Related papers: Updates in local supersymmmetry and its spontaneou…
It is well known that continuous symmetries of quantum fields can be realized non-linearly, e.g. in the context of sigma models, and can also be spontaneously broken on non-compact spacetimes. In this note we study how these effects are…
We revisit general arguments for the absence of exact continuous global symmetries in string compactifications and extend them to D-brane models. We elucidate the various ways approximate continuous global symmetries arise in the…
Concrete semi-realistic string/M theory constructions often predict the existence of new physics at the TeV scale, which may be different in character from the bottom-up ideas that are motivated by specific problems of the standard model. I…
Dynamical supersymmetry breaking is considered in models which admit descriptions in terms of electric, confined, or magnetic degrees of freedom in various limits. In this way, a variety of seemingly different theories which break…
We present a qualitatively new mechanism for dynamical spontaneous breakdown of supersymmetry in supergravity. Specifically, we construct a modified formulation of standard minimal N=1 supergravity as well as of anti-de Sitter supergravity…
We consider the 1-loop effective potential in type I string theory compactified on a torus, with supersymmetry broken by the Scherk-Schwarz mechanism. At fixed supersymmetry breaking scale M, and up to exponentially suppressed terms, we…
It has been suggested that the observed value of the cosmological constant is related to the supersymmetry breaking scale M_{susy} through the formula Lambda \sim M_p^4 (M_{susy}/M_p)^8. We point out that a similar relation naturally arises…
We investigate the possibility that supersymmetry is not a fundamental symmetry of nature, but emerges as an accidental approximate global symmetry at low energies. This can occur if the visible sector is non-supersymmetric at high scales,…
These lectures give an introduction to the problem of finding a realistic and natural extension of the standard model based on spontaneously broken supersymmetry. Topics discussed at some length include the effective field theory paradigm,…
In this set of five lectures we present a basic toolbox to discuss the dynamics of four dimensional supersymmetric quantum field theories. In particular we overview the program of geometrically engineering the four dimensional…
Recent insights from string theory and supergravity on the macroscopic and the microscopic description of black hole entropy are discussed.
We study the spontaneous breaking of discrete symmetries in theories with broken gauge symmetry. The intended application is to CP breaking in theories with gauged flavor symmetries, but the analysis described here is preliminary. We…
A geometric mechanism that may, in analogy to similar notions in physics, be considered as "symmetry breaking" in geometry is described, and several instances of this mechanism in differential geometry are discussed: it is shown how…
Recent developments in string and M theory rely heavily on supersymmetry suggesting that a revival of superspace techniques in ten and eleven dimensions may be advantageous. Here we discuss three topics of current interest where superspace…
We study the dynamics of fractional branes at toric singularities, including cones over del Pezzo surfaces and the recently constructed Y^{p,q} theories. We find that generically the field theories on such fractional branes show dynamical…
We describe local Calabi-Yau geometries with two isolated singularities at which systems of D3- and D7-branes are located, leading to chiral sectors corresponding to a semi-realistic visible sector and a hidden sector with dynamical…
We demonstrate that the supersymmetry is dynamically broken in the four-dimensional SU(N) gauge theory coupled to a strongly-coupled superconformal theory T_N. This is a direct generalization of the model of supersymmetry breaking on…
In these lectures, we review the main properties of the topological theory obtained by twisting the N=2 two-dimensional superconformal algebra, associated to supersymmetric string compactifications. In particular, we describe a set of…
Three subjects are considered here: a self-dual non-critical string that appears in Type IIB superstring theory at points in ${\rm K3}$ moduli space where the Type IIA theory has extended gauge symmetry; a conformal field theory singularity…
We consider warp compactifications of M-theory on 7-manifolds in the presence of 4-form fluxes and investigate the constraints imposed by supersymmetry. As long as the 7-manifold supports only one Killing spinor we infer from the Killing…