Note on gauge and gravitational anomalies of discrete $Z_N$ symmetries

In the Standard Model, some combination of the baryon $\bf B$ and lepton $\bf L$ number symmetry is free of mixed anomalies with strong and electroweak $su(3) \times su(2) \times u(1)_{\tilde Y}$ gauge forces. However, it can still suffer from a mixed gravitational anomaly, hypothetically pertinent to leptogenesis in the very early universe. This happens when the total "sterile right-handed" neutrino number $n_{\nu_R}$ is not equal to the family number $N_f$. Thus the inverti...

In the minimal supersymmetric Standard Model with seesaw neutrino masses we show how R-parity can emerge naturally as a discrete gauge symmetry. The same discrete symmetry explains the smallness of the \mu-term (the Higgsino mass parameter) via the Giudice--Masiero mechanism. The discrete gauge anomalies are cancelled by a discrete version of the Green--Schwarz mechanism. The simplest symmetry group is found to be Z_4 with a charge assignment that is compatible with grand uni...

We consider the probem of gauging discrete symmetries. All valid constraints on such symmetries can be understood in the low energy theory in terms of instantons. We note that string perturbation theory often exhibits global discrete symmetries, which are broken non-perturbatively.

We consider low-energy supersymmetric model with non-anomalous discrete R-symmetry. In such a model, to make the R-symmetry non-anomalous, new particles with gauge quantum numbers should be inevitably added to the particle content of the minimal supersymmetric standard model (MSSM). Those new particles may couple to the Higgs boson, resulting in a significant enhancement of the lightest Higgs mass. We show that, in such a model, the lightest Higgs mass can be much larger than...

We show that the minimal supergravity extension of the standard model automatically contains topologically stable electroweak strings if the hidden sector is invariant under the exact R-symmetry. These defects appear in the form of the semiglobal R-strings, which necessarily carry $Z$-flux inside their core. This result is independent from the particular structure of the hidden sector. Discussed strings differ fundamentally from the embedded $Z$-strings. If R-symmetry is expl...

The established results concerning the BRS cohomology of supersymmetric theories in four space-time dimensions are briefly reviewed. The current status of knowledge concerning supersymmetry anomalies and the possibility that supersymmetry breaks itself through anomalies in local composite operators is then discussed. It turns out that the simplest allowable supersymmetry anomalies occur only in conjunction with the spontaneous breaking of gauge symmetry. A simple example of...

We recall the obstacles which seemed, long ago, to prevent supersymmetry from possibly being a fundamental symmetry of Nature. Which bosons and fermions could be related? Is spontaneous supersymmetry breaking possible? Where is the spin-1/2 Goldstone fermion of supersymmetry? Can one define conserved baryon and lepton numbers in such theories, although they systematically involve self-conjugate Majorana fermions? etc.. We then recall how an early attempt to relate the photon ...

In particle physics model building discrete symmetries are often invoked to forbid unwanted or dangerous couplings. A classical example is the R-parity of the MSSM, which guarantees the absence of dimension four baryon- and lepton-number violating operators. Although phenomenologically useful, these discrete symmetries are, in the context of field theory, poorly motivated at a more fundamental level. Moreover, discrete {\em global} symmetries are expected to be violated in co...

The question whether global symmetries can be realized in quantum-gravity-matter-systems has far-reaching phenomenological consequences. Here, we collect evidence that within an asymptotically safe context, discrete global symmetries of the form $\mathbb{Z}_n$, $n>4$, cannot be realized in a near-perturbative regime. In contrast, an effective-field-theory approach to quantum gravity might feature such symmetries, providing a mechanism to generate mass hierarchies in the infra...

I discuss and extend several results concerning the cancellation of discrete gauge anomalies. I show how heavy fermions do not decouple in the presence of discrete gauge anomalies. As a consequence, in general, cancellation of discrete gauge anomalies cannot be described merely in terms of low energy operators involving only the light fermions. I also discuss cancellation of discrete gauge anomalies through a discrete version of the Green-Schwarz (GS) mechanism as well as the...