Related papers: On Generalized Axion Reductions
Applications of the principle of reduction of couplings to the standard model and supersymmetric grand unified theories are reviewed. Phenomenological applications of renormalization group invariant sum rules for soft supersymmetry-breaking…
We investigate generally covariant theories which admit a Fierz-Pauli mass term for metric perturbations around an arbitrary curved background. For this we restore the general covariance of the Fierz-Pauli mass term by introducing four…
Which theories have a higher dimensional origin in String/M-theory is a non trivial question and it is still far from being understood in the constrained scenario of maximal supergravities. After 35 years of progress in this direction we…
The space-time dimensions transverse to a static straight cosmic string with a sufficiently large tension (supermassive cosmic strings) are compact and typically have a singularity at a finite distance form the core. In this paper, we…
Grand Unified Theories often involve additional Abelian group factors apart from the standard model hypercharge, that generally lead to loop-induced mixing gauge kinetic terms. In this letter, we show that at the one-loop level this effect…
In the recent years a lot of attention is focused on unconventional string compactifications. A variety of different but related frameworks was developed in order to address issues such as duality invariance, non-geometry and…
We present a general approach to construct a class of generalized topological field theories with constraints by means of generalized differential calculus and its application to connection theory. It turns out that not only the ordinary BF…
In these lectures we review Generalized Complex Geometry and discuss two main applications to string theory: the description of supersymmetric flux compactifications and the supersymmetric embedding of D-branes. We start by reviewing…
A new class of modified theory of gravity is introduced where the volume form becomes dynamical. This approach is motivated by unimodular gravity and can also be related to Brans-Dicke theory. On the level of the action, the only change…
We consider solutions to the $\mu$-problem originating in the effective low energy theories, of N=1 orbifold compactifications of the heterotic string, after supersymmetry breaking. They are consistent with the invariance of the one loop…
This note discusses the connection between generalised geometry and flux compactifications of string theory. Firstly, we explain in a pedestrian manner how the supersymmetry constraints of type II ${\mathcal{N}}=1$ flux compactifications…
One hundred years ago this year attempts began to generalise general relativity with the ambition of incorporating electromagnetism alongside gravitation in a unified field theory. These developments led to gauge theories and models with…
Some physicists hope to use string/M-theory to construct a comprehensive underlying theory of our physical world a "final theory". Can such a theory be tested? A quantum theory of gravity must be formulated in 10 dimensions, so obviously…
We study the relationship between M theory on a nearly lightlike circle and U(N) gauge theory in p+1 dimensions. We define large N limits of these theories in which low energy supergravity is valid. The regularity of these limits implies an…
We study strong coupling effects in four-dimensional heterotic string models where supersymmetry is spontaneously broken with large internal dimensions, consistently with perturbative unification of gauge couplings. These effects give rise…
Theories with gauge-mediated supersymmetry breaking provide an interesting alternative to the scenario in which the soft terms of the low-energy fields are induced by gravity. These theories allow for a natural suppression of flavour…
This article provides a cartoon of the quantization of General Relativity using the ideas of effective field theory. These ideas underpin the use of General Relativity as a theory from which precise predictions are possible, since they show…
In this thesis the recently developed duality covariant approach to string and M-theory is investigated. In this formalism the U-duality symmetry of M-theory or T-duality symmetry of Type II string theory becomes manifest upon extending…
In a physical renormalization scheme, gauge couplings are defined directly in terms of physical observables. Such effective charges are analytic functions of physical scales, and thus mass thresholds are treated with their correct analytic…
There are a number of approaches to testing General Relativity (GR) on linear scales using parameterized frameworks for modifying cosmological perturbation theory. It is sometimes assumed that the details of any given parameterization are…