F-enomenology

The advantages of Flipped SU(5) over conventional Supersymmetric GUTs, like SU(5), are discussed. Recent values of the strong coupling at M_Z, sin-squared theta-Weinberg, g-2 of the muon, and the lower limit on the proton lifetime for the (K+, anti-neutrino) mode point directly to Flipped SU(5) as the simplest way to avoid potential pitfalls. It is shown that "F(lipped)-enomenology" accomodates easily all presently available low-energy data, favoring a rather "light" supersymmetric spectrum while yielding the right amount of Cold Dark Matter and a proton lifetime in the ((e+/muon+), pi-zero) mode which is beyond the present experimental limit yet still possibly accessible to a further round of experiments.Comment: 22 pages; 3 figures and 2 diagrams prepared with feynmf.mf & feynmf.sty; Invited talk given at: 1st Intl. Conf. on String Phenomenology, Oxford, England, July 6-11, 2002, -and- NeSS 2002, Washington D.C., USA, September 19-21, 200

Supercriticality of a Class of Critical String Cosmological Solutions

For a class of Friedmann-Robertson-Walker type string solutions with compact hyperbolic spatial slices formulated in critical dimension, we find the world sheet conformal field theory which involves the linear dilaton and Wess-Zumino-Witten type model with the compact hyperbolic target space. By analyzing the infrared spectrum, we conclude that the theory is actually supercritical due to the modular invariance of string theory. Thus, taking into account previous results, we conclude that all the simple nontrivial string cosmological solutions are supercritical. A possible explanation of why we are living in D=4 is provided. The interesting relation of this background with the Supercritical String Cosmology (SSC) is pointed out

The march towards no-scale supergravity

The different steps that led us to the discovery of {\em no-scale supergravity} are discussed from a very personal point of view. No-scale supergravity has been heralded as the most promising effective theory that describes physics below the Planck scale. In its string-derived form it holds the potential for a Dynamical Determination Of Everything (DDOE

Helical Phase Inflation via Non-Geometric Flux Compactifications: from Natural to Starobinsky-like Inflation

We show that a new class of helical phase inflation models can be simply realized in minimal supergravity, wherein the inflaton is the phase component of a complex field and its potential admits a deformed helicoid structure. We find a new unique complex-valued index $\chi$ that characterizes almost the entire region of the $n_s-r$ plane favored by new Planck observations. Continuously varying the index $\chi$, predictions interpolate from quadratic/natural inflation parameterized by a phase/axion decay constant to Starobinsky-like inflation parameterized by the $\alpha$-parameter. We demonstrate that the simple supergravity construction realizing Starobinsky-like inflation can be obtained from a more microscopic model by integrating out heavy fields, and that the flat phase direction for slow-roll inflation is protected by a mildly broken global $U(1)$ symmetry. %, which is mildly broken at the inflation energy scale. We study the geometrical origin of the index $\chi$, and find that it corresponds to a linear constraint relating \kah moduli. We argue that such a linear constraint is a natural result of moduli stabilization in Type \MyRoman{2} orientifold compactifications on Calabi-Yau threefolds with geometric and non-geometric fluxes. Possible choices for the index $\chi$ are discrete points on the complex plane that relate to the distribution of supersymmetric Minkowski vacua on moduli space. More precise observations of the inflationary epoch in the future may provide a better estimation of the index $\chi$. Since $\chi$ is determined by the fluxes and vacuum expectation values of complex structure moduli, such observations would characterize the geometry of the internal space as well.Comment: 26 pages, 4 figures; 4+1 figure, discussion on several energy scales added, references added, to appear in JHE

Natural Inflation with Natural Trans-Planckian Axion Decay Constant from Anomalous U(1)XU(1)_X

