REVIEW 3 major objections 4 minor 28 references
Predicting the SUSY breaking scale in SUGRA models with degenerate vacua
T0 review · 3 major / 4 minor · reviewed 2026-08-14 · deepseek-v4-flash
Pith's one-line read This paper predicts that the measured dark energy density fixes the supersymmetry breaking scale between 20 and 400 TeV.
desk verdict Two-loop RG calculation is the real new content, but the two-loop correction changes the answer by two orders of magnitude, so the 20-400 TeV window is not a controlled prediction. read the letter →
The pith
A machine-rendered reading of the paper's core claim, the machinery that carries it, and where it could break.
The reading
What carries the argument
The central object is the Landau-pole scale $\Lambda_c$ of the supersymmetric vacuum, defined as the scale where the two-loop running of $\alpha_3$ and the top-quark Yukawa coupling $Y_t$ becomes singular. It carries the argument through the identification $\rho_\Lambda \sim \Lambda_c^4$ (Eq. 4) and the one-loop relation $\Lambda_c = M_S \exp[2\pi/(b_3 \alpha_3^{(2)}(M_S))]$ (Eq. 5), which ties the dark energy density to the SUSY breaking scale. The two-loop contribution matters because it substantially reduces the growth of $\alpha_3$ and $Y_t$ in the infrared, lowering $\Lambda_c$ into the sub-eV range. The paper also uses the matching conditions (8)–(9), which allow $\alpha_3^{(2)}(M_X)$ and $Y_t^{(2)}(M_X)$ to differ from their physical-vacuum values by $\pm3\%$, to produce the quoted $M_S$ window.
What would settle it
Discover a superpartner, such as a gluino or squark, with mass well below 20 TeV: this would directly falsify the lower end of the predicted $M_S$ window. Alternatively, compute the coefficient $C$ in $\rho_\Lambda = C\Lambda_c^4$ from first principles; if $C$ differs from 1 by an order of magnitude, the $M_S$ range predicted from the cosmological constant moves outside 20–400 TeV.
Extended reading notes
Core claim
Under the Multiple Point Principle, the physical vacuum and a supersymmetric Minkowski vacuum are exactly degenerate in energy. In the second vacuum supersymmetry is broken dynamically when the strong coupling and top-quark Yukawa coupling run to a Landau pole at $\Lambda_c$, producing a vacuum energy density $\rho_\Lambda \sim \Lambda_c^4$ that is transferred to the physical vacuum. Evolving the couplings with two-loop renormalization group equations, and matching them at $M_X \simeq 2\times 10^{16}$ GeV up to $\pm3\%$ differences, the paper obtains $\Lambda_c \simeq 0.001$–$0.002$ eV when the physical SUSY breaking scale $M_S$ lies between 20 and 400 TeV. The paper further argues this interval is consistent with the upper bound on $M_S$ implied by the higgsino dark matter scenario.
Load-bearing premise
The prediction rests on the unproven assumption that the dark energy density in the supersymmetric vacuum equals $\Lambda_c^4$ up to an order-one coefficient; if that coefficient is not close to 1, the inferred range of $M_S$ shifts by an order of magnitude.
Editorial extensions
If this is right
- If the prediction holds, the measured cosmological constant implies $M_S$ is too large for most sparticles to be produced at the LHC.
- For $M_S \gtrsim 100$ TeV the gravitino is heavy enough to decay before Big Bang Nucleosynthesis, so the gravitino problem is avoided.
- For $M_S$ near 20 TeV, the lightest sparticles can be considerably lighter than $M_S$ and may be within reach of the HE-LHC or FCC.
- The derived $M_S$ interval is compatible with the higgsino dark matter requirement that $M_S \lesssim$ a few hundred TeV, making the degenerate-vacua and dark-matter arguments mutually consistent.
- Because $\Lambda_c$ grows with $\alpha_3^{(2)}(M_X)$ and falls with $M_S$, precise measurements of the strong coupling at high energies would sharpen the predicted sparticle spectrum.
Reading between the lines
- The paper does not derive the coefficient in $\rho_\Lambda = C\Lambda_c^4$; if a future calculation found $C$ an order of magnitude away from 1, the inferred $M_S$ window would shift correspondingly.
- The effect is fragile to new physics: the paper itself notes that adding one $5+\bar{5}$ multiplet pair removes the Landau pole, so a discovery of new matter at low energies would eliminate this particular prediction.
