Ultra Unification

Higher dimensional grand unified theories, with gauge symmetry breaking by orbifold compactification, possess SU(5) breaking at fixed points, and do not automatically lead to tree-level gauge coupling unification. A new framework is introduced that guarantees precise unification -- even the leading loop threshold corrections are predicted, although they are model dependent. Precise agreement with the experimental result, \alpha_s^{exp} = 0.117 \pm 0.002, occurs only for a uni...

The GUT-based approach to physics has been attractive since it was first put forward close to thirty years ago; it has been enriched by new ideas, notably supersymmetry and strings; and there are real hints that it is on the right track, notably from measurements of the weak mixing angle and neutrino masses. In this article (based on my Heinrich Hertz lecture at SUSY 2002 at DESY, June, 2002), some of the arguments for grand unification will be reviewed.

We review several problems of conventional Grand Unification and some new approaches. In particular, we discuss strongly coupled Grand Unified Theories. Standard Model may emerge as a low energy effective theory of composite particles in these models. We construct a realistic model of this kind.

In this talk, we present a minimal viable scenario that unifies the gauge symmetries of the Standard Model (SM) and their breaking sector. Our Gauge-Higgs Grand Unification setup employs 5D warped space with a $SU(6)$ bulk gauge field that includes both a $SU(5)$ grand unified theory (GUT) and a Higgs sector as a scalar component of the 5D vector field, solving the hierarchy problem. By appropriately breaking the gauge symmetry on the boundaries of the extra dimension the iss...

A topological theory for the interactions in Nature is presented. The theory derives from the cyclic properties of the topological manifold Q=2T^3 + 3S^1 x S^2 which has 23 intrinsic degrees of freedom, discrete Z_3 and Z_2 x Z_3 internal groups, an SU(5) gauge group, and an anomalous U(1) symmetry. These properties reproduce the standard model with a stable proton, a natural place for CP violation and doublet-triplet splitting. The equation of motion for the unified theory i...

A formalism is presented to construct a non-perturbative Grand Unified Theory when gravitational Planck-scale phenomena are included. The fundamental object on the Planck scale is the three-torus T^3 from which the known properties of superstrings, such as the geometric action and duality, follow directly. The low energy theory is 11-dimensional and compactification to a Lorentzian four-manifold is an automatic feature of the unified model. In particular, the simply-connected...

I review the unification of gauge couplings of strong, weak and electro-magnetic interactions. I start by recalling the history of the most important prediction of low-energy supersymmetry: the correct value of the weak mixing angle tied to a large top quark mass. I then turn to the discussion of the present day situation of the minimal supersymmetric Grand Unified Theories based on SU(5) and SO(10) groups, and I show why the minimal SU(5) is in accord with experiment. For th...

Recent developments in supersymmetric unified theories are reviewed, with particular emphasis on supersymmetric grand unification and a brief discussion of recent ideas about extra dimensions.

I discuss some new trends in particle theory beyond the standard model. Some topics briefly covered include elecroweak baryogenesis, gauge versus non-gauge discrete symmetries, the strong CP problem, dynamical symmetry breaking scenarios, supersymmetric grand unification, new aspects in low energy supersymmetry and superstring phenomenology.

An introduction to the most important concepts in the subject of supersymmetric unified theories is presented. The emphasis is on the practical aspects leading to state-of-the-art calculations in this renascent subject. The topics covered include: generalities of supersymmetric unified theories, gauge and Yukawa coupling unification including the most up-to-date numerical analyses, soft supersymmetry breaking, and radiative electroweak symmetry breaking enforced using the tre...