Note on a NAHE Variation

TL;DR

This paper introduces a variation of the NAHE basis in free fermionic heterotic string models, enabling gauge group enhancement from SO(10) to E6 through boundary condition rotations, and explores its phenomenological implications.

Contribution

The paper presents a novel method of rotating boundary conditions in NAHE models to achieve E6 gauge symmetry enhancement and analyzes its impact on model phenomenology.

Findings

Enables gauge group enhancement to E6 via boundary condition rotation.

Recombines matter and Higgs fields into E6 27 representations.

Produces mirror models with distinct phenomenological features.

Abstract

We present a variation of the NAHE-basis for free fermionic heterotic string models. By rotating some of the boundary conditions of the NAHE periodic/anti-periodic fermions {y^m, \bar{y}^m, w^m, \bar{w}^m,}, for m = 1 to 6, associated with the six compact dimensions of a bosonic lattice/orbifold model, we show an additional method for enhancing the standard NAHE gauge group of SO(10) back to E6. This rotation transforms (SO(10) {\otimes} SO(6)^3)_obs {\otimes} (E_8)_hid into (E_6 {\otimes} U(1)^5)_obs {\otimes} SO(22)_hid. When SO(10) is enhanced to E_6 in this manner, the i^{th} MSSM matter generation in the SO(10) 16_i rep, originating in the twisted basis vector b_i, recombines with both its associated untwisted MSSM Higgs in a 10_i rep and an untwisted non-Abelian singlet {\phi}_i, to form a 27_i rep of E_6. Beginning instead with the E6 model, the inverse transformation of the fermion boundary conditions corresponds to partial GUT breaking via boundary rotation. Correspondence between free fermionic models with Z_2 {\otimes} Z_2 twist (especially of the NAHE class) and orbifold models with a similar twist has received further attention recently. Our NAHE variation also involves a Z_2 {\otimes} Z_2 twist and offers additional understanding regarding the free fermion/orbifold correspondence. Further, models based on this NAHE variation offer some different phenomenological features compared to NAHE-based models. In particular, the more compact Z2 {\otimes} Z2 twist of the NAHE variation offers a range of mirror models not possible from NAHE-based models. Examples of such models are presented.