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REVIEW 4 major objections 5 minor 13 references

The Supersymmetric Standard Model, combined with a special Exotic Invariant, yields a new kind of SUSY mass splitting (E6)

T0 review · 4 major / 5 minor · reviewed 2026-08-06 · deepseek-v4-flash

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Pith's one-line read Adding a special Exotic Invariant to the Supersymmetric Standard Model makes the electroweak VEV split the neutral ZX supermultiplet masses at tree level.

desk verdict The advertised tree-level ZX mass splitting is not computed in this paper; the explicit counting-operator check is real, but the BRS invariance in the full SSM and the spectrum are deferred to unpublished preprints. read the letter →

arxiv 2507.14381 v1 pith:OSVWJ26A submitted 2025-07-18 hep-ph hep-th

John A. Dixon This is my paper · ORCID
classification hep-phhep-th
keywords supersymmetryExoticInvariantsBRScohomologytree-levelmasssplittingneutralZXsectorchiraldottedspinorsuperfieldflavour-changingcurrentsSupersymmetricStandardModel
verification ladder T0 review T1 audit T2 compute T3 formal

The pith

A machine-rendered reading of the paper's core claim, the machinery that carries it, and where it could break.

The reading

This paper proposes a new mechanism for breaking the mass degeneracy that supersymmetry predicts inside its multiplets. It claims that an 'Exotic Invariant' from the BRS cohomology of supersymmetry—built with pseudofields and a chiral dotted spinor superfield—can be added to the Supersymmetric Standard Model to form the Exotic Model (XM). The same vacuum expectation value that breaks $\mathrm{SU}(3)\times\mathrm{SU}(2)\times\mathrm{U}(1)$ to $\mathrm{SU}(3)\times\mathrm{U}(1)$ then produces tree-level mass splitting in the neutral ZX sector, while all quark, lepton, Higgs, photon and $W^{\pm}$ multiplets remain degenerate. Because the ZX sector is flavour neutral, the mechanism could explain the observed suppression of flavour-changing neutral currents, and the model's restrictive Master Equation leaves very few parameters. The paper constructs the added action explicitly; the numerical spectrum is deferred to a companion preprint.

What carries the argument

The load-bearing object is the special Exotic Invariant $E_{\mathrm{Special}}$ of equation (39), generated by the counting operator $N_{\mathrm{Special}} = H\partial_H - K\partial_K + T\partial_T - B\partial_B - P\partial_P + R\partial_R$. An Exotic Invariant is a Lorentz-invariant element of the BRS cohomology of supersymmetry; it necessarily contains pseudofields and uses the chiral dotted spinor superfield (CDSS) multiplet, whose components are two spinors and a vector. The absence of a $J\partial_J$ term and the opposite signs on $H$ and $K$ make $N_{\mathrm{Special}} P = 0$ hold both before and after the VEV shift, so the invariant survives gauge symmetry breaking. In the shifted action the factors $H+mh$ and $K+mk$ inside $E_{\mathrm{Special}}$ generate the tree-level mass terms that mix the Z boson sector with the CDSS multiplet, while the Master Equation ensures the total action is invariant and fixes the couplings.

What would settle it

Perform the direct BRS variation of the shifted XM action with the generator (39); if the total variation does not vanish, or diagonalise the tree-level ZX quadratic action from sections 2.1–2.3 together with the SSM action and find no mass difference between the Z boson and its would-be superpartners, the central claim is refuted.

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Extended reading notes

Core claim

The paper's central claim is that the Supersymmetric Standard Model can be coupled to the special Exotic Invariant $E_{\mathrm{Special}} = (C\xi^2 C)\phi^{\dot\alpha}[(H+mh)\psi_{H\dot\alpha} - (K+mk)\psi_{K\dot\alpha} + T\psi_{T\dot\alpha} - B\psi_{B\dot\alpha} - P\psi_{P\dot\alpha} + R\psi_{R\dot\alpha}]$ to form the Exotic Model, in which gauge symmetry breaking and SUSY mass splitting come from the same VEV. Because the added Exotic Invariant contains pseudofields, it changes the BRS algebra, so the theory is no longer an ordinary supersymmetric theory. At tree level the quark, lepton, Higgs, photon and $W^{\pm}$ multiplets keep their SUSY-degenerate masses; the only tree-level violation of the degeneracy occurs in the neutral ZX sector, made of the Z gauge boson and its superpartners together with the CDSS multiplet's vector and spinors. The splitting is flavour diagonal, which the paper argues could explain the observed suppression of flavour-changing neutral currents, and the Master Equation tightly restricts the model's parameters.

