Effects of the scale-dependent vacuum expectation values in the renormalisation group analysis of neutrino masses

The contribution of scale-dependent vacuum expectation values (VEVs) of Higgs scalars, which gives significant effects in the evolution of the fundamental fermion masses in the minimal supersymmetric standard model (MSSM), is now considered in the derivation of the analytic one-loop expression for the evolution of the left-handed Majorana neutrino masses with energies. The inclusion of such an effect of the running VEV increases the stability of the neutrino masses under quantum corrections even for the low values of at the scale GeV, and leads to a mild decrease of the neutrino masses with higher energies. Such a trend is common with that of other fundamental fermion masses. Received: 18 September 2000 / Published online: 23 February 2001     

Fermionic vacuum polarization in compactified cosmic string spacetime

We investigate the fermionic condensate and the vacuum expectation value (VEV) of the energy-momentum tensor for a charged massive fermionic field in the geometry of a cosmic string compactified along its axis. In addition, we assume the presence of two types of magnetic fluxes: a flux running along the cosmic string and another enclosed by the compact dimension. These fluxes give rise to Aharanov–Bohm-like effects on the VEVs. The VEVs are decomposed into two parts corresponding to the geometry of a straight cosmic string without compactification plus a topological part induced by the compactification of the string axis. Both contributions are even periodic functions of the magnetic fluxes with period equal to the flux quantum. The vacuum energy density is equal to the radial stress for the parts corresponding to the straight cosmic string and the topological one. Moreover, the axial stress is equal to the energy density for the parts corresponding to the straight cosmic string; however, for massive fermionic fields this does not occur for the topological contributions. With respect to the dependence on the magnetic fluxes, both the fermionic condensate and the vacuum energy density, can be either positive or negative. Moreover, for points near the string, the main contribution to the VEVs comes from the straight cosmic string part, whereas at large distances the topological ones dominate. In addition to the local characteristics of the vacuum state, we also evaluate the part in the topological Casimir energy induced by the string.     

On predictions from spontaneously broken flavor symmetries

We discuss the predictive power of supersymmetric models with flavor symmetries, focusing on the lepton sector of the standard model. In particular, we comment on schemes in which, after certain ‘flavons’ acquire their vacuum expectation values (VEVs), the charged lepton Yukawa couplings and the neutrino mass matrix appear to have certain residual symmetries. In most analyses, only corrections to the holomorphic superpotential from higher-dimensional operators are considered (for instance, in order to generate a realistic _θ13${\theta }_{13}$ mixing angle). In general, however, the flavon VEVs also modify the Kähler potential and, therefore, the model predictions. We show that these corrections to the naive results can be sizable. Furthermore, we present simple analytic formulae that allow us to understand the impact of these corrections on the predictions for the masses and mixing parameters.     

The spectrum of a class of supersymmetric theories with false vacua

The spectrum of a supersymmetric quantum mechanics model, whose potential has a steep supersymmetric minimum and a broad non-supersymmetric minimum, is analyzed. With the exception of the supersymmetric ground state, the low-energy spectrum is found to be determined entirely by the non-supersymmetric well. The model is motivated by effective lagrangians proposed for supersymmetric QCD. It is speculated that in an equivalent field theory exhibiting a supersymmetric true vacuum and a non-supersymmetric false vacuum, the false vacuum can play an important rôle in the physics, and that the lowest energy excitations are extended field configurations involving a new mass scale.     

New formulas and predictions for running masses at higher scales in MSSM

The effects of the scale dependent vacuum expectation values (VEVs) on the running masses of quarks and leptons in non-SUSY gauge theories have been considered by a number of authors. Here we use RGEs of the VEVs, and the gauge and Yukawa couplings in the MSSM to analytically derive new one loop formulas for the running masses above the SUSY breaking scale. Some of the masses exhibit a substantially different behaviour with respect to their dependence on the gauge and Yukawa couplings when compared with earlier formulas in the MSSM derived ignoring RGEs of VEVs. In particular, the masses of the first two generations are found to be independent of the Yukawa couplings of the third generation in the small mixing limit. New numerical estimates at the two loop level are also presented. Received: 30 July 1999 / Published online: 6 April 2000     

On negative norm states in supersymmetric theories

We study the effective kinetic energy of scalar fields for two classes fo supersymmetric theories. In theories with very large VEVs of scalar fields, as proposed by Witten, the use of the renormalization group improved effective action prevents the appearance of negative norm states. For simpler theories a general criterium for the absence of negative norm states is given, which is violated in a model withO(N)—symmetry proposed recently.     

