M-Phenomenology

TL;DR

This paper explores the phenomenological implications of strongly coupled superstring theories, especially M-theory, proposing a scenario with a testable light sparticle spectrum and addressing issues like unification scale and supersymmetry breaking.

Contribution

It introduces a specific M-theory-based scenario that predicts a light sparticle spectrum and offers new insights into string unification and supersymmetry breaking mechanisms.

Findings

Downward shift of string unification scale

A novel supersymmetry breaking mechanism

Predicts a light, testable sparticle spectrum

Abstract

Recent developments involving strongly coupled superstrings are discussed from a phenomenological point of view. In particular, strongly coupled $E_8\times E'_8$ is described as an appropriate long-wavelength limit of M-theory, and some generic phenomenological implications are analyzed, including a long sought downward shift of the string unification scale and a novel way to break supersymmetry. A specific scenario is presented that leads to a rather light, and thus presently experimentally testable, sparticle spectrum.