14 research outputs found
Effective Theory Approach to the Spontaneous Breakdown of Lorentz Invariance
We generalize the coset construction of Callan, Coleman, Wess and Zumino to
theories in which the Lorentz group is spontaneously broken down to one of its
subgroups. This allows us to write down the most general low-energy effective
Lagrangian in which Lorentz invariance is non-linearly realized, and to explore
the consequences of broken Lorentz symmetry without having to make any
assumptions about the mechanism that triggers the breaking. We carry out the
construction both in flat space, in which the Lorentz group is a global
spacetime symmetry, and in a generally covariant theory, in which the Lorentz
group can be treated as a local internal symmetry. As an illustration of this
formalism, we construct the most general effective field theory in which the
rotation group remains unbroken, and show that the latter is just the
Einstein-aether theory.Comment: 45 pages, no figures
f(R) theories
Over the past decade, f(R) theories have been extensively studied as one of
the simplest modifications to General Relativity. In this article we review
various applications of f(R) theories to cosmology and gravity - such as
inflation, dark energy, local gravity constraints, cosmological perturbations,
and spherically symmetric solutions in weak and strong gravitational
backgrounds. We present a number of ways to distinguish those theories from
General Relativity observationally and experimentally. We also discuss the
extension to other modified gravity theories such as Brans-Dicke theory and
Gauss-Bonnet gravity, and address models that can satisfy both cosmological and
local gravity constraints.Comment: 156 pages, 14 figures, Invited review article in Living Reviews in
Relativity, Published version, Comments are welcom
Exploring holographic Composite Higgs models
Simple Composite Higgs models predict new vector-like fermions not too far from the electroweak scale, yet LHC limits are now sensitive to the TeV scale. Motivated by this tension, we explore the holographic dual of the minimal model, MCHM5, to try and alleviate this tension without increasing the fine-tuning in the Higgs potential. Interestingly, we find that lowering the UV cutoff in the 5D picture allows for heavier top partners and less fine-tuning. In the 4D dual this corresponds to increasing the number of “colours” N , thus increasing the decay constant of the Goldstone Higgs. This is essentially a ‘Little Randall-Sundrum Model’, which are known to reduce some flavour and electroweak constraints. Furthermore, in anticipation of the ongoing efforts at the LHC to put bounds on the top Yukawa, we demonstrate that deviations from the SM can be suppressed or enhanced with respect to what is expected from mere symmetry arguments in 4D. We conclude that the 5D holographic realisation of the MCHM5 with a small UV cutoff is not in tension with the current experimental data
Field redefinitions in effective theories at higher orders
The invariance of physical observables under redefinitions of the quantum fields
is a well-known and important property of quantum field theory. We study perturbative field redefinitions in effective theories, paying special attention to higher-order effects and
their impact on matching to an ultraviolet theory at the classical and quantum levels.Our
work has been supported by the Spanish MINECO project FPA2016-78220-C3-1-P (Fondos
FEDER) and the Junta de Andalucía grant FQM101. The work of J.C.C. has also been
supported by the Spanish MECD grant FPU14
Modern tests of Lorentz invariance
Motivated by ideas about quantum gravity, a tremendous amount of effort over
the past decade has gone into testing Lorentz invariance in various regimes.
This review summarizes both the theoretical frameworks for tests of Lorentz
invariance and experimental advances that have made new high precision tests
possible. The current constraints on Lorentz violating effects from both
terrestrial experiments and astrophysical observations are presented.Comment: Modified and expanded discussions of various points. Numerous
references added. Version matches that accepted by Living Reviews in
Relativit
Veneziano-Yankielowicz Superpotential Terms in N=1 SUSY Gauge Theories
The Veneziano-Yankielowicz glueball superpotential for an arbitrary N=1 SUSY pure gauge theory with classical gauge group is derived using an approach following recent work of Dijkgraaf, Vafa and others. These non-perturbative terms, which had hitherto been included by hand in the above approach, are thus seen to arise naturally, and the approach is rendered self-contained. By minimising the glueball superpotential for theories with fundamental matter added, the expected vacuum structure with gaugino condensation and chiral symmetry breaking is obtained. Various possible extensions are also discussed
The Cosmology of a Universe with Spontaneously-Broken Lorentz Symmetry
A self consistent effective field theory of modified gravity has recently been proposed with spontaneous breaking of local Lorentz invariance. The symmetry is broken by a vector field with the wrong-sign mass term and it has been shown to have additional graviton modes and modified dispersion relations. In this paper we study the evolution of a homogeneous and isotropic universe in the presence of such a vector field with a minimum lying along the time-like direction. A plethora of different regimes is identified, such as accelerated expansion, loitering, collapse and tracking