Load-bearing premise

The load-bearing premise is that the spectral-sequence argument of reference [7] extends without modification to the full supersymmetric Standard Model including gauge fields, masses and the chiral dotted spinor superfield after the VEV shift—footnote 3 says this extension is deferred to [13]—and if that extension fails the claimed tree-level mass splitting does not exist.

Editorial extensions

If this is right

  • At tree level, only the neutral ZX sector receives SUSY-breaking mass splitting; all quark, lepton, Higgs, photon and $W^{\pm}$ multiplets remain mass-degenerate.
  • The same VEV that breaks $\mathrm{SU}(3)\times\mathrm{SU}(2)\times\mathrm{U}(1)$ to $\mathrm{SU}(3)\times\mathrm{U}(1)$ generates the splitting, so no separate soft-breaking or spontaneously broken SUSY sector is needed.
  • Because the ZX sector is flavour diagonal, tree-level flavour-changing neutral currents are suppressed, consistent with the observed rarity of such processes.
  • The XM is constrained by a very restrictive Master Equation, so the new coupling constant $g_x$, the CDSS mass $m_x^2$, and the other parameters are few.
  • Through one-loop corrections the tree-level ZX splitting will modify every other particle mass matrix, giving calculable corrections to quark, lepton and Higgs masses.

Reading between the lines

Editorial extensions of the paper, not claims the author makes directly.

  • If the construction is right, the mechanism generalises: different counting operators such as $N_{\mathrm{Leptons}}$ or $N_{\mathrm{Quarks}}$ could target other sectors for tree-level splitting, provided they survive the same VEV shift.
  • The two independent kinetic forms for the CDSS multiplet in section 2.4 may let the X multiplet's vector and spinors be made heavy enough to have escaped detection while the Z-superpartner splitting remains observable; this is a testable parameter choice the paper leaves open.
  • The flavour-diagonal character of the ZX sector implies that all flavour-changing neutral-current effects enter only through loops; precise measurements of rare kaon and B-meson decays would constrain $g_x$ and $m_x^2$ once the spectrum is computed.
  • The Master Equation's restrictiveness suggests the model may predict ratios of ZX masses with few free parameters; measuring the Z and its superpartners at a future collider could distinguish this mechanism from ordinary soft breaking.
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Editorial analysis

A structured set of objections, weighed in public.

Desk editor's note, referee report, and a circularity audit.

Referee Report

4 major / 5 minor

Summary. The paper proposes a new 'Exotic Model' (XM) formed by adding a 'Special Exotic Invariant' (E_Special) to the Supersymmetric Standard Model (SSM). The abstract claims that this model generates tree-level supersymmetry-violating mass splitting in the neutral 'ZX' sector, while preserving mass degeneracy in other sectors, and that the model has few parameters. The bulk of the paper constructs candidate action terms: the E_Special generator in eq. (39), the apparent H and K parts of the exotic action in §2.1–2.2, completion terms in §2.3, a CDSS multiplet kinetic action in §2.4, and a quick review of SSM actions in §3, ending with a statement of the Master Equation in §3.9. The paper does not compute the ZX mass spectrum, does not display a mass matrix or eigenvalues, and explicitly defers both the full BRS-cohomology verification of E_Special and the ZX spectrum calculation to unpublished follow-up preprints [12] and [13].

