Chiral tensor fields and spontaneous breaking of Lorentz symmetry

Antisymmetric tensor fields interacting with quarks and leptons have been proposed as a possible solution to the gauge hierarchy problem. We compute the one-loop beta function for a quartic self-interaction of the chiral antisymmetric tensor fields. Fluctuations of the top quark drive the corresponding running coupling to a negative value as the renormalization scale is lowered. This may indicate a non-vanishing expectation value of the tensor field, and thus a spontaneous breaking of Lorentz invariance. Settling this issue will need the inclusion of tensor loops.Comment: 15 pages, 4 figure

Asymptotically free four-fermion interactions and electroweak symmetry breaking

We investigate the fermions of the standard model without a Higgs scalar. Instead, we consider a non-local four-quark interaction in the tensor channel which is characterized by a single dimensionless coupling $f$. Quantization leads to a consistent perturbative expansion for small $f$. The running of $f$ is asymptotically free and therefore induces a non-perturbative scale $\Lambda_{ch}$, in analogy to the strong interactions. We argue that spontaneous electroweak symmetry breaking is triggered at a scale where $f$ grows large and find the top quark mass of the order of $\Lambda_{ch}$. We also present a first estimate of the effective Yukawa coupling of a composite Higgs scalar to the top quark, as well as the associated mass ratio between the top quark and the W boson.Comment: 24 page

The cosmological constant problem in codimension-two brane models

We discuss the possibility of a dynamical solution to the cosmological constant problem in the contaxt of six-dimensional Einstein-Maxwell theory. A definite answer requires an understanding of the full bulk cosmology in the early universe, in which the bulk has time-dependent size and shape. We comment on the special properties of codimension two as compared to higher codimensions.Comment: 11 page

Dark energy cosmologies for codimension-two branes

A six-dimensional universe with two branes in the "football-shaped" geometry leads to an almost realistic cosmology. We describe a family of exact solutions with time dependent characteristic size of internal space. After a short inflationary period the late cosmology is either of quintessence type or turns to a radiation dominated Friedmann universe where the cosmological constant appears as a free integration constant of the solution. The radiation dominated universe with relativistic fermions is analyzed in detail, including its dimensional reduction.Comment: 18 page

Holographic Branes

We discuss the properties of codimension-two branes and compare them to codimension-one branes. In particular, we show that for deficit angle branes the brane energy momentum tensor is uniquely related to integration constants in the bulk solution. We investigate chiral fermions whose wave functions are concentrated on the brane, while all their properties in the effective four-dimensional world can be inferred from the tail of the wave function in the bulk, thereby realizing a holographic principle. We propose holographic branes for which the knowledge of the bulk geometry is sufficient for the computation of all relevant properties of the observable particles, independently of the often unknown detailed physics of the branes.Comment: 13 pages, references adde

A Minimal Length from the Cutoff Modes in Asymptotically Safe Quantum Gravity

Within asymptotically safe Quantum Einstein Gravity (QEG), the quantum 4-sphere is discussed as a specific example of a fractal spacetime manifold. The relation between the infrared cutoff built into the effective average action and the corresponding coarse graining scale is investigated. Analyzing the properties of the pertinent cutoff modes, the possibility that QEG generates a minimal length scale dynamically is explored. While there exists no minimal proper length, the QEG sphere appears to be "fuzzy" in the sense that there is a minimal angular separation below which two points cannot be resolved by the cutoff modes.Comment: 26 pages, 1 figur

Scale-dependent metric and causal structures in Quantum Einstein Gravity

Within the asymptotic safety scenario for gravity various conceptual issues related to the scale dependence of the metric are analyzed. The running effective field equations implied by the effective average action of Quantum Einstein Gravity (QEG) and the resulting families of resolution dependent metrics are discussed. The status of scale dependent vs. scale independent diffeomorphisms is clarified, and the difference between isometries implemented by scale dependent and independent Killing vectors is explained. A concept of scale dependent causality is proposed and illustrated by various simple examples. The possibility of assigning an "intrinsic length" to objects in a QEG spacetime is also discussed.Comment: 52 page