Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 3, 2026

Setting Limits on Supersymmetry Using Simplified Models
Published on: November 15, 2013
New Nonsupersymmetric Tachyon-Free Strings
Zihni Kaan Baykara1, Houri-Christina Tarazi2,3, Cumrun Vafa1
1Harvard University, Department of Physics, Cambridge, Massachusetts MA02138, USA.
Abstract:
In four decades of string theory research, only a handful of nonsupersymmetric tachyon-free strings with only one neutral scalar at tree level were found. We construct new nonsupersymmetric tachyon-free string theories using asymmetric orbifolds that serve as the lower-dimensional counterparts to the O(16)×O(16) string in 4, 6, and 8 dimensions, each featuring only one neutral scalar at tree level, chiral matter and positive leading order potential. The 4D construction uses a quasicrystalline orbifold.
Related Concept Videos
Torsional Pendulum
As long as the rigid body's angular displacement is small, its oscillation can be modeled as a linear angular oscillation. The amplitude of the oscillation is an angle. The role of mass is played...
Space-Time Curvature and the General Theory of Relativity
This has been verified in many experiments. However, space and time are no longer absolute. Two observers moving relative to one another do not agree on the length of objects or the passage of time. The mechanics of objects based on Newton's laws of...
Symmetry in Maxwell's Equations
Simple Pendulum
The period of a simple pendulum depends on two factors: its length and the acceleration due to gravity. The period is completely independent of any other factors, such as mass or maximum displacement. For small displacements, a pendulum is...
Modes of Standing Waves - I
Torque Free Motion