- The same degeneracy principle could be applied to other gauge groups or hidden sectors; the strength of the correlation between $\Lambda_c$ and the low-energy spectrum is a generic feature that could be tested elsewhere.
- A lattice or three-loop computation of the Landau-pole position would sharpen the $M_S$ prediction from an order-of-magnitude range to a precise mass spectrum.
Editorial analysis
A structured set of objections, weighed in public.
Referee Report
Summary. The manuscript applies the Multiple Point Principle (MPP) to N=1 supergravity models with two degenerate vacua: a physical vacuum with broken supersymmetry and a supersymmetric Minkowski vacuum. Assuming that the gauge and top-quark Yukawa couplings are almost identical in the two vacua at high energies, the authors identify the dark energy density with the fourth power of the scale Λ_c at which non-perturbative strong interactions in the second vacuum are expected to trigger dynamical supersymmetry breaking. Using two-loop SM and MSSM renormalization-group equations, they compute Λ_c as a function of the SUSY breaking scale M_S in the physical vacuum and find that the measured cosmological constant is reproduced for M_S in the range 20–400 TeV. Section 4 argues that this range is consistent with an upper bound on M_S derived in the higgsino dark matter scenario.
Significance. If the degenerate-vacuum postulate is accepted, the paper offers a concrete and falsifiable link between the tiny cosmological constant and the scale of supersymmetry breaking. The two-loop RG computation is transparent, and the inclusion of the earlier one-loop results in Table 1 is a useful feature. The claimed 20–400 TeV window is interesting because it is consistent with the higgsino dark matter scenario while predicting that most sparticles are beyond LHC reach. However, the quantitative prediction is only as robust as two uncontrolled ingredients: the identification ρ_Λ ~ Λ_c^4 with an uncomputed O(1) coefficient, and the location of a Landau pole in a regime where the coupling is of order unity and the two-loop correction substantially changes the result. As it stands, the computation should be regarded as an order-of-magnitude consistency estimate rather than a precise prediction.
major comments (3)
- [3, Table 1] The two-loop determination of Λ_c is not under perturbative control. The paper itself notes that the two-loop contributions substantially cancel the one-loop growth when α_3 ~ 1, and Table 1 shows that the one-loop and two-loop results differ by about two orders of magnitude (e.g., for M_S = 100 TeV, the bracketed one-loop interval is 0.027–1 eV versus the two-loop interval 1.7×10^-4–6.4×10^-3 eV). Because the location of a Landau pole at O(1) coupling is scheme- and order-dependent, and because no three-loop, threshold, or scheme-dependence estimate is given, the value of Λ_c used in the central numerical claim is not robust. The authors should either provide a quantitative estimate of the truncation uncertainty or explicitly reframe the 20–400 TeV statement as a broad consistency constraint rather than a prediction.
- [2, Eq. (4)] The relation ρ_Λ ~ Λ_c^4 is written with a proportionality symbol and used as an equality with coefficient O(1) throughout the numerical analysis. No derivation or estimate of this coefficient is provided. Since the matching to the measured cosmological constant fixes the target Λ_c ~ 10^-3 eV only through this relation, a coefficient of 10 or 0.1 would shift the target and, through the exponential sensitivity exemplified in Eq. (5), would move the inferred M_S window substantially. The paper should state the assumed coefficient explicitly and quantify the sensitivity of Table 1 to it.
- [3, Eq. (9) and Table 1] The width of the final M_S range (20–400 TeV) is largely determined by the hand-chosen ±3% variations of α_3^(2)(M_X) and Y_t^(2)(M_X) in Eq. (9). No physical mechanism or theoretical prior is given for these variations. If the variations were smaller, the M_S range would shrink; if larger, it would expand over orders of magnitude. The table should therefore be presented as a scan over assumed high-scale variations, and the sensitivity of the conclusion to the width in Eq. (9) should be shown explicitly.
minor comments (4)
- [3, before Eq. (7)] The text says 'Assuming that tan β ≫ 1' and then later in the same paragraph restricts to 'tan β sufficiently small, i.e. tan β ≪ 50−60'. These statements are not contradictory but are easy to misread; please make the intended range unambiguous, e.g., 'tan β in the range roughly 10–50'.
- [3, Table 1] The columns are ordered as M_S = 10^4, 100, 20, 400 TeV, which is non-monotonic and makes the trend harder to follow. Please reorder the columns as 20, 100, 400, 10^4 TeV.
