Aspects of moduli stabilization in type IIB string theory

We review moduli stabilization in type IIB string theory compactification with fluxes. We focus on the KKLT and Large Volume Scenario (LVS). We show that the predicted soft SUSY breaking terms in KKLT model are not phenomenological viable. In LVS, the following result for scalar mass, gaugino mass, and trilinear term is obtained: $m_0 =m_{1/2}= - A_0=m_{3/2}$, which may account for Higgs mass limit if $m_{3/2} \sim {\cal O}(1.5)$ TeV. However, in this case the relic abundance of the lightest neutralino can not be consistent with the measured limits. We also study the cosmological consequences of moduli stabilization in both models. In particular, the associated inflation models such as racetrack inflation and K\"ahler inflation are analyzed. Finally the problem of moduli destabilization and the effect of string moduli backreaction on the inflation models are discussed.Comment: 34 pages, 8 figure

Cosmological Imprints of SUSY Breaking in Models of Sgoldstinoless Non-Oscillatory Inflation

In supergravity, the dynamics of the sgoldstino -- superpartner of the goldstino superfield associated with the breaking of supersymmetry at low energy -- can substantially modify the dynamics of inflation in the primordial Universe. So-called sgoldstinoless models assume the existence of a nilpotency constraint $S^2=0$ that effectively removes the sgoldstino from the theory. Such models were proposed to realise non-oscillatory inflation scenarios with a single scalar field, which feature a long period of kination at the end of inflation, and therefore a non-standard post-inflationary cosmology. Using effective operators, we propose models in which the sgoldstino is stabilized close to the origin to reproduce the nilpotent constraint. We show that small sgoldstino fluctuations may lead to a sizeable back-reaction on the cosmological history. We study the effect of this back-reaction on the inflation observables measured in the cosmic microwave background and confront the model to a series of constraints including limits on $\Delta N_{\rm eff}$. We show that the peculiar form of the potential in the large supersymmetry breaking scale limit can generate peaks in the scalar power spectrum produced from inflation. We study how certain perturbation modes may re-enter the horizon during or after kination and show that a large supersymmetry breaking scale may lead to the formation of primordial black holes with various masses in the early Universe.Comment: 26 pages, 7 figure

Modified hybrid inflation, reheating and stabilization of the electroweak vacuum

We propose a modification to the standard hybrid inflation model \cite{Linde:1993cn}, that connects a successful hybrid inflation scenario to the standard model higgs sector, via the electroweak vacuum stability. The proposed model results in an effective inflation potential of a hilltop-type, with both the trans-Planckian and sub-Planckian inflation regimes are consistent with the recent Planck/BICEP combined results. Reheating via the inflation sector decays to right-handed neutrinos is considered. An upper bound on the reheating temperature $T_{\rm R} \leq 2\times 10^{11}~(1\times 10^{13})$ GeV, for large~(small) field inflation, will suppress contributions from one-loop quantum corrections to the inflation potential. This may push the neutrino Yukawa couplings to be ${\cal O}(1)$ and affect the vacuum stability. We show that the couplings of the SM Higgs to the inflation sector can guarantee the electroweak vacuum stability up to Planck scale. The so-called hybrid Higgs-inflaton model leads to a positive correction for the Higgs quartic coupling at a threshold scale, which is shown to have a very significant effect in stabilizing the electroweak vacuum. We find that even with ${\cal O}(1)$ neutrino Yukawa couplings, threshold corrections leave the SM vacuum stability intact.Comment: 22 pages, 4 figures, 3 table

Inflation, superheavy metastable strings and gravitational waves in non-supersymmetric flipped SU(5)

Motivated by the NANOGrav 15 year data and other recent investigations of stochastic gravitational background radiation based on pulsar timing arrays, we show how superheavy strings survive inflation but the slightly heavier monopoles do not in a non-supersymmetric hybrid inflation model based on flipped $SU(5)$. With the dimensionless string tension parameter $G \mu\approx 10^{-7}-10^{-6}$, the gravitational wave spectrum emitted by the strings, which are metastable due to breaking caused by monopole-antimonopole quantum mechanical tunneling, is compatible with the latest NANOGrav measurement as well as the advanced LIGO-VIRGO third run data. For $G \mu \approx 10^{-6}$, the string network undergoes about 30 $e$-foldings of inflation which suppresses the spectrum in the LIGO-VIRGO frequency range. With the symmetry breaking chain $SU(5) \times U(1)_X \to SU(3)_c \times SU(2)_L\times U(1)_Z \times U(1)_X \to SU(3)_c \times SU(2)_L \times U(1)_ Y$, the estimated proton lifetime is of order $10^{34}-10^{36}$ yrs.Comment: 17 pages, 2 figures and 5 table

Radion Flavor Violation in Warped Extra Dimension

We analyze the flavor violation in warped extra dimension due to radion mediation. We show that \Delta S=2 and \Delta B=2 flavor violating processes impose stringent constraints on radion mass, m_\phi and the scale \Lambda_\phi. In particular, for \Lambda_\phi ~ O(1) TeV, B_d^0-\bar{B}^0_d implies that m_\phi ~ 65 GeV. We also study radion contributions to lepton flavor violating processes: \tau -> (e,\mu) \phi, \tau -> e\mu^+\mu^- and B -> l_i l_j. We show that BR(B_s -> \mu^+ \mu^-) can be of order 10^{-8}, which is reachable at the LHCb. The radion search at LHC, through the flavor violation decays into \tau \mu or top-charm quarks, is also considered.Comment: 23 pages, 9 figure