Electroweak Symmetry Breaking Research Articles

Gravitational waves from patterns of electroweak symmetry breaking: an effective perspective

Abstract The future space-borne gravitational wave (GW) detectors would provide a promising probe for the new physics beyond the standard model that admits the first-order phase transitions. The predictions for the GW background vary sensitively among different concrete particle physics models but also share a large degeneracy in the model buildings, which motivates an effective model description on the phase transition based on different patterns of the electroweak symmetry breaking (EWSB). 
In this paper, using the scalar $N$-plet model as a demonstration, we propose an effective classification for three different patterns of EWSB: (1) radiative symmetry breaking with classical scale invariance, (2) Higgs mechanism in generic scalar extension, and (3) higher dimensional operators.
We conclude that a strong first-order phase transition could be realized for (1) and (2) with a small quartic coupling and a small isospin of an additional $N$-plet field for the light scalar field model with and without the classical scale invariance, and (3) with a large mixing coupling between scalar fields and a large isospin of the $N$-plet field for the heavy scalar field model.

Leptogenesis from a phase transition in a dynamical vacuum

We show that a phase transition may take place in the early Universe at a temperature T* resulting a temperature dependent mass for right-handed neutrinos (RHN) which finally relaxes to a constant value after electroweak symmetry breaking (EWSB). As a result, a requisite amount of lepton asymmetry can be produced near T* satisfying the observed baryon asymmetry of the Universe via the sphaleron process even when zero temperature masses of the RHNs fall below the electroweak scale enhancing the detection possibility of RHNs. Interestingly, the framework is also capable of predicting a primordial lepton asymmetry (generated after EWSB) as hinted by helium abundance measurements, indicating a correlation with the early phase of leptogenesis. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Probing radiative electroweak symmetry breaking with colliders and gravitational waves

Radiative symmetry breaking provides an appealing explanation for electroweak symmetry breaking and addresses the hierarchy problem. We present a comprehensive phenomenological study of this scenario, focusing on its key feature: the logarithmic-shaped potential. This potential gives rise to a relatively light scalar boson that mixes with the Higgs boson and leads to first-order phase transitions (FOPTs) in the early Universe. Our study includes providing exact and analytical solutions for the vacuum structure and scalar interactions, classifying four patterns of cosmic thermal history, and calculating the supercooled FOPT and gravitational waves (GWs). A detailed treatment of the FOPT dynamics reveals that an ultra-supercooled FOPT does not always imply strong GW signals, due to its short duration. By combining future collider and GW experiments, we can probe the conformal symmetry breaking scales up to 105–108 GeV. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Bosonic multi-Higgs correlations beyond leading order

The production of multiple Higgs bosons at the LHC and beyond is a strong test of the mechanism of electroweak symmetry breaking. Taking inspiration from recent experimental efforts to move toward limits on triple-Higgs production at the Large Hadron Collider, we consider generic bosonic deviations of HH and HHH production from the Standard Model in the guise of Higgs effective field theory (HEFT). Including one-loop radiative corrections within the HEFT and going up to O(p4) in the momentum expansion, we provide a detailed motivation of the parameter range that the LHC (and future hadron colliders) can explore, through accessing nonstandard coupling modifications and momentum dependencies that probe Higgs boson nonlinearities. In particular, we find that radiative corrections can enhance the sensitivity to Higgs self-coupling modifiers and HEFT-specific momentum dependencies can vastly increase triple-Higgs production, thus providing further motivation to consider these processes during the LHC’s high-luminosity phase. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

New models of SU(6) grand gauge-Higgs unification

A five dimensional SU(6) grand gauge-Higgs unification compactified on S1/Z2 is discussed. We propose new sets of the SU(6) representations where the quarks and leptons in one generation are embedded and there is no extra massless exotic fermions absent in the Standard Model. The correct electroweak symmetry breaking pattern can be realized by introducing some adjoint fermions. We also analyze whether a viable Higgs mass can be obtained.

Spontaneous symmetry breaking, gauge hierarchy, and electroweak vacuum metastability

The so-called metastability bound asserts that an unnaturally small Higgs mass is a necessary condition for electroweak vacuum metastability, offering a new approach toward solving the hierarchy problem. So far, this result relies on the assumption of a negative Higgs mass parameter, or equivalently, on electroweak spontaneous symmetry breaking. We derive a new, corresponding bound for the case of a positive mass parameter. When the new bound is significantly more restrictive than or comparable to its established counterpart, it may offer an explanation for the sign of the Higgs mass parameter, and thus, spontaneous symmetry breaking itself. New physics at scales O(1–10) TeV can lower these bounds as far as the TeV scale. As an illustration, we consider vacuum stability in the presence of additional TeV-scale fermions with Yukawa couplings to the Higgs, as well as a dimension-six term parametrizing new physics in the UV. This scenario requires new physics that couples strongly to the Higgs, and can potentially be probed at future colliders. Finally, to allow for comparison with concrete mechanisms predicting metastability, we provide the mass-dependent lifetime of the electroweak vacuum for this model. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Boosted four-top production at the LHC: A window to Randall-Sundrum or extended color symmetry

