Electroweak interaction

About: Electroweak interaction is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 16333 publications have been published within this topic receiving 468927 citations. The topic is also known as: electroweak force.

Higgs couplings and electroweak phase transition

Abstract: We argue that extensions of the Standard Model (SM) with a strongly first-order electroweak phase transition generically predict significant deviations of the Higgs couplings to gluons, photons, and Z bosons from their SM values. Precise experimental measurements of the Higgs couplings at the LHC and at the proposed next-generation facilities will allow for a robust test of the phase transition dynamics. To illustrate this point, in this paper we focus on the scenario in which loops of a new scalar field are responsible for the first-order phase transition, and study a selection of benchmark models with various SM gauge quantum numbers of the new scalar. We find that the current LHC measurement of the Higgs coupling to gluons already excludes the possibility of a first-order phase transition induced by a scalar in a sextet, or larger, representation of the SU(3) c . Future LHC experiments (including HL-LHC) will be able to definitively probe the case when the new scalar is a color triplet. If the new scalar is not colored, an electron-positron Higgs factory, such as the proposed ILC or TLEP, would be required to test the nature of the phase transition. The extremely precise measurement of the Higgsstrahlung cross section possible at such machines will allow for a comprehensive and definitive probe of the possibility of a first-order electroweak phase transition in all models we considered, including the case when the new scalar is a pure gauge singlet.

Neutralinos and Higgs Bosons in the Next-To-Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to present a complete and consistent list of the Feynman rules for the vertices of neutralinos and Higgs bosons in the Next-To-Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (NMSSM), which does not yet exist in the literature. The Feynman rules are derived from the full expression for the Lagrangian and the mass matrices of the neutralinos and Higgs bosons in the NMSSM. Some crucial differences between the vertex functions of the NMSSM and the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM) are discussed.

Dark-matter bound states from Feynman diagrams

Abstract: If dark matter couples directly to a light force mediator, then it may form bound states in the early universe and in the non-relativistic environment of haloes today. In this work, we establish a field-theoretic framework for the computation of bound-state formation cross-sections, de-excitation and decay rates, in theories with long-range interactions. Using this formalism, we carry out specific computations for scalar particles interacting either via a light scalar or vector mediator. At low relative velocities of the interacting particles, the formation of bound states is enhanced by the Sommerfeld effect. For particle-antiparticle pairs, we show that bound-state formation can be faster than annihilation into radiation in the regime where the Sommerfeld effect is important. The field-theoretic formalism outlined here can be generalised to compute bound-state formation cross-sections in a variety of theories, including theories featuring non-Abelian (albeit non-confining) interactions, such as the electroweak interactions.

Expectations for the muon g-2 in simplified models with dark matter

Abstract: We investigate simplified models of new physics that can accommodate the measured value of the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon and the relic density of dark matter. We define a set of renormalizable, SU(2)×U(1) invariant extensions of the Standard Model, each comprising an inert ℤ 2-odd scalar field and one or more vector-like pairs of colorless fermions that communicate to the muons through Yukawa-type interactions. The new sectors are classified according to their transformation properties under the Standard Model gauge group and all models are systematically confronted with a variety of experimental constraints: LEP mass bounds, direct LHC searches, electroweak precision observables, and direct searches for dark matter. We show that scenarios featuring only one type of new fermions become very predictive once the relic density and collider constraints are taken into account, as in this case (g − 2) μ is not enhanced by chirality flip. Conversely, for models where an additional source of chiral-symmetry violation is generated via fermion mixing, the constraints are much looser and new precision experiments with highly suppressed systematic uncertainties may be required to test the parameter space.