Supersymmetry breaking in a metastable vacuum allows one to build simple and concrete models of gauge mediation. Generation of gaugino masses requires that R-symmetry be broken in this vacuum. In general, there are two possible ways to break R-symmet
ry, explicitly or spontaneously. We find that the MSSM phenomenology depends crucially on how this breaking occurs in the Hidden Sector. Explicit R-symmetry breaking models can lead to fairly standard gauge mediation, but we argue that in the context of ISS-type models this only makes sense if B=0 at the mediation scale, which leads to high tan(beta). If on the other hand, R-symmetry is broken spontaneously, then R-symmetry violating soft terms tend to be suppressed with respect to R-symmetry preserving ones, and one is led to a scenario with large scalar masses. These models interpolate between standard gauge mediation and split SUSY models. We provide benchmark points for the two scenarios. They demonstrate that the specific dynamics of the Hidden Sector -- the underlying nature of supersymmetry and R-symmetry breaking -- affects considerably the mass spectrum of the MSSM, and vice versa.
The LHC will probe the nature of the vacuum that determines the properties of particles and the forces between them. Of particular importance is the fact that our current theories allow the Universe to be trapped in a metastable vacuum, which may dec
ay in the distant future, changing the nature of matter. This could be the case in the Standard Model if the LHC finds the Higgs boson to be light. Supersymmetry is one favoured extension of the Standard Model which one might invoke to try to avoid such instability. However, many supersymmetric models are also condemned to vacuum decay for different reasons. The LHC will be able to distinguish between different supersymmetric models, thereby testing the stability of the vacuum, and foretelling the fate of the Universe.
