Andrew Glen Cohen

Electroweak symmetry breaking from dimensional deconstruction

We propose a new class of four-dimensional theories for natural electroweak symmetry breaking, relying neither on supersymmetry nor on strong dynamics at the TeV scale. The new TeV physics is perturbative, and radiative corrections to the Higgs mass are finite. The softening of this mass occurs because the Higgs is an extended object in theory space, resulting in an accidental symmetry. A novel Higgs potential emerges naturally, requiring a second lightSU(2)doublet scalar. 2001 Published by Elsevier Science B.V.

Effective field theory, black holes, and the cosmological constant

Bekenstein has proposed the bound S{le}{pi}M{sup 2}{sub P}L{sup 2} on the total entropy S in a volume L{sup 3} . This nonextensive scaling suggests that quantum field theory breaks down in large volume. To reconcile this breakdown with the success of local quantum field theory in describing observed particle phenomenology, we propose a relationship between UV and IR cutoffs such that an effective field theory should be a good description of nature. We discuss implications for the cosmological constant problem. We find a limitation on the accuracy which can be achieved by conventional effective field theory. {copyright} {ital 1999} {ital The American Physical Society}

De)Constructing Dimensions

We construct renormalizable, asymptotically free, four-dimensional gauge theories that dynamically generate a fifth dimension.

Progress in electroweak baryogenesis

Recent work on generating the excess of matter over antimatter in the early universe during the electroweak phase transition is reviewed.

The More minimal supersymmetric standard model

Abstract Effective Supersymmetry is presented as a theory of physics above the electroweak scale which has significant theoretical advantages over both the standard model and the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM). The theory is supersymmetric at short distances but differs significantly from the MSSM. Flavor symmetry violation is intimately related to supersymmetry breaking. There is a new physics scale M ∼ 5–20 TeV which sets the mass of the first two sparticle families. Supersymmetric sources of CP violation and flavor changing neutral currents for the first two families are suppressed. Effective Supersymmetry can be implemented with automatic suppression of baryon and lepton number violation and a dynamically generated μ term, while maintaining naturalness in the Higgs sector. There are implications for new particle searches, flavor and CP violation experiments, as well as for the construction of theories of flavor and dynamical supersymmetry breaking.

Very Special Relativity

By very special relativity (VSR) we mean descriptions of nature whose space-time symmetries are certain proper subgroups of the Poincaré group. These subgroups contain space-time translations together with at least a two-parameter subgroup of the Lorentz group isomorphic to that generated by K(x) + J(y) and K(y)- J(x). We find that VSR implies special relativity (SR) in the context of local quantum field theory or of conservation. Absent both of these added hypotheses, VSR provides a simulacrum of SR for which most of the consequences of Lorentz invariance remain wholly or essentially intact, and for which many sensitive searches for departures from Lorentz invariance must fail. Several feasible experiments are discussed for which Lorentz-violating effects in VSR may be detectable.

Supersymmetry on a euclidean spacetime lattice 1. A target theory with four supercharges

We formulate a euclidean spacetime lattice whose continuum limit is (2,2) supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory in two dimensions, a theory which possesses four supercharges and an anomalous global chiral symmetry. The lattice action respects one exact supersymmetry, which allows the target theory to emerge in the continuum limit without fine-tuning. Our method exploits an orbifold construction described previously for spatial lattices in Minkowski space, and can be generalized to more complicated theories with additional supersymmetry and more spacetime dimensions.

Pair Creation Constrains Superluminal Neutrino Propagation

The OPERA collaboration has claimed that muon neutrinos with mean energy of 17.5 GeV travel 730 km from CERN to the Gran Sasso at a speed exceeding that of light by about 7.5 km/s or 25 ppm. However, we show that such superluminal neutrinos would lose energy rapidly via the bremsstrahlung of electron-positron pairs (ν → ν + e + e). For the claimed superluminal neutrino velocity and at the stated mean neutrino energy, we find that most of the neutrinos would have suffered several pair emissions en route, causing the beam to be depleted of higher energy neutrinos. Thus we refute the superluminal interpretation of the OPERA result. Furthermore, we appeal to Super-Kamiokande and IceCube data to establish strong new limits on the superluminal propagation of high-energy neutrinos. Electronic address: cohen@bu.edu Electronic address: slg@bu.edu

Phenomenology of Electroweak Symmetry Breaking from Theory Space

Recently, a new class of realistic models for electroweak symmetry breaking have been constructed, without supersymmetry. These theories have naturally light Higgs bosons and perturbative new physics at the TeV scale. We describe these models in detail, and show that electroweak symmetry breaking can be triggered by a large top quark Yukawa coupling. A rich spectrum of particles is predicted, with a pair of light Higgs doublets accompanied by new light weak triplet and singlet scalars. The lightest of these new scalars is charged under a geometric discrete symmetry and is therefore stable, providing a new candidate for WIMP dark matter. At TeV energies, a plethora of new heavy scalars, gauge bosons and fermions are revealed, with distinctive quantum numbers and decay modes.

A Matter-Antimatter Universe?

We ask whether the universe can be a patchwork consisting of distinct regions of matter and antimatter. We demonstrate that, after recombination, it is impossible to avoid annihilation near regional boundaries. We study the dynamics of this process to estimate two of its signatures: a contribution to the cosmic diffuse γ-ray background and a distortion of the cosmic microwave background. The former signal exceeds observational limits unless the matter domain we inhabit is virtually the entire visible universe. On general grounds, we conclude that a matter-antimatter symmetric universe is empirically excluded.