Scenarios seeking to address the issue of electroweak symmetry breaking often have heavy colored gauge bosons coupling preferentially to the top quark. Considering the bulk Randall-Sundrum as a typical example, we consider the prospects of the first Kaluza-Klein mode (G(1)) of the gluon being produced at the LHC in association with a tt¯ pair. The enhanced coupling not only dictates that the dominant decay mode would be to a tt¯ pair, but also to a very large G(1) width, necessitating the use of a renormalized G(1) propagator. This, along with the presence of large backgrounds (specially tt¯jj), renders a conventional cut-based analysis ineffective, yielding only marginal significances of only around 2σ. The use of machine learning (ML) techniques alleviates this problem to a great extent. In particular, the use of artificial neural networks helps us identify the most discriminating observables, thereby allowing a significance in excess of 4σ for G(1) masses of ∼4 TeV. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

The Higgs mechanism with diagrams: A didactic approach

We present a paedagogical treatment of the electroweak Higgs mechanism based solely on Feynman diagrams and S-matrix elements, without recourse to (gauge) symmetry arguments. Throughout, the emphasis is on Feynman rules and the Schwinger-Dyson equations; it is pointed out that particular care is needed in the treatment of tadpole diagrams and their symmetry factors.

Theoretical probes of Higgs boson-axion nonperturbative couplings

In this work we investigate the phenomenological implications of several nontrivial Higgs-boson- axion couplings, which cover most of the possible nonperturbative scenarios. Specifically we consider the combination of having higher-order nonrenormalizable Higgs-boson-axion couplings originating from a weakly coupled effective theory combined with nonperturbative couplings of the form ∼εΛc2|H|2cos(ϕfa). Since we consider the misalignment axion, the nonperturbative couplings can be expanded in the form of a perturbation expansion in powers of ϕ/fa, thus after the electroweak symmetry breaking, the effective potential of the axion is drastically affected by these terms. We investigate the phenomenological implications of these terms for various values of the mass scale Λc, and some scenarios are theoretically disfavored, while other scenarios with nonperturbative Higgs-boson-axion couplings of the form ∼εΛc2|H|2cos(ϕfa) with Λc∼10−10×ma and ma∼10−10 eV, lead to a characteristic pattern in the stochastic gravitational wave background via the deformation of the background equation of state parameter occurring at frequencies probed by the Einstein Telescope. We also consider loop effects from the Higgs sector caused by the term ∼εΛc2|H|2cos(ϕfa) if we close the Higgs in one loop. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Gravitational waves from a curvature-induced phase transition of a Higgs-portal dark matter sector

The study of interactions between dark matter and the Higgs field opens an exciting connection between cosmology and particle physics, since such scenarios can impact the features of dark matter as well as interfering with the spontaneous breaking of the electroweak symmetry. Furthermore, such Higgs-portal models of dark matter should be suitably harmonised with the various epochs of the universe and the phenomenological constraints imposed by collider experiments. At the same time, the prospect of a stochastic gravitational wave background offers a promising new window into the primordial universe, which can complement the insights gained from accelerators. In this study, we examined whether gravitational waves can be generated from a curvature-induced phase transition of a non-minimally coupled dark scalar field with a portal coupling to the Higgs field. The main requirement is that the phase transition is of first order, which can be achieved through the introduction of a cubic term on the scalar potential and the sign change of the curvature scalar. This mechanism was investigated in the context of a dynamical spacetime during the transition from inflation to kination, while also considering the possibility for inducing electroweak symmetry breaking in this manner for a sufficiently low reheating temperature when the Higgs-portal coupling is extremely weak. We considered a large range of inflationary scales and both cases of positive and negative values for the non-minimal coupling, while taking into account the bound imposed by Big Bang Nucleosythesis. The resulting gravitational wave amplitudes are boosted by kination and thus constrain the parameter space of the couplings significantly. Even though the spectra lie at high frequencies for the standard high inflationary scales, there are combinations of parameter space where they could be probed with future experiments.

