on spatially flat cosmologies supported by a scalar field driven by an…
The observed value of the Higgs mass indicates the possibility that there is no supersymmetry below the Planck scale and that the Higgs can play the role of the inflaton. We examine the general structure of the saddle point inflation in…
After a brief review of the motivations for grand unification, I discuss the main challenges facing realistic SUSY GUT model building. Achieving doublet-triplet splitting without fine--tuning is chief among them. Symmetry breaking should…
We study the cosmology of a string derived supersymmetric flipped $SU(5)$ model in the context of free-fermionic heterotic constructions that allow full calculability of the effective supergravity in perturbation theory around the fermionic…
It is tempting to inflate along one of the many flat directions that arise in supersymmetric theories. The required flatness of the potential to obtain sufficient inflation and to not overproduce density fluctuations occurs naturally.…