We consider a model with a charged vector field along with a Cremmer-Scherk-Kalb-Ramond (CSKR) matter field coupled to a U(1) gauge potential. We obtain a natural Lorentz symmetry violation due to the local U(1) spontaneous symmetry breaking mechanism triggered by the imaginary part of the vector matter. The choice of the unitary gauge leads to the decoupling of the gauge-KR sector from the Higgs-KR sector. The excitation spectrum is carefully analyzed and the physical modes are identified. We propose an identification of the neutral massive spin-1 Higgs-like field with the massive Z boson of the so-called mirror matter models.
Antisymmetric tensor fields interacting with quarks and leptons have been proposed as a possible solution to the gauge hierarchy problem. We compute the one-loop beta function for a quartic self-interaction of the chiral antisymmetric tensor fields.
Fluctuations of the top quark drive the corresponding running coupling to a negative value as the renormalization scale is lowered. This may indicate a non-vanishing expectation value of the tensor field, and thus a spontaneous breaking of Lorentz invariance. Settling this issue will need the inclusion of tensor loops.
We study the spontaneous Lorentz symmetry breaking in a field theoretical model in (2+1)-dimension, inspired by string theory. This model is a gauge theory of an anti-symmetric tensor field and a vector field (photon). The Nambu-Goldstone (NG) boson
for the spontaneous Lorentz symmetry breaking is identified with the unphysical massless photon in the covariant quantization. We also discuss an analogue of the equivalence theorem between the amplitudes for emission or absorption of the physical massive anti-symmetric tensor field and those of the unphysical massless photon. The low-energy effective action of the NG-boson is also discussed.
We study nonlinear vacuum electrodynamics in a first-order formulation proposed by Plebanski. By applying a Dirac constraint analysis, we derive an effective Hamiltonian, together with the equations of motion. We show that there exists a large class
of potentials for which the effective Hamiltonian is bounded from below, while at the same time possessing stationary points in which the field strength acquires a nonzero vacuum expectation value. The associated spontaneous breaking of Lorentz symmetry can in principle be detected by coupling the model to a suitable external current, or to gravity. We show that the possible vacua can be classified in four classes. We study some of their properties, using explicit examples for illustration.
We study baryogenesis in effective field theories where a $mathrm{U}(1)_{ B-L}$-charged scalar couples to gravity via curvature invariants. We analyze the general possibilities in such models, noting the relationships between some of them and existin
g models, such as Affleck-Dine baryogenesis. We then identify a novel mechanism in which $mathrm{U}(1)_{ B-L}$ can be broken by couplings to the Gauss-Bonnet invariant during inflation and reheating. Using analytic methods, we demonstrate that this mechanism provides a new way to dynamically generate the net matter-anti-matter asymmetry observed today, and verify this numerically.
Weyl invariant theories of scalars and gravity can generate all mass scales spontaneously, initiated by a dynamical process of inertial spontaneous symmetry breaking that does not involve a potential. This is dictated by the structure of the Weyl cur
rent, $K_mu$, and a cosmological phase during which the universe expands and the Einstein-Hilbert effective action is formed. Maintaining exact Weyl invariance in the renormalised quantum theory is straightforward when renormalisation conditions are referred back to the VEVs of fields in the action of the theory, which implies a conserved Weyl current. We do not require scale invariant regulators. We illustrate the computation of a Weyl invariant Coleman-Weinberg potential.