Related papers: Local discrete symmetries from superstring derived…
In string theory, there are no continuous global symmetries. Discrete symmetries frequently appear, and these can often be understood as unbroken subgroups of larger, spontaneously broken gauge symmetries (discrete gauge symmetries). In…
Supersymmetric gauge models with local horizontal symmetries are known to generate large flavor changing neutral current effects induced by supersymmetry breaking D-terms. We show how the presence of a U(1) gauge symmetry solves this…
The study of discrete gauge symmetries in field theory and string theory is often carried out by embedding them into continuous symmetries. Many symmetries however do not seem to admit such embedding, for instance discrete isometries given…
I review findings of various research groups regarding perturbative heterotic string model building in the last 12 months. Attention is given to recent studies of extra U(1)'s and local discrete symmetries (LDS's) in generic string models.…
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…
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…
If nature exhibits low energy supersymmetry, discrete (non-$Z_2$) R symmetries may well play an important role. In this paper, we explore such symmetries. We generalize gaugino condensation, constructing large classes of models which are…
Cosmological models that are locally consistent with general relativity and the standard model in which an object transported around the universe undergoes P, C and CP transformations, are constructed. This leads to generalization of the…
The Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM) with conserved R-parity suffers from several fine-tuning problems, e.g. the mu-problem and the problem of proton decay through higher dimension operators. Both of these problems can be…
I investigate two discrete models of random geometries, namely simplicial quantum gravity and quantum string theory. In four-dimensional simplicial quantum gravity, I show that the addition of matter gauge fields to the model is capable of…
Local cosmic strings solutions are introduced in a model with a pseudo-anomalous U(1) gauge symmetry. Such a symmetry is present in many superstring compactification models. The coupling of those strings with the axion necessary in order to…
The low energy effective action of string theory depends strongly on the process of compactification and the localization of fields in extra dimensions. Explicit string constructions towards the minimal supersymmetric standard model (MSSM)…
Some of the four-dimensional Superstring solutions provide a consistent framework for a Supersymmetric Unification of all interactions including gravity. A class of them extends successfully the validity of the standard model up to the…
In particle physics model building discrete symmetries are often invoked to forbid unwanted or dangerous couplings. A classical example is the R-parity of the MSSM, which guarantees the absence of dimension four baryon- and lepton-number…
Local supersymmetry (SUSY) provides an attractive framework for the incorporation of gravity and unification of gauge interactions within Grand Unified Theories (GUTs). Its breakdown can lead to a variety of models with softly broken SUSY…
We show that stable local cosmic strings are a generic prediction of supersymmetric models where supersymmetry is broken at scales within a few orders of magnitude of the weak scale and is fed down to the observable sector by gauge…
Recently a TeV-scale Supersymmetric Standard Model (TSSM) was proposed in which the gauge coupling unification is as precise (at one loop) as in the MSSM, and occurs in the TeV range. Proton stability in the TSSM is due to an anomaly free…
Many extensions of the minimal supersymmetric standard model contain superfields for quarks which are singlets under weak isospin with electric charge -1/3. We explore the possibility that such isosinglet quarks have low or intermediate…
The first part of this talk presents the general complexion of baryon and lepton number non-conservation that may arise in the context of quark-lepton unification. The second part presents the status of grand unification with and without…
Although continuous symmetries may be more appealing, especially the local gauge ones, I argue that discrete symmetries may still play a fundamental role in shaping our understanding of the physics beyond the Standard Model. I exemplify…