Lattice Calculation of the Decay of Primordial Higgs Condensate

TL;DR

This study uses lattice simulations to analyze how the primordial Higgs condensate decays into gauge bosons after inflation, revealing rapid decay due to non-Abelian interactions, which contrasts with Abelian cases.

Contribution

First lattice simulation of Higgs condensate decay into non-Abelian gauge bosons, showing rapid decay driven by non-Abelian interactions.

Findings

90% of Higgs condensate decayed after ~10 oscillations at H=10^8 GeV

Non-Abelian interactions accelerate decay compared to Abelian case

High momentum modes are quickly populated, destroying the condensate

Abstract

We study the resonant decay of the primordial Standard Model Higgs condensate after inflation into $SU(2)$ gauge bosons on the lattice. We find that the non-Abelian interactions between the gauge bosons quickly extend the momentum distribution towards high values, efficiently destroying the condensate after the onset of backreaction. For the inflationary scale $H = 10^8$ GeV, we find that 90% of the Higgs condensate has decayed after $n \sim 10$ oscillation cycles. This differs significantly from the Abelian case where, given the same coupling strengths, most of the condensate would persist after the resonance.