Phenomenology of the little Higgs model

Abstract

We study the low-energy phenomenology of the little Higgs model. We first discuss the linearized effective theory of the ``littlest Higgs model'' and study the low-energy constraints on the model parameters. We identify sources of the corrections to low-energy observables, discuss model-dependent arbitrariness, and outline some possible directions of extensions of the model in order to evade the precision electroweak constraints. We then explore the characteristic signatures to test the model in the current and future collider experiments. We find that the CERN LHC has great potential to discover the new $\mathrm{SU}(2)$ gauge bosons and the possible new $U(1)$ gauge boson to the multi-TeV mass scale. Other states such as the colored vectorlike quark T and doubly charged Higgs boson ${\ensuremath{\Phi}}^{++}$ may also provide interesting signals. At a linear collider, precision measurements on the triple gauge boson couplings could be sensitive to the new physics scale of a few TeV. We provide a comprehensive list of the linearized interactions and vertices for the littlest Higgs model in the appendices.