Asymptotically free four-fermion interactions and electroweak symmetry breaking

TL;DR

This paper explores a Higgsless model of electroweak symmetry breaking using a non-local four-quark interaction that is asymptotically free, leading to a non-perturbative scale and providing estimates for top quark and W boson masses.

Contribution

It introduces a novel Higgsless framework with asymptotically free four-fermion interactions that induce electroweak symmetry breaking and predicts related particle masses.

Findings

Asymptotically free four-fermion interaction induces a non-perturbative scale.

Electroweak symmetry breaking occurs at the scale where the coupling grows large.

Estimated top quark mass and Yukawa coupling consistent with observed mass ratios.

Abstract

We investigate the fermions of the standard model without a Higgs scalar. Instead, we consider a non-local four-quark interaction in the tensor channel which is characterized by a single dimensionless coupling $f$. Quantization leads to a consistent perturbative expansion for small $f$. The running of $f$ is asymptotically free and therefore induces a non-perturbative scale $\Lambda_{ch}$, in analogy to the strong interactions. We argue that spontaneous electroweak symmetry breaking is triggered at a scale where $f$ grows large and find the top quark mass of the order of $\Lambda_{ch}$. We also present a first estimate of the effective Yukawa coupling of a composite Higgs scalar to the top quark, as well as the associated mass ratio between the top quark and the W boson.