Higgs boson mass bounds in the Standard Model with type III and type I seesaw

In type III seesaw utilized to explain the observed solar and atmospheric neutrino oscillations the Standard Model (SM) particle spectrum is extended by introducing three SU(2)_L triplet fermion fields. This can have important implications for the SM Higgs boson mass (MH$M_H$) bounds based on vacuum stability and perturbativity arguments. We compute the appropriate renormalization group equations for type III seesaw, and then proceed to identify regions of the parameter space such that the SM Higgs boson mass window is enlarged to 125 GeV?MH?174 GeV$125\text{GeV}?M_H?174\text{GeV}$, with the type III seesaw scale close to TeV. We also display regions of the parameter space for which the vacuum stability and perturbativity bounds merge together for large neutrino Yukawa couplings. Comparison with type I seesaw is also presented.     

125 GeV Higgs,type III seesaw and gauge–Higgs unification

Recently, both the ATLAS and CMS experiments have observed an excess of events that could be the first evidence for a 125 GeV Higgs boson. This is a few GeV below the (absolute) vacuum stability bound on the Higgs mass in the Standard Model (SM), assuming a Planck mass ultraviolet (UV) cutoff. In this Letter, we study some implications of a 125 GeV Higgs boson for new physics in terms of the vacuum stability bound. We first consider the seesaw extension of the SM and find that in type III seesaw, the vacuum stability bound on the Higgs mass can be as low as 125 GeV for the seesaw scale around a TeV. Next we discuss some alternative new physics models which provide an effective ultraviolet cutoff lower than the Planck mass. An effective cutoff Λ?10¹¹ GeV$\Lambda ?{10}^{11}\text{GeV}$ leads to a vacuum stability bound on the Higgs mass of 125 GeV. In a gauge–Higgs unification scenario with five-dimensional flat spacetime, the so-called gauge–Higgs condition can yield a Higgs mass of 125 GeV, with the compactification scale of the extra-dimension being identified as the cutoff scale Λ?10¹¹ GeV$\Lambda ?{10}^{11}\text{GeV}$. Identifying the compactification scale with the unification scale of the SM SU(2) gauge coupling and the top quark Yukawa coupling yields a Higgs mass of 121±2 GeV$121\pm 2\text{GeV}$.     

Inflaton mass in the νMSM inflation

We analyze the reheating in the modification of the ν  MSM (Standard Model with three right handed neutrinos with masses below the electroweak scale) where one of the sterile neutrinos, which provides the Dark Matter, is generated in decays of the additional inflaton field. We deduce that due to rather inefficient transfer of energy from the inflaton to the Standard Model sector reheating tends to occur at very low temperature, thus providing strict bounds on the coupling between the inflaton and the Higgs particles. This in turn translates to the bound on the inflaton mass, which appears to be very light 0.1 GeV?mI?10 GeV$0.1\text{GeV}?m_I?10\text{GeV}$, or slightly heavier then two Higgs masses 300 GeV?mI?1000 GeV$300\text{GeV}?m_I?1000\text{GeV}$.     

The apparent excess in the Higgs to di-photon rate at the LHC: New Physics or QCD uncertainties?

The Higgs boson with a mass _MH≈126 GeV$M_H\approx 126\text{GeV}$ has been observed by the ATLAS and CMS experiments at the LHC and a total significance of about five standard deviations has been reported by both collaborations when the channels H→γγ$H\to \gamma \gamma$ and H→ZZ→4?$H\to ZZ\to 4?$ are combined. Nevertheless, while the rates in the later search channel appear to be in accord with those predicted in the Standard Model, there seems to be an excess of data in the case of the H→γγ$H\to \gamma \gamma$ discovery channel. Before invoking new physics contributions to explain this excess in the di-photon Higgs rate, one should verify that standard QCD effects cannot account for it. We describe how the theoretical uncertainties in the Higgs boson cross section for the main production process at the LHC, gg→H$gg\to H$, which are known to be large, should be incorporated in practice. We further show that the discrepancy between the theoretical prediction and the measured value of the gg→H→γγ$gg\to H\to \gamma \gamma$ rate, reduces to about one standard deviation when the QCD uncertainties are taken into account.     

Transverse momentum distribution of the Z produced at the Large Hadron Collider and related phenomena

From the recent theoretical result on the production of the Higgs boson at the Large Hadron Collider, it follows that other particles will also be produced with small transverse momentum, of the order of 1 GeV/c$1\text{GeV}/c$. The leptonic decay mode of the Z is especially suited for a first observation of this phenomenon. Other related effects, such as paired jets, are also discussed.     

Running inflation in the Standard Model

An interacting scalar field with largish coupling to curvature can support a distinctive inflationary universe scenario. Previously this has been discussed for the Standard Model Higgs field, treated classically or in a leading log approximation. Here we investigate the quantum theory using renormalization group methods. In this model the running of both the effective Planck mass and the couplings is important. The cosmological predictions are consistent with existing WMAP5 data, with 0.967?ns?0.98$0.967?n_s?0.98$ (for Ne=60$N_e=60$) and negligible gravity waves. We find a relationship between the spectral index and the Higgs mass that is sharply varying for mh∼120–135 GeV$m_h\sim 120\text{–}135\text{GeV}$ (depending on the top mass); in the future, that relationship could be tested against data from PLANCK and LHC. We also comment briefly on how similar dynamics might arise in more general settings, and discuss our assumptions from the effective field theory point of view.     