Vacuum fluctuations of the supersymmetric field in curved background

We study a supersymmetric model in curved background spacetime. We calculate the effective action and the vacuum expectation value of the energy momentum tensor using a covariant regularization procedure. A soft supersymmetry breaking induces a nonzero contribution to the vacuum energy density and pressure. Assuming the presence of a cosmic fluid in addition to the vacuum fluctuations of the supersymmetric field an effective equation of state is derived in a self-consistent approach at one loop order. The net effect of the vacuum fluctuations of the supersymmetric fields in the leading adiabatic order is a renormalization of the Newton and cosmological constants.     

Dynamical breaking of supersymmetry and positivity of vacuum energy density

The possibility of dynamical breaking of supersymmetry is investigated with special emphasis on the role of the positivity of the vacuum energy density. We point out that (i) the vacuum energy density can become negative after appropriate renormalization of the fields (thereby being energetically favorable over the supersymmetric case), yet (ii) in such a situation the Nambu-Goldstone fermion state must necessarily possess negative norm, the theory becoming physically unacceptable. This phenomenon is explicitly demonstrated using an O(N) symmetric Wess-Zumino type model in the large-N limit. We conclude that for dynamical breaking of supersymmetry to occur in a physically acceptable manner, it is necessary that supersymmetric solution(s) be completely destroyed. Our study suggests that a strong power-type infrared singularity might achieve such a situation.     

CP violation in multi-Higgs supersymmetric models

We consider supersymmetric extensions of the standard model with two pairs of Higgs doublets. We study the possibility of spontaneous CP violation in these scenarios and present a model where the origin of CP violation is soft, with all the complex phases in the Lagrangian derived from complex masses and vacuum expectation values (VEVs) of the Higgs fields. The main ingredient of the model is an approximate global symmetry, which determines the order of magnitude of Yukawa couplings and scalar VEVs. We assume that the terms violating this symmetry are suppressed by powers of the small parameter ε_PQ = O(m_b/m_t). The tree-level flavor-changing interactions are small due to a combination of this global symmetry and a flavor symmetry, but they can be the dominant source of CP violation. All CP-violating effects occur at order ε_PQ² as the result of exchange of almost decoupled extra Higgs bosons and/or through the usual mechanisms with an almost real CKM matrix. On dimensional grounds, the model gives ε_K ≈ ε_PQ² and predicts for the neutron electric dipole moment (and possibly also for ε_K¹) a suppression of order ε_PQ² with respect to the values obtained in standard and minimal supersymmetric scenarios. The predicted CP asymmetries in B decays are generically too small to be seen in the near future. The mass of the lightest neutral scalar, the strong CP problem, and possible contributions to the Z decay into b quarks (the R_b puzzle) are also briefly addressed in the framework of this model.     

Neutrino Phenomenology of a High Scale Supersymmetry Model

CP violation in the lepton sector, and other aspects of neutrino physics, are studied within a high scale supersymmetry model. In addition to the sneutrino vacuum expectation values(VEVs), the heavy vector-like triplet also contributes to neutrino masses. Phases of the VEVs of relevant fields, complex couplings, and Zino mass are considered.The approximate degeneracy of neutrino masses m_(ν1) and m_(ν2) can be naturally understood. The neutrino masses are then normal ordered, ～ 0.020 eV, 0.022 eV, and 0.054 eV. Large CP violation in neutrino oscillations is favored. The effective Majorana mass of the electron neutrino is about 0.02 eV.     

Supersymmetry for Fermion Masses

It is proposed that supersymmetry （SUSY） may be used to understand fermion mass hierarchies. A family symmetry ZSL is introduced, which is the cyclic symmetry among the three generation SU（2） doublets. SUSY breaks at a high energy scale - 10^11 GeV. The electroweak energy scale- 100 GeV is unnaturally small No additional global symmetry, like the R-parlty, is imposed. The Yukawa couplings and R-parity violating couplings all take their natural values, which are О（10^0 -10^-2）. Under the family symmetry, only the third generation charged ferrnions get their masses. This family symmetry is broken in the soft SUSY breaking terms, which result in a hierarchical pattern of the fermion masses. It turns out that for the charged leptons, the r mass is from the Higgs vacuum expectation value （VEV） and the sneutrino VEVs, the muon mass is due to the sneutrino VEVs, and the electron gains its mass due to both ZZL and SUSY hreaking. The large neutrino mixing are produced with neutralinos playing the partial role of right-handed neutrinos. │Ve3│, which is for Ve-Vr mixing, is expected to be about 0.1. For the quarks, the third generation masses are from the Higgs VEVs, the second generation masses are from quantum corrections, and the down quark mass due to the sneutrino VEVs. It explains me/ms, ms/me, md 〉 mu and so on. Other aspects of the model are discussed.     