- [2, Eq. (5)] The one-loop expression for Λ_c uses b_3 without explicitly defining it in Eq. (5); the surrounding text later changes b_3 when extra 5+5 multiplets are added. A sentence defining b_3 for the pure MSSM and for the extended case would improve clarity.
- [3, Eq. (10)] The 'infrared fixed point' values α_3 ≃ 6π/7 and, in the extended case, α_3 ≃ 1.15, Y_t ≃ 1.01 lie in a regime where the expansion parameter is not small; this should be acknowledged when Eq. (10) and Eq. (11) are used to infer the absence or presence of a Landau pole.
Circularity Check
No circular step: the Λ_c–M_S relation is derived from measured low-energy couplings and inverted against the observed cosmological constant.
full rationale
The paper's central numerical claim is the relation between the SUSY-breaking scale M_S in the physical vacuum and the Landau-pole scale Λ_c in the second vacuum. This relation is constructed by integrating two-loop SM and MSSM beta functions starting from the external measured values M_t=173.3 GeV and α_3(M_Z)=0.118, imposing the matching condition α_3^{(2)}(M_S)=α_3^{(1)}(M_S) from Eq. (3), and then evolving Eqs. (6)–(7) to M_X. The resulting Λ_c(M_S) is then compared with the measured dark-energy density through ρ_Λ∼Λ_c^4 (Eq. (4)). Solving Λ_c(M_S)≈10^{-3} eV for M_S is an inversion of this RG-derived function, not a tautology: the output M_S is not an input except as the threshold location, and the mapping is determined by measured low-energy couplings. The MPP degeneracy postulate and the non-perturbative estimate ρ_Λ∼Λ_c^4 are assumptions, cited partly to previous work by the same authors (Refs. [9]–[10]), but they are not derived by reducing the target prediction to itself; they are physical postulates whose validity is a model assumption. The numerical sensitivity of Λ_c to higher-order corrections (the one-loop and two-loop entries in Table 1 differ by orders of magnitude) is a serious perturbative-control concern, but it is a correctness issue, not circularity. I therefore find no step in which a predicted quantity is identical by construction to a fitted input or to a self-cited uniqueness result.
Assumptions & free parameters
free parameters (3)
- SUSY breaking scale M_S =
20-400 TeV
- Coefficient C in rho_Lambda = C * Lambda_c^4 =
1 assumed
- High-scale coupling variation delta =
+/-3% for alpha_3 and Y_t at M_X
assumptions (6)
- domain assumption Exact degeneracy of the physical and supersymmetric Minkowski vacua (MPP).
- domain assumption High-scale couplings in the two vacua are almost identical, with a +/-3% allowed spread.
- domain assumption Non-perturbative SU(3) dynamics in the second vacuum forms a top quark condensate that breaks SUSY.
- ad hoc to paper The vacuum energy density is rho_Lambda ~ Lambda_c^4 with an O(1) coefficient.
- ad hoc to paper Two-loop beta functions remain meaningful up to the Landau pole.
- standard math Standard two-loop RG equations for the SM and MSSM from Refs. [15] and [17].
invented entities (2)
-
Degenerate supersymmetric Minkowski vacuum (second phase)
-
Top quark condensate in the second phase
Cite this review
Pith. "Pith review of Predicting the SUSY breaking scale in SUGRA models with degenerate vacua." pith.science (2026). https://pith.science/paper/ACVK26DV
@misc{pith2026190902124,
author = {Pith},
title = {Pith review of: Predicting the SUSY breaking scale in SUGRA models with degenerate vacua},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {\url{https://pith.science/paper/ACVK26DV}},
note = {Machine review of arXiv:1909.02124}
}
read the original abstract
In N=1 supergravity the scalar potential may have supersymmetric (SUSY) and non-supersymmetric Minkowski vacua (associated with supersymmetric and physical phases) with vanishing energy density. In the supersymmetric Minkowski (second) phase some breakdown of SUSY may be induced by non-perturbative effects in the observable sector that give rise to a tiny positive vacuum energy density. Postulating the exact degeneracy of the physical and second vacua as well as assuming that at high energies the couplings in both phases are almost identical, one can estimate the dark energy density in these vacua. It is mostly determined by the SUSY breaking scale M_S in the physical phase. Exploring the two-loop renormalization group (RG) flow of couplings in these vacua we find that the measured value of the cosmological constant can be reproduced if M_S varies from 20 TeV to 400 TeV. We also argue that this prediction for the SUSY breaking scale is consistent with the upper bound on M_S in the higgsino dark matter scenario.
