String Compactifications, Supersymmetry Breaking and Hierarchy Problems

Stanford University, Stanford CA

Investigators

Abstract

A broad program of research in string theory, the candidate theory of all the basic forces of nature, will be undertaken. The focus will be on constructing string models which naturally accommodate large hierarchies of scales. This is motivated by the observed but mysterious discrepancy between the spatial scale of the weak nuclear force (which is roughly the size of the nucleus) and the scale at which the gravitational force becomes strong (which is a much shorter distance than nuclear sizes). This is an important problem because understanding how and why these two very disparate scales occur in nature may be a key to uncovering the next layer of structure of the elementary particles.