Right-Handed Neutrinos as the Origin of the Electroweak Scale

TL;DR

This paper proposes a model where heavy right-handed neutrinos generate the electroweak scale through quantum effects, linking dark matter, neutrino masses, and baryogenesis, and predicts a testable dark matter candidate near 1 TeV.

Contribution

It introduces a scale-free electroweak sector where heavy neutrinos induce the Higgs mass, connecting dark matter, neutrino masses, and baryogenesis in a natural framework.

Findings

Dark matter scalar mass near 1 TeV predicted

Model remains perturbative up to the Planck scale

Compatible with high-scale inflation and experimental detection

Abstract

The insular nature of the Standard Model may be explained if the Higgs mass parameter is only sensitive to quantum corrections from physical states. Starting from a scale-free electroweak sector at tree-level, we postulate that quantum effects of heavy right-handed neutrinos induce a mass term for a scalar weak doublet that contains the dark matter particle. In turn, below the scale of heavy neutrinos, the dark matter sector sets the scale of the Higgs potential. We show that this framework can lead to a Higgs mass that respects physical naturalness, while also providing a viable scalar dark matter candidate, realistic light neutrino masses, and the baryon asymmetry of the Universe via leptogenesis. The proposed scenario can remain perturbative and stable up to the Planck scale, thereby accommodating simple extensions to include a high scale (2\times 10^{16} GeV) inflationary sector, implied by recent measurements. In that case, our model typically predicts that the dark matter scalar is close to 1 TeV in mass and could be accessible in near future direct detection experiments.