Cosmological Perturbations from the Standard Model Higgs

TL;DR

This paper proposes that the Standard Model Higgs field could generate cosmological perturbations during inflation, linking Higgs properties to observable primordial gravitational waves and making testable predictions.

Contribution

It introduces a novel mechanism where the Higgs acts as an isocurvature mode during inflation, connecting Higgs mass measurements to primordial tensor perturbations.

Findings

Predicts small tensor perturbations for Higgs mass around 125.5 GeV

Establishes a relation between Higgs and top quark masses if tensor modes are detected

Provides a falsifiable link between Higgs properties and inflationary gravitational waves

Abstract

We propose that the Standard Model (SM) Higgs is responsible for generating the cosmological perturbations of the universe by acting as an isocurvature mode during a de Sitter inflationary stage. In view of the recent ATLAS and CMS results for the Higgs mass, this can happen if the Hubble rate during inflation is in the range $(10^{10}- 10^{14})$ GeV (depending on the SM parameters). Implications for the detection of primordial tensor perturbations through the $B$-mode of CMB polarization via the PLANCK satellite are discussed. For example, if the Higgs mass value is confirmed to be $m_h=125.5$ GeV and $m_t, \alpha_s$ are at their central values, our mechanism predicts tensor perturbations too small to be detected in the near future. On the other hand, if tensor perturbations will be detected by PLANCK through the $B$-mode of CMB, then there is a definite relation between the Higgs and top masses, making the mechanism predictive and falsifiable.