Hierarchy Problem

In theoretical physics, a hierarchy problem occurs when the fundamental parameters (couplings or masses) of some Lagrangian are vastly different (usually larger) than the parameters measured by experiment. This can happen because measured parameters are related to the fundamental parameters by a prescription known as renormalization. Typically the renormalization parameters are closely related to the fundamental parameters, but in some cases, it appears that there has been a delicate cancellation between the fundamental quantity and the quantum corrections to it. Hierarchy problems are related to fine-tuning problems and problems of naturalness.

Studying the renormalization in hierarchy problems is difficult, because such quantum corrections are usually power-law divergent, which means that the shortest-distance physics are most important. Because we do not know the precise details of the shortest-distance theory of physics (quantum gravity), we cannot even address how this delicate cancellation between two large terms occurs. Therefore, researchers postulate new physical phenomena that resolve hierarchy problems without fine tuning.