Monopoles and fermions in the Standard Model

We consider all magnetic monopoles that could have settled in the Standard Model after descending from a generic microscopic theory. These monopoles have Standard Model quantum numbers, are stable, and we also require that their magnetic fluxes are consistent with the electroweak symmetry breaking. Scattering processes involving quarks, leptons and protons on these monopoles are studied using partial waves decomposition. These processes in the lowest partial wave are known to be unsuppressed by the monopole mass and are relevant for monopole catalysis of proton decay. We provide estimates for scattering cross-sections and investigate and confirm the applicability of the twisted sector approach to scattering processes on these Standard Model monopoles. We find that the SM monopole catalysis processes are universal and model-independent.

Neutrino masses in the mirror twin Higgs with spontaneous ℤ2 breaking

We introduce a mirror twin Higgs model with spontaneous ℤ2 symmetry breaking that ameliorates the constraints in twin Higgs cosmology and, at the same time, generates the Standard Model neutrino masses. The model features an SU(2) triplet with hypercharge 1 alongside its twin counterpart. Spontaneous breaking of both ℤ2 and electroweak symmetry occurs in the scalar sector. The Standard Model neutrinos acquire small masses through the type-II seesaw mechanism. In contrast, their twin counterparts acquire large masses, effectively addressing the dark radiation problem in mirror twin Higgs scenarios. We study the impact of the model on the Neff. constraints, as well as on collider phenomenology.

Electric dipole moments in 5+3 flavor weak effective theory

A fully generic treatment of electric dipole moments (EDMs) is presented in the CP-violating and flavor-conserving weak effective field theory (WET) with five flavors of quarks and three flavors of leptons. We systematically analyze leading contributions to EDMs originating from QCD and QED renormalization group running between the electroweak scale and low energy scales of about 2 GeV. We include the full one-loop anomalous dimension and a subset of two-loop corrections, as well as threshold corrections at the bottom, charm and τ masses. This allows us to derive master formulae in the space of generic WET for the neutron and proton EDMs, for EDMs of diamagnetic atoms, and for the precession frequencies constrained in molecular EDM experiments, from which bounds on the electron EDM are extracted. In particular, our master formulae capture the contributions of WET CP-violating operators with heavy quark and lepton flavors. As an application, we study EDM constraints on the Yukawa couplings of the Higgs boson, in both the linear and non-linear realizations of electroweak symmetry breaking.

New Physics in the 3-3-1 models

The fundamental basics of the Standard Model such as local gauge symmetry and mass generation via the Higgs mechanism are widely confirmed by current experimental data. However, some problems such as neutrino masses, dark matter, baryon asymmetry of Universe have clearly indicated that the Standard Model cannot be the ultimate theory of Nature. To surpass the mentioned puzzles, many extensions of the Standard Model (called beyond Standard Model) have been proposed. Among beyond Standard Models, the 3-3-1 models have some intriguing features and they get wide attention. The pioneer models develop in some directions. In this paper, some versions of the 3-3-1 models and new consequences are presented.

The symmetry S3 in the dark matter

Experimental evidence so far suggest that there are only three generations of quarks and leptons. Before electroweak symmetry breaking, the three families of quarks and leptons are indistiguishable, so they are invariant under transformations of the S_{3} group. Using the symmetry S_{3} we have at our disposal 3 irreducible representations, \mathbf{2}, \mathbf{1}_{s}, \mathbf{1}_{a}, where we can accommodate up to four Higgs doublets in a model that occupies all the irreducible representations of the group S_{3}. This model with four Higgs doublets (4HDM) is of great interest, thanks to the fact that we can take the fourth Higgs doublet as a stable particle without interaction with fermions so that it becomes a candidate for dark matter, while with remaining three Higgses the propierties obtained are maintained. An important condition for having a viable dark matter candidate is its stability, i. e., it does not decay into Standard Model particles. The simplest way to establish the stability of a particle is imposing a discrete symmetry Z_{2}, so that all the fields are transformed in the form \Psi\longrightarrow\Psi, while the dark matter candidates are transformed as \chi\longrightarrow-\chi, this way we make sure we do not have terms denoting decays of \chi. This method will be used in 4HDM. Another imposition required to propose the candidacy of a field of the doublet H_{a}, is that its corresponding Vaccum Expectation Value (VEV) is equal to zero, v_{a}=0.

Neutrino masses from new seesaw models: low-scale variants and phenomenological implications

With just the Standard Model Higgs doublet, there are only three types of seesaw models that generate light Majorana neutrino masses at tree level after electroweak spontaneous symmetry breaking. However, if there exist additional TeV scalars acquiring vacuum expectation values, coupled with heavier fermionic multiplets, several new seesaw models become possible. These new seesaws are the primary focus of this study and correspond to the tree-level ultraviolet completions of the effective operators studied in a companion publication. We are interested in the genuine cases, in which the standard seesaw contributions are absent. In addition to the tree-level generation of neutrino masses, we also consider the one-loop contributions. Furthermore, we construct low-energy versions that exhibit a very rich phenomenology. Specifically, we scrutinise the generation of dimension-6 operators and explore their implications, including non-unitarity of the leptonic mixing matrix, non-universal Z-\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$Z-$$\\end{document}boson interactions, and lepton flavor violation. Finally, we provide (Generalised) Scotogenic-like variants that incorporate viable dark matter candidates.