Significance. If the central claim were established, the paper would describe a qualitatively new tree-level SUSY-breaking mechanism that is flavor-diagonal and highly constrained, which could be relevant to the suppression of flavor-changing neutral currents and to model-building beyond the MSSM. However, as it stands, the claimed result is not derived here: the invariance of E_Special in the gauge-broken, gauge-field-containing SSM is assumed on the basis of an unpublished extension, and the ZX mass splitting is announced but not computed. The only concrete, checkable step is the counting-operator identity (19)–(38), which shows that a certain superpotential is invariant under the shift; that alone does not establish the existence of a BRS-invariant action term or the claimed spectrum. The paper is therefore better read as a research proposal than as a derivation of its abstract's central assertion.

major comments (4)
  1. [Abstract and §1.1; §4; [12]] The abstract states that the XM 'generates SUSY violating mass splitting of the neutral ZX sector at tree level', but the manuscript does not derive this. Section 1.1 says 'the next step, after this paper, is to calculate the prediction for the mass splitting', and the Conclusion says 'The next logical step to be taken here is to work out the spectrum of the particles in the ZX sector after gauge symmetry breaking, at tree level.' No mass matrix, eigenvalues, or explicit splitting formula appears anywhere. The central quantitative claim of the paper is therefore not demonstrated in the manuscript; it is deferred to the unpublished reference [12].
  2. [§1.4, footnote 3] The BRS invariance of the Exotic Invariant in the full, shifted SSM—including gauge fields, masses, and the CDSS multiplet—is not established. Footnote 3 states that 'The extension of the spectral sequence argument in [7] to the inclusion of masses, and the CDSS, and the gauge theory, will be included in [13]' and adds 'No new issues are expected there.' This is an assumption, not a proof. Since the paper's construction (eq. (39) and the action terms in §2) rests entirely on this unverified cohomological input, the existence of E_Special as a BRS-invariant object in the spontaneously broken theory is not shown.
  3. [§2.1–§2.3 and §3.9] The paper asserts that the action terms (40)–(73) combine to satisfy the Master Equation, but it does not verify this. The b_i coefficients are taken verbatim from the unpublished references [9,10] (eqs. (49) and (59)), and the s_i coefficients in (68)–(69) are introduced without any stated values or derivation. The general Master Equation is written in §3.9, but no substitution of the displayed action is performed. A reader cannot check that 'the various parts that come from the superpotential will cancel with each other' (as claimed in §2); this is a load-bearing gap.
  4. [§2.4, §4] The CDSS multiplet action is given in eqs. (74)–(75) with two independent kinetic terms, but the paper does not analyze the quadratic terms that would arise after the Higgs VEV shift. Section 2.3 says 'When the fields H, K are shifted by the VEV, these terms will give rise to mass terms for the various CDSS fields. We will return to them in [12].' The Conclusion repeats that the mixing will be treated in [12]. Consequently, the paper's own description offers no way to confirm the claimed tree-level splitting of the ZX sector, because the relevant quadratic action is never assembled.
minor comments (5)
  1. [§1.1] The phrase 'Anyways' is informal for a journal submission.
  2. [References] References [8], [9], [10], [12], and [13] are listed as preprints 'to be issued', yet they carry essential parts of the derivation. This makes the manuscript's assertions difficult or impossible for a reader to verify.
  3. [§3.2, eq. (82)] The ghost and gauge-fixing action is written only as δ∫[...] with the integrand partially displayed; the fully gauge-fixed and ghost action is not shown, although the notation A_GGF = (81) suggests it should be.
  4. [§2.1, eqs. (44) and (54)] In the displayed H-part and K-part terms proportional to g1 λ, the index structure appears to contain a repeated H or K index (e.g., '(H i +mh i) ... (H i +m hi)' without contraction symbol), which is at best notationally unclear and should be cleaned up.
  5. [Reference [5]] The Weinberg reference gives 'ISBN 052155002', which is incomplete; the standard ISBN for Volume 3 is 978-0521670531.

Circularity Check

4 steps flagged · score 7.0 of 10

The abstract's tree-level ZX mass-splitting claim is not derived here: BRS invariance in the full SSM is deferred to unpublished [13], the spectrum is deferred to unpublished [12], and the action's completion coefficients are imported from unpublished [9,10].

  1. self citation load bearing [Section 1.4, footnote 3; relied on by sections 1.6, 2, and the Abstract]
    "The extension of the spectral sequence argument in [7] to the inclusion of masses, and the CDSS, and the gauge theory, will be included in [13]. No new issues are expected there, and the arguments in [7] should not be difficult to extend to include those features."

