A
bstract
Stringent Swampland conjectures aimed at effective theories containing massive abelian vectors have recently been proposed
15
, with striking phenomenological implications. In this ...article, we show how effective theories that parametrically violate the proposed conjectures can be UV-completed into theories that satisfy them. The UV-completion is accessible through both the Stückelberg and Higgs mechanisms, with all dimensionless parameters taking
O
1
values from the UV perspective. These constructions feature an IR limit containing a light vector that is parametrically separated from any other massive states, and from any cut-off scale mandated by quantum gravity consistency requirements. Moreover, the cut-off-to-vector-mass ratio remains parametrically large even in the decoupling limit in which all other massive states (including any scalar excitations) become arbitrarily heavy. We discuss how apparently strong constraints imposed by the proposed conjectures on phenomenologically interesting models, including specific production mechanisms of dark photon dark matter, are thereby circumvented.
A
bstract
We revisit the physical effects of discrete ℤ
p
gauge charge on black hole thermodynamics, building on the seminal work of Coleman, Preskill, and Wilczek. Realising the discrete theory from ...the spontaneous breaking of an Abelian gauge theory, we consider the two limiting cases of interest, depending on whether the Compton wavelength of the massive vector is much smaller or much larger than the size of the black hole — the so-called thin- and thick-string limits respectively. We find that the qualitative effect of discrete hair on the mass-temperature relationship is the same in both regimes, and similar to that of unbroken U(1) charge: namely, a black hole carrying discrete gauge charge is always colder than its uncharged counterpart. In the thick-string limit, our conclusions bring into question some of the results of Coleman et al., as we discuss. Further, by considering the system to be enclosed within a finite cavity, we argue how the unbroken limit may be smoothly defined, and the unscreened electric field of the standard Reissner-Nordström solution recovered.
The weak scale from weak gravity Craig, Nathaniel; Garcia Garcia, Isabel; Koren, Seth
The journal of high energy physics,
09/2019, Letnik:
2019, Številka:
9
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
A
bstract
We explore the prospects for bounding the weak scale using the weak gravity conjecture (WGC), addressing the hierarchy problem by violating the expectations of effective field theory. ...Building on earlier work by Cheung and Remmen, we construct models in which a super-extremal particle satisfying the electric WGC for a new Abelian gauge group obtains some of its mass from the Higgs, setting an upper bound on the weak scale as other UV-insensitive parameters are held fixed. Avoiding undue sensitivity of the weak scale to the parameters entering the bound implies that the super-extremal particle must lie at or below the weak scale. While the magnetic version of the conjecture implies additional physics entering around the same scale, we demonstrate that this need not correspond to a cutoff for the Higgs potential or otherwise trivialize the bound. We stress that linking the WGC to the weak scale necessarily involves new light particles coupled to the Higgs, implying a variety of experimentally accessible signatures including invisible Higgs decays and radiative corrections in the electroweak sector. These models also give rise to natural dark matter candidates, providing additional paths to discovery. In particular, collective effects in the dark matter plasma may provide a telltale sign of the Abelian gauge group responsible for bounding the weak scale.
We argue that gravitational wave signals due to collisions of ultra-relativistic bubble walls may be common in string theory. This occurs due to a process of post-inflationary vacuum decay via ...quantum tunnelling. Though we study a specific string construction involving warped throats, we argue that our conclusions are more general. Many such transitions could have occurred in the post-inflationary Universe, as a large number of throats with exponentially different mass scales can be present in the string landscape, leading to several signals of widely different frequencies – a soundscape connected to the landscape of vacua. Detectors such as aLIGO/VIRGO, LISA, and pulsar timing observations with SKA and EPTA have the sensitivity to detect such signals. A distribution of primordial black holes is also a likely consequence, though reliable estimates of masses and their abundance require dedicated numerical simulations, as do the fine details of the gravitational wave spectrum due to the unusual nature of the transition.