Higgs boson and mechanisms

In the contemporary field of physics, the Higgs boson and the Higgs mechanism stand as captivating subjects of research due to their transformative impact on our comprehension of fundamental particle physics. Their discovery not only bridged a significant gap within the Standard Model but also profoundly influenced our understanding of the evolutionary dynamics of the universe. This paper aims to delve deeply into the Higgs boson and its corresponding Higgs mechanism, thereby furnishing further insights into unraveling the enigma of the cosmos. In the subsequent sections, we will meticulously explore the theoretical underpinnings, experimental observations, and relevant research advancements concerning the Higgs boson and the Higgs mechanism. Through this comprehensive investigation, we aspire to enhance our grasp of the fundamentals of particle physics and the mysteries that enshroud the universe.

Observation of electroweak production of W+W− in association with jets in proton-proton collisions at s\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$ \\sqrt{s} $$\\end{document} = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

A measurement of the production of W bosons with opposite electric charges in association with two jets is presented based on 140 fb−1 of data collected by the ATLAS detector in proton-proton collisions at s\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$ \\sqrt{s} $$\\end{document} = 13 TeV. The analysis is sensitive to the scattering of W bosons, which is of particular interest in the ATLAS physics programme as it can be used to probe the electroweak symmetry breaking mechanism of the Standard Model. This signal is observed with a significance of 7.1 standard deviations above the background expectation, while 6.2 standard deviations were expected. The measured cross-section is determined in a signal-enriched fiducial volume and is found to be 2.7 ± 0.5 fb, which is consistent with the theoretical prediction of 2.20−0.13+0.14\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$ {2.20}_{-0.13}^{+0.14} $$\\end{document} fb.

A new perspective on Kaluza–Klein theories

Assuming that the geometry of spacetime is uniquely determined by the energy–momentum tensor of matter alone, i.e. without any interactions, enables us to construct the Lagrangian from which the metric of higher dimensional spacetime follows. From the geodesic equations that follow, it becomes clear that the incorrect mass of elementary particles predicted by Kaluza–Klein theories arises from the assumption that in the absence of gravity the solution to the Einstein field equations reduces to the Minkowski metric. From construction of a consistent theory of 4D electromagnetism, we find that this assumption does not only result in the incorrect mass of elementary particles, but also the incorrect value of the cosmological constant. This suggests that these incorrect predictions, which are often regarded as major flaws of Kaluza–Klein theories, just reflect the inconsistency of the assumption that the solution to Einstein field equations reduces to Minkowski metric in the absence of gravity and Weyl invariance which is the symmetry of gauge theories in 4D spacetime. Abandoning this assumption results in modification of general relativity. We show that the unified description of fundamental interactions naturally incorporates the Higgs mechanism. For non-Abelian gauge fields, we find that the manifold comprising the extra dimensions has to be a group manifold and show that the standard model is realized in 16D spacetime. We show that charge and spin are the same concept, but what makes them different is that the former follows from symmetry of 4D spacetime while the latter follows from symmetry of the internal space.

Dark matter phenomenology and phase transition dynamics of the next-to-minimal composite Higgs model with a dilaton

In this paper, we conduct a comprehensive study of the next-to-minimal composite Higgs model (NMCHM) extended with a dilaton field χ (denoted as NMCHMχ). A pseudo-Nambu-Goldstone boson (pNGB) η, resulting from the SO(6)→SO(5) breaking, serves as a dark matter (DM) candidate. The inclusion of the dilaton field is helpful for evading the stringent constraints from dark matter direct detection, as it allows for an accidental cancellation between the amplitudes of DM-nucleon scattering, an outcome of the mixing between the dilaton and Higgs fields. The presence of the dilaton field also enriches the phase transition patterns in the early universe. We identify two types of phase transitions: (i) a 1-step phase transition, where the chiral symmetry and electroweak symmetry breaking (EWSB) occur simultaneously, and (ii) a 2-step phase transition, where the chiral symmetry breaking transition takes place first, followed by a second phase transition corresponding to EWSB. Since the first-order phase transitions can be strong due to supercooling in our model, we also examine the stochastic background of gravitational waves generated by these phase transitions. We find that these gravitational waves hold promise for detection in future space-based gravitational wave experiments, such as LISA, Taiji, BBO, and DECIGO. Published by the American Physical Society 2024