Generalised universality of gauge thresholds in heterotic vacua with and without supersymmetry

Abstract

We study one-loop quantum corrections to gauge couplings in heterotic vacua with spontaneous supersymmetry breaking. Although in non-supersymmetric constructions these corrections are not protected and are typically model dependent, we show how a universal behaviour of threshold differences, typical of supersymmetric vacua, may still persist. We formulate specific conditions on the way supersymmetry should be broken for this to occur. Our analysis implies a generalised notion of threshold universality even in the case of unbroken supersymmetry, whenever extra charged massless states appear at enhancement points in the bulk of moduli space. Several examples with universality, including non-supersymmetric chiral models in four dimensions, are presented.