Suppression of proton decay in quantum gravity
arXiv:2304.06759 · doi:10.1016/j.physletb.2024.138529
Abstract
The bound on the proton lifetime is one of a small handful of observations that constrains physics not far from the Planck scale. This calls for a calculation of the proton lifetime in quantum gravity. Here, we calculate how quantum fluctuations of the metric impact four-fermion interactions which mediate proton decay. We find that quantum gravity lowers the scaling dimension of the four-fermion interaction, suppressing proton decay and raising the proton lifetime significantly. As a special case, we analyze asymptotically safe quantum gravity, in which we discover that proton-decay-mediating four-fermion interactions are strictly zero.
6 + 7 pages, 3 + 3 figures. Comments welcome. v2: Minor corrections, version as published
References in corpus (35)
- New Dimensions at a Millimeter to a Fermi and Superstrings at a TeV
- Exact evolution equation for the effective potential
- Neutrino Physics with JUNO
- Symmetries and Strings in Field Theory and Gravity
- Quantum Gravity in Everyday Life: General Relativity as an Effective Field Theory
- The nonperturbative functional renormalization group and its applications
- Echoes of ECOs: gravitational-wave signatures of exotic compact objects and of quantum corrections at the horizon scale
- The Standard Model as an Effective Field Theory
- Proton stability in grand unified theories, in strings, and in branes
- Asymptotic safety of gravity and the Higgs boson mass
- Asymptotically Safe Lorentzian Gravity
- Further evidence for asymptotic safety of quantum gravity
- Constraints on symmetry from holography
- Top mass from asymptotic safety
- Light fermions in quantum gravity
- Resolving Spacetime Singularities within Asymptotic Safety
- An asymptotically safe solution to the U(1) triviality problem
- Aspects of asymptotic safety for quantum gravity
- Quantum-gravity effects on a Higgs-Yukawa model
- Viability of quantum-gravity induced ultraviolet completions for matter
- Mass difference for charged quarks from asymptotically safe quantum gravity
- Chiral fermions in asymptotically safe quantum gravity
- How perturbative is quantum gravity?
- Effective universality in quantum gravity
- Finite Quantum Gravity Amplitudes -- no strings attached
- Effective field theory approach to LHC Higgs data
- Effective Field Theory Beyond the Standard Model
- Constraining power of asymptotic safety for scalar fields
- as the critical dimensionality of asymptotically safe interactions
- Light charged fermions in quantum gravity
- Asymptotic safety, string theory and the weak gravity conjecture
- A Safe Beginning for the Universe?
- Proton Decay, Black Holes, and Large Extra Dimensions
- Quantum Gravity Effects around Sagittarius A*
- Gravitational Corrections to Fermion Masses in Grand Unified Theories