Related papers: Geometry of Rank Reduction
We study spontaneous gauge symmetry breaking in the framework of orbifold compactifcations of heterotic string theory. In particular we investigate the electroweak symmetry breakdown via the Higgs mechanism. Such a breakdown can be achieved…
We describe field-theory T^2/Z_n orbifolds that offer new ways of breaking SU(N) to lower rank subgroups. We introduce a novel way of embedding the point group into the gauge group, beyond the usual mapping of torus and root lattices. For…
A simple method for breaking gauge groups by orbifolding is presented. We extend the method of Kac and Peterson to include Wilson lines. The complete classification of the gauge group breaking, e.g. from heterotic string, is now possible.…
We identify the untwisted moduli of heterotic orbifold compactifications for the case, when the gauge twist is realized by a rotation. The Wilson lines are found to have both continuous and discrete parts. For the case of the standard Z(3)…
Motivated by the simplicity and direct phenomenological applicability of field-theoretic orbifold constructions in the context of grand unification, we set out to survey the immensely rich group-theoretical possibilities open to this type…
Wilson line on a non-simply connected manifold is a nice way to break SU(5) unified symmetry, and to solve the doublet--triplet splitting problem. This mechanism also requires, however, that the two Higgs doublets are strictly vector-like…
Recently, an attractive model of GUT breaking has been proposed in which a 5 dimensional supersymmetric SU(5) gauge theory on an S^1/(Z_2\times Z_2') orbifold is broken down to the 4d MSSM by SU(5)-violating boundary conditions. Motivated…
We use the Higgs mechanism to investigate connections between higher-rank symmetric $U(1)$ gauge theories and gapped fracton phases. We define two classes of rank-2 symmetric $U(1)$ gauge theories: the $(m,n)$ scalar and vector charge…
Lattice simulations of five-dimensional gauge theories on an orbifold revealed that there is spontaneous symmetry breaking. Some of the extra-dimensional components of the gauge field play the role of a Higgs field and some of the…
We introduce and systematically study an expansive class of "orbifold Higgs" theories in which the weak scale is protected by accidental symmetries arising from the orbifold reduction of continuous symmetries. The protection mechanism…
When G is a product of orthogonal, unitary and symplectic groups, we show that the Wilson loops generate a dense subalgebra of continuous observables on the configuration space of lattice gauge theory with structure group G.
We construct $\mathbb{Z}_N$ orbifolds of the ten-dimensional heterotic string theories appropriate for implementing the stringy replica method for the calculation of quantum entanglement entropy. A novel feature for the heterotic string is…
Target space symmetries are studied for orbifold compactified string theories containing Wilson line background fields. The symmetries determined are for those moduli which contribute to the string loop threshold corrections of the gauge…
We consider compactification of the SO(32) heterotic string on a 6-dimensional Z_3 orbifold with one discrete Wilson line. A complete set of all possible embeddings is given, 159 in all. The unbroken subgroups of SO(32) are tabulated. The…
We study a mechanism of symmetry reduction in a higher-dimensional field theory upon orbifold compactification. Split multiplets appear unless all components in a multiplet of a symmetry group have a common parity on an orbifold. A gauge…
Orbifold compactification of heterotic E8 x E8 string theory is a source for promising grand unified model building. It can accommodate the successful aspects of grand unification while avoiding problems like doublet-triplet splitting in…
We study the viability of five-dimensional gauge theories as candidates for the origin of the Higgs field and its mechanism for spontaneous symmetry breaking. Within the framework of lattice field theory, we consider the simplest model of…
The moduli space of the maximally supersymmetric heterotic string in d-dimensional Minkowski space contains various components characterized by the rank of the gauge symmetries of the vacua they parametrize. We develop an approach for…
Spontaneous symmetry breaking has been observed in lattice simulations of five-dimensional gauge theories on an orbifold. This effect is reproduced by perturbation theory if it is modified to account for a finite cut-off. We present a…
The compactification of the heterotic string on six-dimensional orbifolds is reviewed. Some important technical aspects of their construction are clarified and new parameters, called generalized discrete torsion, are introduced and related…