One-loop contributions to neutral minima in the inert doublet model

TL;DR

This paper investigates the vacuum structure of the inert doublet model at the one-loop level, revealing that quantum corrections can alter the stability and nature of minima compared to tree-level predictions.

Contribution

The study provides a detailed one-loop analysis of the inert doublet model's vacuum structure, showing that quantum effects expand the parameter space for multiple minima and can change the global minimum's character.

Findings

One-loop corrections enlarge the parameter space for multiple minima.

Quantum effects can switch the global minimum between inert and inert-like.

Tree-level predictions may not always accurately determine the true vacuum.

Abstract

The vacuum structure of the inert doublet model is analysed at the one-loop level using the effective potential formalism, to verify the validity of tree-level predictions for the properties of the global minimum. An inert minimum (with massive fermions) and an inert-like minimum (with massless fermions) can coexist at tree level. But the one-loop analysis reveals that the allowed parameter space for the coexistence of more than one minimum is larger than the tree-level expected one. It is also shown that for some choices of parameters, the global minimum found at the one-loop level may be inert (or inert-like), contrary to what the tree-level analysis indicates.