Natural gauge and gravitational coupling unification and the superpartner masses

AbstractThe possibility to achieve unification at the string scale in the context of the simplest supersymmetric grand unified theory is investigated. We find conservative upper bounds on the superpartner masses consistent with the unification of gauge and gravitational couplings, MG˜≲5 TeV and Mf˜≲3×107 GeV, for the superparticles with spin one-half and zero, respectively. These bounds hint towards the possibility that this supersymmetric scenario could be tested at future colliders, and in particular, at the forthcoming LHC