Strange stars properties calculated in the framework of the Field Correlator Method

We calculate the strange star properties in the framework of the Field Correlator Method. We find that for gluon condensate values G₂$G_2$ in the range 0.006–0.007 GeV⁴$0.006\text{–}0.007{\text{GeV}}^4$, which give a critical temperature Tc∼170 MeV$T_c\sim 170\text{MeV}$ at μc=0${\mu }_c=0$, the sequences of strange stars are compatible with some of the semi-empirical mass–radius relations and data obtained from astrophysical observations.     

Probing a possible vacuum refractive index with γ-ray telescopes

We have used a stringy model of quantum space–time foam to suggest that the vacuum may exhibit a non-trivial refractive index depending linearly on γ  -ray energy: η−1∼Eγ/M_QG1$\eta -1\sim E_{\gamma }/M_{\mathrm{QG}1}$, where MQG$M_{\mathrm{QG}}$ is some mass scale typical of quantum gravity that may be ∼¹⁰¹⁸ GeV$\sim {10}^{18}\text{GeV}$: see [J. Ellis, N.E. Mavromatos, D.V. Nanopoulos, Phys. Lett. B 665 (2008) 412] and references therein. The MAGIC, HESS and Fermi γ-ray telescopes have recently probed the possible existence of such an energy-dependent vacuum refractive index. All find indications of time-lags for higher-energy photons, but cannot exclude the possibility that they are due to intrinsic delays at the sources. However, the MAGIC and HESS observations of time-lags in emissions from AGNs Mkn 501 and PKS 2155-304 are compatible with each other and a refractive index depending linearly on the γ  -ray energy, with M_QG1∼¹⁰¹⁸ GeV$M_{\mathrm{QG}1}\sim {10}^{18}\text{GeV}$. We combine their results to estimate the time-lag Δt   to be expected for the highest-energy photon from GRB 080916c measured by the Fermi telescope, which has an energy ∼13.2 GeV$\sim 13.2\text{GeV}$, assuming the redshift z=4.35±0.15$z=4.35\pm 0.15$ measured by GROND. In the case of a refractive index depending linearly on the γ  -ray energy we predict Δt=26±11 s$\mathrm{\Delta }t=26\pm 11\text{s}$. This is compatible with the time-lag Δt?16.5 s$\mathrm{\Delta }t?16.5\text{s}$ reported by the Fermi Collaboration, whereas the time-lag would be negligible in the case of a refractive index depending quadratically on the γ-ray energy. We suggest a strategy for future observations that could distinguish between a quantum-gravitational effect and other interpretations of the time-lags observed by the MAGIC, HESS and Fermi γ-ray telescopes.     

Neutralino dark matter in light Higgs boson scenario

Phenomenology of neutralino dark matter in the minimal supersymmetric model is discussed for a scenario where the lightest Higgs boson mass is lighter than 114.4 GeV$114.4\text{GeV}$. We show that the scenario is consistent not only with many collider experiments but also with the observed relic abundance of dark matter. The allowed region may be probed by experiments of Bs→μ⁺μ⁻$B_s\to {\mu }^{+}{\mu }^{-}$ in near future. The scenario predicts a large scattering cross section between the dark matter and ordinary matter and thus it may be tested in present direct detection experiments of dark matter.     

Unifying darko-lepto-genesis with scalar triplet inflation

We present a scalar triplet extension of the standard model to unify the origin of inflation with neutrino mass, asymmetric dark matter and leptogenesis. In presence of non-minimal couplings to gravity the scalar triplet, mixed with the standard model Higgs, plays the role of inflaton in the early Universe, while its decay to SM Higgs, lepton and dark matter simultaneously generate an asymmetry in the visible and dark matter sectors. On the other hand, in the low energy effective theory the induced vacuum expectation value of the triplet gives sub-eV Majorana masses to active neutrinos. We investigate the model parameter space leading to successful inflation as well as the observed dark matter to baryon abundance. Assuming the standard model like Higgs mass to be at 125–126 GeV, we found that the mass scale of the scalar triplet to be ?O(10⁹) GeV$?O({10}^9)\text{GeV}$ and its trilinear coupling to doublet Higgs is ?0.09 so that it not only evades the possibility of having a metastable vacuum in the standard model, but also lead to a rich phenomenological consequences as stated above. Moreover, we found that the scalar triplet inflation strongly constrains the quartic couplings, while allowing for a wide range of Yukawa couplings which generate the CP asymmetries in the visible and dark matter sectors.     