Predictivity of models with spontaneously broken non-Abelian discrete flavor symmetries

In a class of supersymmetric flavor models predictions are based on residual symmetries of some subsectors of the theory such as those of the charged leptons and neutrinos. However, the vacuum expectation values of the so-called flavon fields generally modify the Kähler potential of the setting, thus changing the predictions. We derive simple analytic formulae that allow us to understand the impact of these corrections on the predictions for the masses and mixing parameters. Furthermore, we discuss the effects on the vacuum alignment and on flavor changing neutral currents. Our results can also be applied to non-supersymmetric flavor models.     

Embedding Z′ models in SO(10) GUTs

We embed a theory with Z′ gauge boson (related to an extra U(1) gauge group) into a supersymmetric GUT theory based on SO(10). Two possible sequences of SO(10) breaking via VEVs of appropriate Higgs fields are considered. Gauge coupling unification provides constraints on the low energy values of two additional gauge coupling constants related to Z′ interactions with fermions. Our main purpose is to investigate in detail the freedom in these two values due to different scales of subsequent SO(10) breaking and unknown threshold mass corrections in the gauge RGEs. These corrections are mainly generated by Higgs representations and can be large because of the large dimensions of these representations. To account for many free mass parameters, effective threshold mass corrections have been introduced. Analytic results that show the allowed regions of values of two additional gauge coupling constants have been derived at 1-loop level. For a few points in parameter-space that belong to one of these allowed regions 1-loop running of gauge coupling constants has been compared with more precise running, which is 2-loop for gauge coupling constants and 1-loop for Yukawa coupling constants. 1-loop results have been compared with experimental constraints from electroweak precision tests and from the most recent LHC data.     

Instanton effects in N = 2 supersymmetric quantum mechanics

Supersymmetric quantum mechanics with several bosonic and fermionic dynamic variables is considered. Two different N = 2 supersymmetric models involving instantons are discussed in detail. Instantons fail to break supersymmetry in one of the models considered. The vacuum state is degenerate in this model which generally results in spontaneous breaking of internal left-right symmetry. In another model supersymmetry is destroyed dynamically due to special complex instanton solutions. Possible implications for SUSY field theories are discussed.     

Influence of the minimal supersymmetric standard model extended by an additional Higgs singlet on the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon

We present the results of the influence of the minimal supersymmetric standard model with an additional Higgs singletN, with vacuum expectation valuev _N, on the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon. This gives different mass matrices for the charginos and neutralinos, which are taken into account within the relevant penguin diagrams leading to a contribution Δa _μ to the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon. We show that a large vacuum expectation value for the Higgs singlet leads to a suppression of the supersymmetric contribution making it difficult to see in an experiment in the near future.     

Bosonic loops and gluon condensate

Contributions to the vacuum polarisation inQCD are calculated separately with fermion as well as boson loops to have an idea of results expected for possible supersymmetric extension. It is found that the results are not altered in any significant way.     

Supersymmetry and the vacuum

It is shown that, in a supersymmetric theory, the sum of all vacuum diagrams vanishes identically as a consequence of compensations among contributions involving different fields of the supermultiplet. This means that the zero-point energy-momentum density is zero to all orders in the supersymmetric interaction. In an external gravitational field no cosmological term is induced through the vacuum polarization of the matter fields. The situation when supersymmetry is spontaneously broken, or softly broken is also discussed.     

SUSY variants of the electroweak phase transition

The MSSM with a light right-handed stop and supersymmetric models with a singlet whose vev is comparable to that of the Higgs allow for a strongly first-order electroweak phase transition even for a mass of the lightest Higgs around 100 GeV. After a short review of the standard model situation we discuss these supersymmetric models. We also compare perturbative calculations based on the dimensionally reduced 3-dimensional action with lattice results and present an analytic procedure based on an analogue of the stochastic vacuum model of QCD to estimate the nonperturbative contributions. Received: 26 September 1998 / Revised version: 2 June 1999 / Published online: 15 July 1999     

Vacuum alignment in supersymmetric gauge theories

The vacuum alignment problem is analyzed in the context of supersymmetric gauge theories with dynamical symmetry breaking. Three cases are distinguished, depending on whether the vacuum expectation value of the weak gauge current superfield in vacuum characterized by the orientation Ω is zero for all Ω, for some Ω, or for no Ω. In the first case, a non-renormalization theorem is proved to all orders in the weak coupling, showing that the usual criterion of minimizing the vacuum energy density is insufficient to determine the alignment, and possible resolutions of the problem are discussed. The second case is similar, except that the possible alignments are resricted to the range of Ω giving a vanishing VEV and the weak gauge group may then be broken non-minimally. In the third case, supersymmetry is itself broken at the tree level by the weak interactions. The supersymmetric generalization of the Schwinger mechanism for dynamical mass generation is described.