Related papers: Natural gauge-coupling unification at the string s…
I review the arguments in favor of/against the traditional hypothesis that the Planck, string and compactification scales are all within a couple of orders of magnitude from each other. I explain how the extreme brane-world scenario, with…
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…
It is demonstrated how the hierarchy between the gauge coupling unification scale of minimal supersymmetry and the Planck (or string) scale, which resembles in order of magnitude a loop factor, can actually be explained as such in…
We look for minimal chiral sets of fermions beyond the standard model that are anomaly free and, simultaneously, vectorlike particles with respect to colour SU(3) and electromagnetic U(1). We then study whether the addition of such…
In the context of the field theory limit of superstrings, we consider an almost realistic model of supersymmetry breaking by gaugino condensation which includes, through nonperturbative corrections to the K\"ahler potential, dilaton…
In the standard model matter fields form complete representations of a grand unified group whereas Higgs fields belong to incomplete `split' multiplets. This remarkable fact is naturally explained by `local grand unification' in…
The results for the running of the gauge couplings in the MSSM are up-dated by proper inclusion of all low scale effects. They are presented as predictions for the strong coupling constant in the scenario with only two parameters at the GUT…
We study gauge coupling unification in the presence of extra dimensions compactified at a few TeV. Achieving unification requires a large number of gauge boson Kaluza-Klein excitations lighter than the string scale, such that the…
Threshold corrections to the running of gauge couplings are calculated for superstring models with free complex world sheet fermions. For two N=1 $SU(2)\times U(1)^5$ models, the threshold corrections lead to a small increase in the…
Motivated by the fact that the string scale can be many orders of magnitude lower than the Planck mass, we investigate the required modifications in the MSSM $\beta$--functions in order to achieve intermediate ($10^{10-13}$GeV) scale…
We discuss the low energy implications of gauge coupling unification at the string scale, taking into account string threshold corrections in the $SU(4) {\times} O(4)$ model. We express $sin^2\theta_W$ and $a_3$ as functions of the…
In theories with TeV string scale and sub-millimeter extra dimensions the attractive picture of logarithmic gauge coupling unification at $10^{16}$ GeV is seemingly destroyed. In this paper we argue to the contrary that logarithmic…
The individual fermion generations of the Standard Model fit neatly into a representation of a simple Grand Unified Theory gauge algebra. If Grand Unification is not realized in nature, this would appear to be a coincidence. We attempt to…
We derive the universal threshold corrections in heterotic string theory including a continuous Wilson line. Unification of gauge and gravitational couplings is shown to be possible even within perturbative string theory. The relative…
The region of moduli space of string theories which is most likely to describe the "real world" is where the string coupling is about unity and the volume of extra compact dimensions is about the same size as the string volume. Here we map…
We study grand unified theories based on an SU(5)xSU(5) gauge group in which the GUT scale, M_{GUT}, is the VEV of an exact or approximate modulus, and in which fast proton decay is avoided through a combination of a large triplet mass and…
We study soft scalar masses comparing with gaugino masses in 4-dimensional string models. In general non-universal soft masses are derived in orbifold models. We give conditions on modular weights to lead to the large non-universality in…
We compute threshold effects to gauge couplings in four-dimensional $Z_N$ orientifold models of type I strings with ${\cal N}=2$ and ${\cal N}=1$ supersymmetry, and study their dependence on the geometric moduli. We also compute the…
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…
The partition functions of refined topological strings(A-models) are computed, which give rise to the circle-compactified five-dimensional supersymmetric linear quiver gauge theories in generic (not necessarily self-dual) Omega backgrounds.…