Exotic Higgs boson decays and the electroweak phase transition
Jonathan Kozaczuk, Michael J. Ramsey-Musolf, Jessie Shelton
Abstract
Light new physics weakly coupled to the Higgs can induce a strong first-order electroweak phase transition (EWPT). Here, we argue that scenarios in which the EWPT is driven first-order by a light scalar with mass between $\ensuremath{\sim}10\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{GeV}\ensuremath{-}{m}_{h}/2$ and small mixing with the Higgs will be conclusively probed by the high-luminosity LHC and future Higgs factories. Our arguments are based on analytic and numerical studies of the finite-temperature effective potential and provide a well-motivated target for exotic Higgs decay searches at the LHC and future lepton colliders.
Topics & Concepts
Particle physicsHiggs bosonElectroweak interactionPhysicsLarge Hadron ColliderLeptonPhysics beyond the Standard ModelMixing (physics)Phase transitionScalar (mathematics)Higgs mechanismTechnicolorStandard Model (mathematical formulation)Higgs fieldNuclear physicsGauge bosonQuantum mechanicsGeographyGeometryMathematicsGauge theoryGauge (firearms)ElectronArchaeologyParticle physics theoretical and experimental studiesCosmology and Gravitation TheoriesComputational Physics and Python Applications