We consider an explicit effective field theory example based on the Bousso-Polchinski framework with a large number N of hidden sectors contributing to supersymmetry breaking. Each contribution comes from four form quantized fluxes, multiplied by random couplings. The soft terms in the observable sector in this case become random variables, with mean values and standard deviations which are computable. We show that this setup naturally leads to a solution of the flavor problem in low-energy supersymmetry if N is sufficiently large. We investigate the consequences for flavor violating processes at low-energy and for dark matter.
We comment on the power of the standard solutions to the SUSY flavour and CP problem based on supergravity and its derivates like mSUGRA in comparison to the flavour symmetry approach. It is argued that flavour symmetries, and SU(3) in particular, can not only mimic the situation in supergravity frameworks in this respect, but sometimes do even better providing at the same time a further link between the soft and Yukawa sectors, that could be testable at future experimental facilities.
The current 7 TeV run of the LHC experiment shall be able to probe gluino and squark masses up to values of about 1 TeV. Assuming that hints for SUSY are found by the end of a 2 fb$^{-1}$ run, we explore the flavour constraints on the parameter space of the CMSSM, with and without massive neutrinos. In particular, we focus on decays that might have been measured by the time the run is concluded, such as $B_stomumu$ and $muto egamma$. We also briefly show the impact such a collider--flavour interplay would have on a Flavoured CMSSM.
We show how two different family symmetries can be used to address the flavour problem in SO(10)-like models. The first is based on a gauged $U(1)_F$, whose problems dissappear in the context of a type I string model embedding. The second is based on $SU(3)_F$, the maximal family group consistent with SO(10); in this case the family symmetry is more constaining, so we merely look at it in the context of a supersymmetric field theory
We consider the problem of trying to understand the recently measured neutrino data simultaneously with understanding the heirarchical form of quark and charged lepton Yukawa matrices. We summarise the data that a sucessful model of neutrino mass must predict, and then move on to attempting to do so in the context of spontaneously broken `family symmetries. We consider first an abelian U(1) family symmetry, which appears in the context of a type I string model. Then we consider a model based on a non-abelian SU(3)_F, which is the maximal family group consitent with an SO(10) GUT. In this case the symmetry is more constraining, and is examined in the context of SUSY field theory.
In a fertile patch of the string landscape which includes the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM) as the low energy effective theory, rather general arguments from Douglas suggest a power-law statistical selection of soft breaking terms (m(soft)^n where n=2n_F+n_D-1 with n_F the number of hidden sector F-SUSY breaking fields and n_D the number of D-term SUSY breaking fields). The statistical draw towards large soft terms must be tempered by requiring an appropriate breakdown of electroweak (EW) symmetry with no contributions to the weak scale larger than a factor 2-5 of its measured value, lest one violates the (anthropic) atomic principle. Such a simple picture of stringy naturalness generates a light Higgs boson with mass m_h~ 125 GeV with sparticles (other than higgsinos) typically beyond LHC reach. Then we expect first and second generation matter scalars to be drawn independently to the tens of TeV regime where the upper cutoff arises from two-loop RGE terms which drive third generation soft masses towards tachyonic values. Since the upper bounds on m_0(1,2) are the same for each generation, and flavor independent, then these will be drawn toward quasi-degenerate values. This mechanism leads to a natural mixed decoupling/quasi-degeneracy solution to the SUSY flavor problem and a decoupling solution to the SUSY CP problem.