    The BRS cohomology input that must make E_Special an invariant of the full gauge-broken SSM is not proved here. The only displayed check, N'_Special P' = 0 in eqs. (33)-(38), verifies a counting identity on the superpotential; the Master Equation check of the complete action, including the shifted H and K terms, the CDSS multiplet, and the gauge fields, is explicitly deferred to [13], an unpublished preprint by the same author. The load-bearing premise of the XM construction is therefore accepted on the author's own unpublished series rather than derived.

  2. self citation load bearing [Abstract; sections 1.1, 2.3, 3, and 4]
    "But now, from the same VEV, the Exotic Model also generates SUSY violating mass splitting of the neutral “ZX” sector at tree level."

    The abstract's central claim is never derived in this paper. Section 1.1 says 'the next step, after this paper, is to calculate the prediction for the mass splitting of the ZX sector'; section 2.3 says the shifted completion terms 'will give rise to mass terms ... We will return to them in [12]'; section 3 says the mixing 'will be looked at in [12]'; and section 4 calls the spectrum 'the next logical step.' No mass matrix is assembled and no eigenvalue is computed. The claimed tree-level splitting is therefore not a result of the present derivation; it is a forecast imported from the author's planned unpublished [12].

2 more flagged steps
  1. ansatz smuggled in via citation [Equations (49), (59), and section 2.3]
    "As before in [9,10] we still have: b1 = b2 = b3 = b4 = b7 = b10 = 1; b5 = b6 = b8 = b9 = b11 = −1. The origin of these can be found in [9,10]."

    The completion terms and all b_i and s_i coefficients that determine the shifted H and K interactions — the very terms claimed to split the ZX masses — are taken directly from the author's unpublished preprints [9,10] without re-derivation or independent verification in the SSM. The paper does not show that these coefficients solve the Master Equation (146)-(152) in the present full model; it simply imports the ansatz by citation.

  2. uniqueness imported from authors [Section 1.6]
    "The present E_Special is new, and it is the only known example where the Exotic Invariant survives the spontaneous breaking of gauge symmetry and generates tree level mass splitting for some mass-degenerate SUSY multiplets."

    The uniqueness claim is presented as fact but is not backed by any classification theorem in this paper; it rests on the author's own series [6]-[13]. Since the preceding two joints of the chain are unverified and unpublished, the 'only known example' status is an assertion imported from the same author, not an externally grounded result.

full rationale

The paper contains one genuinely self-contained algebraic check: N_Special P' = 0 in eqs. (33)-(38) shows that the chosen counting operator annihilates the shifted superpotential. But that check concerns only the superpotential; the full Master Equation for the XM action, and the non-degeneracy of the shifted ZX mass matrix, are not shown. The existence of the Exotic Invariant in the full SSM with gauge fields, masses, and the CDSS multiplet is explicitly deferred to [13] with the statement 'No new issues are expected there', and the spectrum calculation is explicitly deferred to [12] as 'the next step, after this paper'. The coefficients of the completion terms are taken 'as before in [9,10]'. All three deferred inputs are same-author preprints, and two of them are unpublished. Thus the abstract's central claim is not a self-contained derivation but a conclusion loaded onto a chain of self-citations with unverified links. The score is 7 rather than higher because the superpotential counting step is actually exhibited; it is just insufficient to support the claimed tree-level mass splitting, so the circularity is a circularity of support rather than a purely definitional equivalence.

Assumptions & free parameters 6 free parameters · 6 assumptions · 3 invented entities

The XM's central claim rests on several imported, unverified ingredients: the existence and form of Exotic Invariants, the CDSS multiplet, the b_i coefficients, and the completion terms all come from same-author preprints that are either unpublished or 'to be issued'. On top of these, the paper introduces new undetermined constants g_x, m_x^2, a_i, s_i, and a VEV scale. The paper's claim of a very small number of parameters is not demonstrated: the action contains many free coefficients, and the restrictive Master Equation is not solved here. This makes the model a proposal whose foundations and consequences are mostly outside the text.

