A Guide to Flat Direction Analysis in Anomalous U(1) Models

We suggest a systematic procedure to study D- and F-flat directions in a large class of models with an anomalous U(1). This class of models is characterized by the existence of a vacuum that breaks all Abelian gauge symmetries connecting the observable sector to the hidden sector. We show that, under some conditions, there is no other stable vacuum that breaks these symmetries. As a consequence, the model yields definite (order of magnitude) predictions for low-energy mass hierarchies. Then we study generic flat directions and identify the ones that may lead to undesirable vacua. We give necessary conditions for those to be lifted, and show that supersymmetry breaking only slightly affects the conclusions from the flat direction analysis.Comment: 15 pages, LaTeX2

Gauge mediated supersymmetry breaking and supergravity

We analyze simple models of gauge mediated supersymmetry breaking in the context of supergravity. We distinguish two cases. One is when the messenger of the supersymmetry breaking is a non Abelian gauge force and the other is when the messenger is a pseudoanomalous U(1). We assume that these models originate from string theory and we impose the constraint of the vanishing of the cosmological constant requiring also the stabilization of the dilaton. In the first case, we do not find vacua that are consistent with the constraints of gauge mediation and have a zero tree level cosmological constant. In the second case, no such conflict arises. In addition, by looking at the one loop cosmological constant, we show that the dilaton F-term can not be neglected in either case. For the gauge mediated case our considerations suggest that the dilaton must be frozen out of the low energy field theory by non-perturbative string dynamics.Comment: Revised version. Significant changes in Introduction and Conclusion, 9 page

Anomalous U(1), holomorphy, supersymmetry breaking and dilaton stabilization

We argue that in certain models with family symmetries the implementation of the alignment mechanism for the supression of the flavor changing neutral currents requires mass matrices with holomorphic zeros in the down quark sector. Holomorphic zeros typically open flat directions that potentially spoil the uniqueness of the supersymmetric vacuum. We then present an anomalous U(1) model without holomorphic zeros in the quark sector that can reproduce the fermion mass hierarchies, provided that $\tan{\beta}$ is of order one. To avoid undesired flavor changing neutral currents we propose a supersymmetry breaking mechanism and a dilaton stabilization scenario that result in degenerate squarks at $M\sim M_{GUT}$ and a calculable low energy spectrum. We present the numerical predictions of this model for the Higgs mass for different values of $M$ and $\tan{\beta}$.Comment: 14 pages, no figures; wording of the abstract is change

Dynamical supersymmetry breaking in a superstring inspired model

We present a dilaton dominated scenario for supersymmetry breaking in a recently constructed realistic superstring inspired model with an anomalous U(1) symmetry. Supersymmetry is broken via gaugino condensation due to a confining SU(Nc) gauge group in the hidden sector. In particular, we find that by imposing on the model the phenomenological constraint of the absence of observed flavor changing neutral currents, there is a range of parameters related to the hidden sector and the Kahler potential for which we obtain a low energy spectrum consistent with present experimental bounds. As an illustrative example, we derive the low energy spectrum of a specific model. We find that the LSP is the lightest neutralino with a mass of 53 GeV and the lightest Higgs has a mass of 104 GeV.Comment: 13 page

A Model of Yukawa Hierarchies

We present a model for the observed hierarchies among the Yukawa couplings of the standard model in the context of an effective low energy theory with an anomalous U(1) symmetry. This symmetry, a generic feature of superstring compactification, is a remnant of the Green-Schwarz anomaly cancellation mechanism. The gauge group is that of the standard model, augmented by X, the anomalous U(1), and two family-dependent phase symmetries $Y^{(1)}$ and $Y^{(2)}$. The correct hierarchies are reproduced only when $sin^2\theta_w=3/8$ at the cut-off. To cancel anomalies, right-handed neutrinos and other standard model singlets must be introduced. Independently of the charges of the right-handed neutrinos, this model produces the same neutrino mixing matrix and an inverted hierarchy of neutrino masses. The heaviest is the electron neutrino with a mass $\sim 1$ meV, and mixing of the order of $\lambda_c^3$ with each of the other two neutrinos.Comment: 15 pages, no figures, LaTex. Revised version, containing minor typographical corrections, as well as a substantial revision of the final three paragraphs of the text. Submitted to Physics Letters

Anomalous U(1) and low-energy physics: the power of D-flatness and holomorphy

In models with an anomalous abelian symmetry broken at a very large scale, we study which requirements to impose on the anomalous charges in order to prevent standard model fields from acquiring large vacuum expectation values. The use of holomorphic invariants to study D-flat directions for the anomalous symmetry, proves to be a very powerful tool. We find that in order to forbid unphysical vacuum configurations at that scale, the superpotential must contain many interaction terms, including the usual Yukawa terms. Our analysis suggests that the anomalous charge of the \mu-term is zero. It is remarkable that, together with the seesaw mechanism, and mass hierarchies, this implies a natural conservation of R-parity.Comment: 16 pages, latex, no figure

Predictions from an Anomalous U(1) Model of Yukawa Hierarchies

We present a supersymmetric standard model with three gauged Abelian symmetries, of a type commonly found in superstrings. One is anomalous, the other two are $E_6$ family symmetries. It has a vacuum in which only these symmetries are broken by stringy effects. It reproduces all observed quark and charged lepton Yukawa hierarchies, and the value of the Weinberg angle. It predicts three massive neutrinos, with mixing that can explain both the small angle MSW effect, and the atmospheric neutrino anomaly. The Cabibbo angle is expressed in terms of the gauge couplings at unification. It conserves R-parity, and proton decay is close to experimental bounds.Comment: 26 page