We propose a natural inflation model driven by an imaginary or axionic component of a K\"ahler modulus in string-inspired supergravity. The shift symmetry of the axion is gauged under an anomalous $U(1)_X$ symmetry, which leads to a modulus-dependent Fayet-Iliopoulos (FI) term. The matter fields are stabilized by F-terms, and the real component of the modulus is stabilized by the $U(1)_X$ D-term, while its axion remains light. Therefore, the masses of real and imaginary components of the modulus are separated at different scales. The scalar potential for natural inflation is realized by the superpotential from the non-perturbative effects. The trans-Planckian axion decay constant, which is needed to fit with BICEP2 observations, can be obtained naturally in this model.Comment: 14 pages, no figure, references added, version published in JHE

Canonical Gauge Coupling Unification in the Standard Model with High-Scale Supersymmetry Breaking

Inspired by the string landscape and the unified gauge coupling relation in the F-theory Grand Unified Theories (GUTs) and GUTs with suitable high-dimensional operators, we study the canonical gauge coupling unification and Higgs boson mass in the Standard Model (SM) with high-scale supersymmetry breaking. In the SM with GUT-scale supersymmetry breaking, we achieve the gauge coupling unification at about 5.3 x 10^{13} GeV, and the Higgs boson mass is predicted to range from 130 GeV to 147 GeV. In the SM with supersymmetry breaking scale from 10^4 GeV to 5.3 x 10^{13} GeV, gauge coupling unification can always be realized and the corresponding GUT scale M_U is from 10^{16} GeV to 5.3 x 10^{13} GeV, respectively. Also, we obtain the Higgs boson mass from 114.4 GeV to 147 GeV. Moreover, the discrepancies among the SM gauge couplings at the GUT scale are less than about 4-6%. Furthermore, we present the SU(5) and SO(10) models from the F-theory model building and orbifold constructions, and show that we do not have the dimension-five and dimension-six proton decay problems even if M_U \le 5 x 10^{15} GeV.Comment: RevTex4, 16 pages, 5 figures, version to appear in JHE

Probing the No-Scale F{\cal F}-SU(5)SU(5) One-Parameter Model via Gluino Searches at the LHC2

In our recent paper entitled "The return of the King: No-Scale ${\cal F}$-$SU(5)$", we showed that the model space supporting the most favorable phenomenology should have been probed in 2016 at the LHC2, with an even further reach into this region of the model in 2017-18. This ideal realm of the one-parameter version of No-Scale ${\cal F}$-$SU(5)$ yields a 1.9-2.3 TeV gluino mass at the very same point where the light Higgs boson mass enters its rather narrow experimentally determined range of $m_h = 125.09 \pm 0.24$ GeV. Given the recent results reported at Moriond 2017 for 36 ${\rm fb}^{-1}$ of luminosity collected in 2016 at the 13 TeV LHC2, we now update the status of the No-Scale ${\cal F}$-$SU(5)$ model space in light of the gluino mass exclusion limits presented by the ATLAS and CMS Collaborations. We illustrate that a resolution could be reached soon as to whether supersymmetry lives in this most critical region of the model space.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, Physics Letters B versio

An Updated Historical Profile of the Higgs Boson

The Higgs boson was postulated in 1964, and phenomenological studies of its possible production and decays started in the early 1970s, followed by studies of its possible production in electron-positron, antiproton-proton and proton-proton collisions, in particular. Until recently, the most sensitive searches for the Higgs boson were at LEP between 1989 and 2000, which were complemented by searches at the Fermilab Tevatron. Then the LHC experiments ATLAS and CMS entered the hunt, announcing on July 4, 2012 the discovery of a "Higgs-like" particle with a mass of about 125~GeV. This identification has been supported by subsequent measurements of its spin, parity and coupling properties. It was widely anticipated that the Higgs boson would be accompanied by supersymmetry, although other options, like compositeness, were not completely excluded. So far there are no signs any new physics, and the measured properties of the Higgs boson are consistent with the predictions of the minimal Standard Model. This article reviews some of the key historical developments in Higgs physics over the past half-century.Comment: 22 pages, 5 figures, update of arXiv:1201.6045, to be published in the volume "The Standard Theory of Particle Physics", edited by Luciano Maiani and Gigi Roland