How research programs come apart: the example of supersymmetry and the disunity of physics

According to Peter Galison, the coordination of different ``subcultures'' within a scientific field happens through local exchanges within ``trading zones''. In his view, the workability of such trading zones is not guaranteed, and science is not necessarily driven towards further integration. In this paper, we develop and apply quantitative methods (using semantic, authorship, and citation data from scientific literature), inspired by Galison's framework, to the case of the disunity of high-energy physics. We give prominence to supersymmetry, a concept that has given rise to several major but distinct research programs in the field, such as the formulation of a consistent theory of quantum gravity or the search for new particles. We show that ``theory'' and `phenomenology'' in high-energy physics should be regarded as distinct theoretical subcultures, between which supersymmetry has helped sustain scientific ``trades''. However, as we demonstrate using a topic model, the phenomenological component of supersymmetry research has lost traction and the ability of supersymmetry to tie these subcultures together is now compromised. Our work supports that even fields with an initially strong sentiment of unity may eventually generate diverging research programs and demonstrates the fruitfulness of the notion of trading zones for informing quantitative approaches to scientific pluralism

Lepton flavor violation beyond the MSSM

Most extensions of the Standard Model lepton sector predict large lepton flavor violating rates. Given the promising experimental perspectives for lepton flavor violation in the next few years, this generic expectation might offer a powerful indirect probe to look for new physics. In this review we will cover several aspects of lepton flavor violation in supersymmetric models beyond the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model. In particular, we will concentrate on three different scenarios: high-scale and low-scale seesaw models as well as models with R-parity violation. We will see that in some cases the LFV phenomenology can have characteristic features for specific scenarios, implying that dedicated studies must be performed in order to correctly understand the phenomenology in non-minimal supersymmetric models.Comment: 47 pages, 11 figures; v3: references added. Prepared for "Supersymmetry beyond the NMSSM

A realistic model of neutrino masses with a large neutrinoless double beta decay rate

The minimal Standard Model extension with the Weinberg operator does accommodate the observed neutrino masses and mixing, but predicts a neutrinoless double beta ($0\nu\beta\beta$) decay rate proportional to the effective electron neutrino mass, which can be then arbitrarily small within present experimental limits. However, in general $0\nu\beta\beta$ decay can have an independent origin and be near its present experimental bound; whereas neutrino masses are generated radiatively, contributing negligibly to $0\nu\beta\beta$ decay. We provide a realization of this scenario in a simple, well defined and testable model, with potential LHC effects and calculable neutrino masses, whose two-loop expression we derive exactly. We also discuss the connection of this model to others that have appeared in the literature, and remark on the significant differences that result from various choices of quantum number assignments and symmetry assumptions. In this type of models lepton flavor violating rates are also preferred to be relatively large, at the reach of foreseen experiments. Interestingly enough, in our model this stands for a large third mixing angle, $\sin^2\theta_{13} \gtrsim 0.008$, when $\mu \rightarrow eee$ is required to lie below its present experimental limit.Comment: Published extended version with further reference

Phenomenology of the Neutrino-Mass-Giving Higgs Triplet and the Low-Energy Seesaw Violation of Lepton Number

Small realistic Majorana neutrino masses can be generated via a Higgs triplet $(\xi^{++}, \xi^+, \xi^0)$ without having energy scales larger than $M_*={\cal O}(1)$ TeV in the theory. The large effective mass scale $\Lambda$ in the well-known seesaw neutrino-mass operator $\Lambda^{-1} (LL\Phi\Phi)$ is naturally obtained with $\Lambda\sim M_*^2/\mu,$ where $\mu$ is a {\it small} scale of lepton-number violation. In theories with large extra dimensions, the smallness of $\mu$ is naturally obtained by the mechanism of ``shining'' if the number of extra dimensions $n\ge 3.$ We study here the Higgs phenomenology of this model, where the spontaneous violation of lepton number is treated as an external source from extra dimensions. The observable decays $\xi^{++} \to l_i^+l_j^+$ will determine directly the magnitudes of the $\{ij\}$ elements of the neutrino mass matrix. The decays $\xi^+ \to W^+ J^0$ and $\xi^0 \to Z J^0$, where $J^0$ is the massless Goldstone boson (Majoron), are also possible, but of special importance is the decay $\xi^0 \to J^0 J^0$ which provides stringent constraints on the allowed parameter space of this model. Based on the current neutrino data, we also predict observable rates of $\mu-e$ conversion in nuclei.Comment: Minor changes in the text, results unchange