Beyond QCD: A Composite Universe

TL;DR

This paper explores how new strongly coupled theories beyond QCD can address fundamental questions in particle physics and cosmology, including the nature of dark matter, inflation, and the Higgs boson.

Contribution

It provides the first comprehensive overview of employing four-dimensional strong dynamics to tackle key challenges in particle physics and cosmology.

Findings

Strong dynamics can explain the origin of the Higgs boson.

New theories offer potential dark matter candidates.

Applications include models of inflation and early universe phenomena.

Abstract

Strong dynamics constitutes one of the pillars of the standard model of particle interactions, and it accounts for the bulk of the visible matter in the universe. It is therefore a well posed question to ask if the rest of the universe can be described in terms of new highly natural four-dimensional strongly coupled theories. The goal of this brief summary is to provide, for the first time, a coherent overview of how new strong dynamics can be employed to address the relevant challenges in particle physics and cosmology from composite Higgs dynamics to dark matter and inflation.