Scattering rates for leptogenesis: Damping of lepton flavour coherence and production of singlet neutrinos

Using the Closed Time Path (CTP) approach, we perform a systematic leading order calculation of the relaxation rate of flavour correlations of left-handed Standard Model leptons. This quantity is of pivotal relevance for flavoured leptogenesis in the Early Universe, and we find it to be 5.19×10⁻³T$5.19\times {10}^{-3}T$ at T=10⁷ GeV$T={10}^7\text{GeV}$ and 4.83×10⁻³T$4.83\times {10}^{-3}T$ at T=10¹³ GeV$T={10}^{13}\text{GeV}$, in substantial agreement with estimates used in previous phenomenological analyses. These values apply to the Standard Model with a Higgs-boson mass of 125 GeV$125\text{GeV}$. The dependence of the numerical coefficient on the temperature T is due to the renormalisation group running. The leading linear and logarithmic dependencies of the flavour relaxation rate on the gauge and top-quark couplings are extracted, such that the results presented in this work can readily be applied to extensions of the Standard Model. We also derive the production rate of light (compared to the temperature) sterile right-handed neutrinos, a calculation that relies on the same methods. We confirm most details of earlier results, but find a substantially larger contribution from the t-channel exchange of fermions.     

WIMP dark matter from gravitino decays and leptogenesis

The spontaneous breaking of B−L$B-L$ symmetry naturally accounts for the small observed neutrino masses via the seesaw mechanism. We have recently shown that the cosmological realization of B−L$B-L$ breaking in a supersymmetric theory can successfully generate the initial conditions of the hot early universe, i.e. entropy, baryon asymmetry and dark matter, if the gravitino is the lightest superparticle (LSP). This implies relations between neutrino and superparticle masses. Here we extend our analysis to the case of very heavy gravitinos which are motivated by hints for the Higgs boson at the LHC. We find that the nonthermal production of ‘pure’ wino or higgsino LSPs, i.e. weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs), in heavy gravitino decays can account for the observed amount of dark matter while simultaneously fulfilling the constraints imposed by primordial nucleosynthesis and leptogenesis within a range of LSP, gravitino and neutrino masses. For instance, a mass of the lightest neutrino of 0.05 eV$0.05\text{eV}$ would require a higgsino mass below 900 GeV$900\text{GeV}$ and a gravitino mass of at least 10 TeV$10\text{TeV}$.     

Atomic parity violation in the economical 3–3–1 model

The deviation δQW$\delta Q_{\mathrm{W}}$ of the weak charge from its standard model prediction due to the mixing of the W boson with the charged bilepton Y as well as of the Z   boson with the neutral Z^′$Z^{\prime }$ and the real part of the non-Hermitian neutral bilepton X   in the economical 3–3–1 model is established. Additional contributions to the usual δQW$\delta Q_{\mathrm{W}}$ expression in the extra U(1)$\mathrm{U}(1)$ models and the left–right models are obtained. Our calculations are quite different from previous analyzes in this kind of the 3–3–1 models and give the limit on mass of the Z^′$Z^{\prime }$ boson, the Z–Z^′$Z\text{–}{Z}^{\prime }$ and W–Y$W\text{–}Y$ mixing angles with the more appropriate values: MZ^′>564 GeV$M_{Z^{\prime }}>564\text{GeV}$, −0.018<sinφ<0$-0.018<\sin \phi <0$ and |sinθ|<0.043$|\sin \theta |<0.043$.     

Unparticle physics with broken scale invariance

If scale invariance is exact, unparticles are unlikely to be probed in colliders since there are stringent constraints from astrophysics and cosmology. However these constraints are inapplicable if scale invariance is broken at a scale μ?1 GeV$\mu ?1\text{GeV}$. The case 1 GeV?μ<MZ$1\text{GeV}?\mu <M_Z$ is particularly interesting since it allows unparticles to be probed at and below the Z pole. We show that μ   can naturally be in this range if only vector unparticles exist, and briefly remark on implications for Higgs phenomenology. We then obtain constraints on unparticle parameters from e⁺e⁻→μ⁺μ⁻$e^{+}{e}^{-}\to {\mu }^{+}{\mu }^{-}$ cross-section and forward–backward asymmetry data, and compare with the constraints from mono-photon production and the Z hadronic width.     

Anomalous Higgs couplings at the LHeC

The discovery of Higgs boson plays a crucial role in understanding the electroweak symmetry breaking sector. From now on, solving the dynamics of this sector needs precision measurements of the couplings of the Higgs boson to the Standard Model particles. In this work, we investigate the constrains on the anomalous HWW   and HWWγ$HWW\gamma$ couplings, described by the dimension-six operators in the effective Lagrangian, in a high energy envisaged ep collider which is called Large Hadron electron Collider (LHeC). We obtained the 95% confidence level limits on the couplings of anomalous HWW   and HWWγ$HWW\gamma$ vertex, with the design luminosity of 10 fb⁻¹$10{\text{fb}}^{-1}$ and electron beam energy of 140 GeV, through ep→νH+X$ep\to \nu H+X$, γp→WH+X$\gamma p\to WH+X$ and eγ→WHν$e\gamma \to WH\nu$ processes by considering the new physics energy scale to be Λ=1 TeV$\Lambda =1\text{TeV}$. The sensitivity of the LHeC to the new physics scale is also briefly discussed.