Related papers: The march towards no-scale supergravity
We describe an effective theory of a scalar field, motivated by some features expected in the low energy theory of gluodynamics in 3+1 dimensions. The theory describes two propagating massless particles in a certain limit, which we identify…
I begin with some memories of Abdus Salam who was my PhD supervisor. After reviewing the theory of non-linear realisations and Kac-Moody algebras, I explain how to construct the non-linear realisation based on the Kac-Moody algebra E11 and…
Though the Planck scale is encountered in Quantum SuperString Theory and Quantum Gravity, it is the Compton scale of elementary particles which is encountered in the physical world. An explanation for this is given in terms of Brownian…
String theory suggests the existence of a minimum length scale. An exciting quantum mechanical implication of this feature is a modification of the uncertainty principle. In contrast to the conventional approach, this generalised…
We consider a formalism to describe the false-vacuum decay of a scalar field in gauge theories in non-perturbative regimes. We find that the larger the gauge coupling with respect to the self-coupling of the scalar, the shallower the local…
In this thesis we discuss non-perturbative phenomena emerging in gauge and in string/supergravity theories. We compute the partition function of 5D minimal supersymmetric U(1) gauge theory with extra adjoint matter in general…
The theory starts from a tentative interpretation of gravity as Archimedes' thrust exerted on matter at the scale of elementary particles by an imagined perfect fluid ("ether"): the gravity acceleration is expressed by a formula in which…
A discussion of the number of degrees of freedom, and their dynamical properties, in higher derivative gravitational theories is presented. The complete non-linear sigma model for these degrees of freedom is exhibited using the method of…
We consider no-scale inspired supergravity scenarios, where the gravitino mass and related soft supersymmetry-breaking parameters are determined dynamically by radiative corrections to an essentially flat tree-level potential in the…
Emergent gravity views spacetime as an entity emergent from a more complete theory of interacting fundamental constituents valid at much finer resolution or higher energies, usually assumed to be above the Planck energy. In this view…
The quest for unification of particles and fields and for reconciliation of Quantum Mechanics and General Relativity has led us to gauge theories, string theories, supersymmetry and higher-extended objects: membranes... Our spacetime is…
A new direction to understand gravity has recently been explored by considering classical gravity to be a derived interaction from an underlying theory. This underlying theory would involve new degrees of freedom at a deeper level and it…
The traditional formulation of the ultimate goal of physics (in the narrower sense of axiomatic theory) involves the derivation of physical laws from first principles. Though, such option doesn't make things easier since the task of the…
We assume that the points in volumes smaller than an elementary volume (which may have a Planck size) are indistinguishable in any physical experiment. This naturally leads to a picture of a discrete space with a finite number of degrees of…
We present a contemporary perspective on the String Landscape and the Multiverse of plausible string, M- and F-theory vacua, seeking to demonstrate a non-zero probability for the existence of a universe matching our own observed physics…
In this paper we study an N=1 supersymmetric extension of a perturbatively super-renormalizable (nonlocal)theory of gravity in four dimensions. The nonlocal supergravity theory is power-counting super-renormalizable and tree level unitary…
It is very much intriguing if the Planck scale $M_{\rm{Pl}}$ is not a fundamental parameter. The Brans-Dicke gravity is nothing but the theory where the Planck scale $M_{\rm{Pl}}$ is indeed an illusional parameter. The theory predicts a…
It is proposed that gravity may arise in the low energy limit of a model of matter fields defined on a special kind of a dynamical random lattice. Time is discretized into regular intervals, whereas the discretization of space is random and…
We provide a pedagogical introduction to $N=1$ supergravity/supersymmetry in relation to particle physics. The various steps in the construction of a generic $N=1$ supergravity model are briefly described, and we focus on its low energy…
We investigate the dynamical breaking of local supersymmetry (supergravity), including the Deser-Zumino super-Higgs effect, via the corresponding one-loop effective potential for the simple but quite representative cases of N=1, D=4 simple…