Figures
Reference graph
Works this paper leans on
-
[1]
D. L. Bennett, H. B. Nielsen, Int. J. Mod. Phys. A 9, 5155 (1994)
work page 1994
-
[2]
D. L. Bennett, C. D. Froggatt, H. B. Nielsen, in Proceedings of the 27th International Conference on High energy Physics, Glasgow, Scotland, 1994 , p. 557; Perspectives in Particle Physics ’94, World Scientific, 1995 , p. 255, ed. D. Klabu˘ car, I. Picek and D. Tadi´ c [arXiv:hep-ph/9504294]
work page Pith review arXiv 1994
-
[3]
C. D. Froggatt, H. B. Nielsen, Phys. Lett. B 368 (1996) 96
work page 1996
-
[4]
C. D. Froggatt, L. V. Laperashvili, R. B. Nevzorov, H. B. Nielsen, M. Sher, hep- ph/0412333. C. D. Froggatt, L. Laperashvili, R. Nevzorov, H. B. Nielsen, M. Sher, Phys. Rev. D 73 (2006) 095005 [hep-ph/0602054]; C. D. Froggatt, R. Nevzorov, H. B. Nielsen, D. Thompson, Phys. Lett. B 657 (2007) 95 [arXiv:0708.2903 [hep-ph]]. J. McDowall, D. J. Miller, Front....
-
[5]
C. D. Froggatt, R. Nevzorov, H. B. Nielsen, J. Phys. Conf. Ser. 110 (2008) 062010 [arXiv:0708.2905 [hep-ph]]; C. D. Froggatt, R. Nevzorov, H. B. Nielsen, arXiv:0710.2457 [hep-ph]; C. D. Froggatt, R. Nevzorov, H. B. Nielsen, D. Thompson, Int. J. Mod. Phys. A 24 (2009) 5587 [arXiv:0806.3190 [hep-ph]]
work page Pith review arXiv 2008
-
[6]
Cosmological constant in SUGRA models and the multiple point principle
C. Froggatt, L. Laperashvili, R. Nevzorov and H. B. Nielsen, Phys. Atom. Nucl. 67 (2004) 582 [hep-ph/0310127]
work page Pith review arXiv 2004
-
[7]
C. D. Froggatt, H. B. Nielsen, R. Nevzorov and A. W. Thomas, Int. J. Mod. Phys. A 32 (2017) 1730013 [arXiv:1704.08453 [hep-ph]]. 13
work page Pith review arXiv 2017
-
[8]
No--scale supergravity and the Multiple Point Principle
C. Froggatt, L. Laperashvili, R. Nevzorov and H. B. Nielsen, Bled Workshops Phys. 5 (2004) no.2, 17 [hep-ph/0411273]
work page Pith review arXiv 2004
Show all 28 references
-
[9]
Froggatt, R
C. Froggatt, R. Nevzorov and H. B. Nielsen, Nucl. Phys. B 743 (2006) 133 [hep- ph/0511259]; C. D. Froggatt, R. Nevzorov and H. B. Nielsen, J. Phys. Conf. Ser. 110 (2008) 072012 [arXiv:0708.2907 [hep-ph]]; C. D. Froggatt, R. Nevzorov and H. B. Nielsen, arXiv:0810.0524 [hep-th];...
2006
-
[10]
Froggatt, R
C. Froggatt, R. Nevzorov and H. B. Nielsen, Int. J. Mod. Phys. A 27 (2012) 1250063 [arXiv:1103.2146 [hep-ph]]; C. Froggatt, R. Nevzorov and H. B. Nielsen, PoS ICHEP 2010 (2010) 442 [arXiv:1012.5121 [hep-ph]]; C. D. Froggatt, R. Nev- zorov and H. B. Nielsen, AIP Conf. Proc. 156...
2012 arXiv
-
[11]
C. D. Froggatt, R. Nevzorov, H. B. Nielsen and A. W. Thomas, Phys. Lett. B 737 (2014) 167 [arXiv:1403.1001 [hep-ph]]; C. D. Froggatt, R. Nevzorov, H. B. Nielsen and A. W. Thomas, Nucl. Part. Phys. Proc. 273-275 (2016) 1465 [arXiv:1410.6620 [hep- ph]]; R. Nevzorov, H. B. Nielse...
