New Weak-Scale Physics from SO(10) with High-Scale Supersymmetry

TL;DR

This paper shows that in a high-scale supersymmetric SO(10) GUT, maintaining gauge unification and Higgs vacuum stability necessitates TeV-scale physics, specifically a scalar SU(2) triplet, contrary to expectations of new physics only at very high energies.

Contribution

It demonstrates that in a high-scale supersymmetric SO(10) model, TeV-scale physics is required for unification and stability, revealing a surprising link between high-energy theory and accessible new physics.

Findings

TeV-scale scalar SU(2) triplet is required for unification.

High-scale SUSY models still predict accessible new physics.

Gauge coupling unification and Higgs stability constrain TeV-scale physics.

Abstract

Gauge coupling unification and the stability of the Higgs vacuum are among two of the cherished features of low-energy supersymmetric models. Putting aside questions of naturalness, supersymmetry might only be realised in nature at very high energy scales. If this is the case, the preservation of gauge coupling unification and the stability of the Higgs vacuum would certainly require new physics, but it need not necessarily be at weak scale energies. New physics near the unification scale could in principle ensure Grand Unification, while new physics below $\mu \sim 10^{10}$ GeV could ensure the stability of the Higgs vacuum. Surprisingly however, we find that in the context of a supersymmetric SO(10) Grand Unified Theory, gauge coupling unification and the Higgs vacuum stability, when taken in conjunction with existing phenomenological constraints, require the presence of $\mathcal{O}$(TeV)-scale physics. This weak-scale physics takes the form of a complex scalar SU(2)$_L$ triplet with zero hypercharge, originating from the $\mathbf{210}$ of SO(10).