Effects of higher dimension operators on the Standard Model Higgs sector

TL;DR

This paper investigates how higher dimension operators influence the electroweak phase transition in the Standard Model, finding that a cutoff scale of about 1.5 TeV is needed for a first-order transition compatible with baryogenesis.

Contribution

It provides a comparative analysis of the Higgs-Yukawa and gauge-Higgs sectors using different methods, highlighting the cutoff scale necessary for a first-order phase transition.

Findings

A cutoff scale of ~1.5 TeV is required for a first-order electroweak phase transition.

Both sectors indicate the same cutoff scale requirement for baryogenesis viability.

Higher dimension operators significantly impact the nature of the electroweak phase transition.

Abstract

We study the effect of higher dimension operators on the electroweak finite temperature phase transition in two sectors of the Standard Model. Firstly, the Higgs-Yukawa sector, consisting of the Higgs doublet and the massive Standard Model fermions, is studied with an approximate method, Extended Mean Field Theory. Secondly, the gauge-Higgs sector, consisting of the Higgs doublet and the gauge fields of the weak interaction, is studied using Monte Carlo simulations. In both cases we find that a cutoff scale of around 1.5 TeV is needed to make the electroweak phase transition first order at the experimental value of the Higgs boson mass, which is a requirement for making electroweak baryogenesis viable.