2014 arXiv
-
[12]
Shifman, A
M. Shifman, A. Vainshtein, hep-th/9902018; D. S. Gorbunov, S. L. Dubovskii, S. V. Troitski, Usp. Fiz. Nauk. 169 (1999) 705
1999 arXiv
-
[13]
Hempfling, Phys
R. Hempfling, Phys. Lett. B 351 (1995) 206
1995
-
[14]
G. F. Giudice, A. Masiero, Phys. Lett. B 206 (1988) 480; J. A. Casas, C. Mu˜noz, Phys. Lett. B 306 (1993) 288
1988
-
[15]
Schrempp, M
B. Schrempp, M. Wimmer, Prog. Part. Nucl. Phys. 37 (1996) 1
1996
-
[16]
Buttazzo, G
D. Buttazzo, G. Degrassi, P. P. Giardino, G. F. Giudice, F. Sala, A. Salvio and A. Strumia, JHEP 1312 (2013) 089 [arXiv:1307.3536 [hep-ph]]
2013 arXiv
-
[17]
S. P. Martin, M. T. Vaughn, Phys. Rev. D 50 (1994) 2282
1994
-
[18]
D. S. Akerib et al. [LUX Collaboration], Phys. Rev. Lett. 118 (2017) 021303 [arXiv:1608.07648 [astro-ph.CO]]
2017 arXiv
-
[19]
Cui et al
X. Cui et al. [PandaX-II Collaboration], Phys. Rev. Lett. 119 (2017) 181302 [arXiv:1708.06917 [astro-ph.CO]]
2017 arXiv
-
[20]
Aprile et al
E. Aprile et al. [XENON Collaboration], Phys. Rev. Lett. 121 (2018) 111302 [arXiv:1805.12562 [astro-ph.CO]]. 14
2018 arXiv
-
[21]
Athron, D
P. Athron, D. Harries, R. Nevzorov and A. G. Williams, JHEP 1612 (2016) 128 [arXiv:1610.03374 [hep-ph]]; H. Baer, V. Barger, D. Sengupta and X. Tata, Eur. Phys. J. C 78 (2018) 838 [arXiv:1803.11210 [hep-ph]]
2016 arXiv
-
[22]
Arkani-Hamed, A
N. Arkani-Hamed, A. Delgado and G. F. Giudice, Nucl. Phys. B 741 (2006) 108 [hep-ph/0601041]; G. Chalons, M. J. Dolan and C. McCabe, JCAP 1302 (2013) 016 [arXiv:1211.5154 [hep-ph]]
2006 arXiv
-
[23]
P. A. R. Ade et al. [Planck Collaboration], Astron. Astrophys. 594 (2016) A13 [arXiv:1502.01589 [astro-ph.CO]]
2016 arXiv
-
[24]
M. Ibe, R. Kitano, H. Murayama and T. Yanagida, Phys. Rev. D 70 (2004) 075012 [hep-ph/0403198]
2004 arXiv
-
[25]
M. Yu. Khlopov and A. D. Linde, Phys. Lett. B 138 (1984) 265; J. R. Ellis, J E. Kim, and D. V. Nanopoulos, Phys. Lett. B 145 (1984) 181
1984
-
[26]
Abada, M
A. Abada, M. Abbrescia, S. S. AbdusSalam et al. [FCC Collaboration], Eur. Phys. J. Spec. Top. 228 (2019) 1109 [CERN-ACC-2018-0059]; F. Zimmermann et al. [FCC Collaboration], CERN-ACC-2019-0006
2019
-
[27]
Abada et al
A. Abada et al. [FCC Collaboration], Eur. Phys. J. C 79 (2019) 474 [CERN-ACC- 2018-0056]; A. Abada et al. [FCC Collaboration], Eur. Phys. J. Spec. Top.228 (2019) 755 [CERN-ACC-2018-0058]
2019
-
[28]
Aprile et al
E. Aprile et al. [XENON Collaboration], JCAP 1604 (2016) 027 [arXiv:1512.07501 [physics.ins-det]]; D. S. Akerib et al. [LUX-ZEPLIN Collaboration], arXiv:1802.06039 [astro-ph.IM]. 15
2016 arXiv
Reviewed August 14, 2026 · model on record in the stance chip above.
Discussion (0). Continue with ORCID to comment.