free parameters (6)
  • g_x
    New dimensionless coupling of the Exotic Invariant to the SSM; introduced in the Introduction and used in sections 2.1-2.3; no value or prediction given.
  • m_x^2
    Independent mass of the CDSS multiplet, introduced in section 2.4; central to the ZX mass splitting but not determined.
  • b_1..b_11 = ±1 (b1=b2=b3=b4=b7=b10=1; b5=b6=b8=b9=b11=-1)
    Coefficients in the Exotic Invariant parts; the paper states 'As before in [9,10] we still have...' rather than deriving them here.
  • s_1..s_5
    Coefficients in the completion terms A'_2,H and A'_2,P (section 2.3); no values or constraints are given.
  • a_1, a_2
    Coefficients of the two independent CDSS kinetic terms in section 2.4; the paper notes their existence may give flexibility but does not fix them.
  • m (VEV mass scale)
    The superpotential contains -g_H m^2 J and shifts H->H+m h, K->K+m k; the claimed splitting is a function of this VEV scale, which is not specified beyond equation (6).
assumptions (6)
  • domain assumption Lorentz-invariant Exotic Invariants exist in the BRS cohomology of 3+1 dimensional SUSY.
    Foundational input from the author's previous preprints [6]-[13]; not re-derived or independently verified in this paper.
  • domain assumption The counting-operator condition N_EI P = 0 is sufficient to generate a valid Exotic Invariant.
    Equation (9) and the mapping to E_Special in (39) are taken from reference [7]; the paper explicitly declines to re-derive the origin.
  • ad hoc to paper The spectral sequence argument of [7] extends to include masses, the CDSS multiplet, and gauge fields with no new issues.
    Footnote 3 states the extension 'will be included in [13]. No new issues are expected there.'
  • ad hoc to paper The b_i coefficients and completion terms from the EP model in [9,10] carry over unchanged to the SSM.
    Sections 2.1-2.3 set b_i and completion terms by reference to the earlier EP model without deriving them for this model.
  • ad hoc to paper The Master Equation (146)-(152), with the stated field content, is the correct BRS invariance condition for the XM.
    The equation is written down but not solved or checked; its completeness is asserted by reference to the E-series.
  • ad hoc to paper The CDSS multiplet is a chiral multiplet with an inert dotted index and has two independent kinetic actions.
    Section 2.4 defines the multiplet and its two kinetic terms; this unusual representation is introduced specifically to make the Exotic Invariant Lorentz invariant.
invented entities (3)
  • Exotic Invariant E_Special (with pseudofields)
    purpose: Lorentz-invariant BRS cohomology object added to the SSM to produce the XM and, it is claimed, tree-level ZX mass splitting.
    No falsifiable prediction is computed; the mass spectrum is deferred to reference [12].
  • CDSS multiplet (fields phi_alpha, X_alphabeta, chi_alpha)
    purpose: Unusual chiral dotted spinor superfield representation needed to form the Exotic Invariant; contributes the new X vector and spinor fields of the ZX sector.
    No mass or coupling prediction is made in this paper; experimental signatures, if any, await the follow-up calculation.
  • Pseudofields (sources for BRS variations)
    purpose: Required components of Exotic Invariants; they alter the BRS algebra so that SUSY mass splitting can occur.
    They are imported from previous papers and are not independently observable in this paper.

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Pith. "Pith review of The Supersymmetric Standard Model, combined with a special Exotic Invariant, yields a new kind of SUSY mass splitting (E6)." pith.science (2026). https://pith.science/paper/OSVWJ26A

@misc{pith2026250714381,
  author       = {Pith},
  title        = {Pith review of: The Supersymmetric Standard Model, combined with a special Exotic Invariant, yields a new kind of SUSY mass splitting (E6)},
  year         = {2026},
  howpublished = {\url{https://pith.science/paper/OSVWJ26A}},
  note         = {Machine review of arXiv:2507.14381}
}
read the original abstract