Reflections on bubble walls Garcia, Isabel Garcia; Koszegi, Giacomo; Petrossian-Byrne, Rudin
The journal of high energy physics,
09/2023, Letnik:
2023, Številka:
9
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
A
bstract
We discuss the dynamics of expanding bubble walls in the presence of massive dark photons whose mass changes as they cross the wall. For sufficiently thin walls, we show that there exists a ...transient kinematic regime characterized by a constant reflection probability of longitudinal — but not transverse — modes. This effect can have important implications for the dynamics of expanding vacuum bubbles in the early Universe. Most notably, it leads to a new source of pressure on the expanding interface, featuring a non-monotonic dependence on the
γ
-factor of the bubble walls and reaching a peak at intermediate
γ
-factors that we dub Maximum Dynamic Pressure. When this pressure is large enough to halt the acceleration of the bubble walls, the difference in vacuum energy densities goes into making a fraction of the dark photons relativistic, turning them into dark radiation. If the dark radiation remains relativistic until late times, an observable contribution to ∆
N
eff
is possible for phase transitions with strength
α
∼ 10
−
2
−
10
−
1
.
► We describe a performance model for parabolic trough solar thermal power plants with thermal storage. ► We give full details of the simulation algorithm, relevant calculations and physical models ...used. ► We show excellent agreement between our results and actual data from an operating plant in Spain. ► Our model is the first of its kind to be validated against operating plant data. ► Our results offer unprecedented insight into the actual performance and operation of these plants.
This paper describes a simulation model that reproduces the performance of parabolic trough solar thermal power plants with a thermal storage system. The aim of this model is to facilitate the prediction of the electricity output of these plants during the various stages of their planning, design, construction and operation. Model results for a 50
MW
e power plant are presented and compared to real data from an equivalent power plant currently operated by the ACS Industrial Group in Spain.
De Sitter decays to infinity Draper, Patrick; Garcia, Isabel Garcia; Lillard, Benjamin
The journal of high energy physics,
12/2021, Letnik:
2021, Številka:
12
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
A
bstract
Bubbles of nothing are a class of vacuum decay processes present in some theories with compactified extra dimensions. We investigate the existence and properties of bubbles of nothing in ...models where the scalar pseudomoduli controlling the size of the extra dimensions are stabilized at positive vacuum energy, which is a necessary feature of any realistic model. We map the construction of bubbles of nothing to a four-dimensional Coleman-De Luccia problem and establish necessary conditions on the asymptotic behavior of the scalar potential for the existence of suitable solutions. We perform detailed analyses in the context of five-dimensional theories with metastable dS
4
× S
1
vacua, using analytic approximations and numerical methods to calculate the decay rate. We find that bubbles of nothing sometimes exist in potentials with no ordinary Coleman-De Luccia decay process, and that in the examples we study, when both processes exist, the bubble of nothing decay rate is typically faster. Our methods can be generalized to other stabilizing potentials and internal manifolds.
A
bstract
In theories with discrete Abelian gauge groups, requiring that black holes be able to lose their charge as they evaporate leads to an upper bound on the product of a charged particle’s mass ...and the cutoff scale above which the effective description of the theory breaks down. This suggests that a non-trivial version of the Weak Gravity Conjecture (WGC) may also apply to gauge symmetries that are discrete, despite there being no associated massless field, therefore pushing the conjecture beyond the slogan that ‘gravity is the weakest force’. Here, we take a step towards making this expectation more precise by studying ℤ
N
and ℤ
2
N
gauge symmetries realised via theories of spontaneous symmetry breaking. We show that applying the WGC to a dual description of an Abelian Higgs model leads to constraints that allow us to saturate but not violate existing bounds on discrete symmetries based on black hole arguments. In this setting, considering the effect of discrete hair on black holes naturally identifies the cutoff of the effective theory with the scale of spontaneous symmetry breaking, and provides a mechanism through which discrete hair can be lost without modifying the gravitational sector. We explore the possible implications of these arguments for understanding the smallness of the weak scale compared to
M
Pl
.
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