Gauge-Invariant Quantum Gravity Corrections to Gauge Couplings via Vilkovisky-DeWitt Method and Gravity Assisted Gauge Unification

Abstract: Gravity is the weakest force in nature, and the gravitational interactions with all standard model (SM) particles can be well described by perturbative expansions of the Einstein-Hilbert action as an effective theory, all the way up to energies below the fundamental Planck scale. We use Vilkovisky-DeWitt method to derive the first gauge-invariant nonzero gravitational power-law corrections to the running of gauge couplings, which make both Abel and non-Abel gauge interactions asymptotically free. We further demonstrate that the graviton-induced universal power-law runnings always assist the three SM gauge forces to reach unification around the Planck scale, irrespective of the detail of logarithmic corrections. We also compute the power-law corrections to the SM Higgs sector and derive modified triviality bound on the Higgs boson mass.