Physical Naturalness and Dynamical Breaking of Classical Scale Invariance

TL;DR

This paper introduces a model where a confining dark sector dynamically generates the electroweak scale and links dark matter to the Higgs mechanism, motivated by the absence of new physics signals at the LHC.

Contribution

It proposes a classically scale-invariant dark technicolor model that connects electroweak symmetry breaking with dark matter, challenging traditional naturalness assumptions.

Findings

Electroweak scale is generated dynamically in the model.

The model aligns with the lack of new physics signals at the LHC.

Classical scale invariance guides the construction of the model.

Abstract

We propose a model of a confining dark sector, dark technicolor, that communicates with the Standard Model through the Higgs portal. In this model electroweak symmetry breaking and dark matter share a common origin, and the electroweak scale is generated dynamically. Our motivation to suggest this model is the absense of evidence for new physics from recent LHC data. Although the conclusion is far from certain at this point, this lack of evidence may suggest that no mechanism exists at the electroweak scale to stabilise the Higgs mass against radiative corrections from UV physics. The usual reaction to this puzzling situation is to conclude that the stabilising new physics is either hidden from us by accident, or that it appears at energies that are currently inaccessible, such that nature is indeed fine-tuned. In order to re-examine the arguments that have lead to this dichotomy, we review the concept of naturalness in effective field theories, discussing in particular the role of quadratic divergences in relation to different energy scales. This leads us to suggest classical scale invariance as a guidline for model building, implying that explicit mass scales are absent in the underlying theory.