Higgs sector of the minimal left-right symmetric model

Abstract

We perform an exhaustive analysis of the most general Higgs sector of the minimal left-right symmetric model (MLRM). We find that the $\mathit{CP}$ properties of the vacuum state are connected to the Higgs spectrum: if $\mathit{CP}$ is broken spontaneously, the MLRM does not approach the standard model in the limit of a decoupling left-right symmetry breaking scale. Depending on the size of the $\mathit{CP}$ phases, scenarios with extra nondecoupling flavor-violating doublet Higgs bosons or very light SU(2) triplet Higgs bosons emerge, both of which are ruled out by phenomenology. For zero $\mathit{CP}$ phases the nonstandard Higgs bosons decouple only if a very unnatural fine-tuning condition is satisfied. We also discuss generalizations to the nonminimal Higgs sector.