Exotic Invariants, with Lorentz invariance, have been found in the BRS cohomology of SUSY in 3+1 dimensions. Until recently, it was generally accepted that no such objects could exist. It is shown here that the Supersymmetric Standard Model (``the SSM'') can be coupled to a special Exotic Invariant to form a new model, which we call the Exotic Model (``the XM'') . This Exotic Model continues to generate the usual Vacuum Expectation Value (``VEV'') that breaks gauge symmetry from SU(3) X SU(2) X U(1) to SU(3) X U(1) But now, from the same VEV, the Exotic Model also generates SUSY violating mass splitting of the neutral ``ZX'' sector at tree level. This is possible because the Exotic Model changes the algebra of SUSY. This ``ZX'' sector is flavour neutral, which might explain the suppression of flavour changing neutral currents observed in experiments. The Exotic Model is governed by a very restrictive Master Equation, so there should be a very small number of parameters in it.

Discussion (0). Continue with ORCID to comment.

Reference graph

Works this paper leans on

13 extracted references · 13 canonical work pages

  1. [12]

    The Free Massive Quadratic Action from the Exotic Model. (E7)

    Ibid. “The Free Massive Quadratic Action from the Exotic Model. (E7)” Preprint to be issued sometime soon, perhaps

    work page

  2. [13]

    The BRS cohomology of SUSY Including Gauge Theory and the Chiral Dotted Spinor Superfield (E??)

    Ibid. “The BRS cohomology of SUSY Including Gauge Theory and the Chiral Dotted Spinor Superfield (E??)”. Preprint to be issued, but not soon. E6July18 September 13, 2025 3:55 24

    work page 2025

  3. [7]

    The BRS Cohomology of the Wess Zumino Chiral Scalar super- symmetric model with exotic pairs and exotic triplets (E2)

    Ibid. “The BRS Cohomology of the Wess Zumino Chiral Scalar super- symmetric model with exotic pairs and exotic triplets (E2)”, Preprint issued July 2025

    work page 2025

  4. [1]

    Supersymmetry, Part I (Theory)

    B. Allanach and H. E. Haber, “Supersymmetry, Part I (Theory),” (Par- ticle Data Group) [arXiv:2401.03827 [hep-ph]]

    work page Pith review arXiv

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    Supersymmetry, Part II (Experiment)

    M. D’Onofrio and F. Moortgat, “Supersymmetry, Part II (Experiment)” (Particle Data Group) Revised August 2023

    work page 2023

  6. [3]

    From Spinors to Supersymmetry

    Dreiner, Herbi K., Howard E. Haber, and Stephen P. Martin, “From Spinors to Supersymmetry” (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2023)

    work page 2023

  7. [4]

    Weak scale supersymmetry: From superfields to scattering events

    H. Baer and X. Tata, “Weak scale supersymmetry: From superfields to scattering events”, Cambridge, UK: Univ. Pr. (2006)

    work page 2006

  8. [5]

    The Quantum Theory of fields

    Steven Weinberg: “The Quantum Theory of fields” Volume 3, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 052155002

    work page

Show all 13 references
  1. [6]

    Supersymmetry anomalies, exotic pairs and the super- symmetric standard mode (E1)

    J. A. Dixon, “ Supersymmetry anomalies, exotic pairs and the super- symmetric standard mode (E1)”, Preprint, 2024, [arXiv:2407.13673]. The following 7 papers, about Exotic Invariants, form a series starting at [6], which is E1. They are labelled (En), wheren= 2· · ·

    2024 arXiv

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    The simplest Exotic Invariant in the BRS cohomology of super- symmetry in 3+1 dimensions (E3)

    Ibid. “The simplest Exotic Invariant in the BRS cohomology of super- symmetry in 3+1 dimensions (E3)” Preprint to be issued soon

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    The EP Model with Completion Terms (E4)

    Ibid. “The EP Model with Completion Terms (E4)” Preprint to be issued soon

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    The EP Model with U(1) (E5)

    Ibid. “The EP Model with U(1) (E5)”, Preprint to be issued soon

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    The Supersymmetric Standard Model,combined with a special Ex- otic Invariant, yields a new kind of SUSY mass splitting (E6)

    Ibid. “The Supersymmetric Standard Model,combined with a special Ex- otic Invariant, yields a new kind of SUSY mass splitting (E6).” This is the present Preprint, issued in July 2025. 23

    2025

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