Gravitational waves and Higgs boson couplings for exploring first order phase transition in the model with a singlet scalar field

TL;DR

This paper investigates the potential for detecting gravitational waves from a first order electroweak phase transition in an extended Higgs model with a singlet scalar, linking it with Higgs coupling deviations.

Contribution

It provides a detailed two-field analysis of bubble nucleation and predicts gravitational wave signals and Higgs coupling deviations in a singlet scalar extended Higgs model.

Findings

Gravitational wave signals could be detectable by future space-based interferometers.

Higgs coupling deviations are significant enough for experimental detection.

The model allows testing of the electroweak phase transition through multiple experimental avenues.

Abstract

We calculate the spectrum of gravitational waves originated from strongly first order electroweak phase transition in the extended Higgs model with a real singlet field. In order to calculate the bubble nucleation rate, we perform a two-field analysis to evaluate bounce solutions connecting the true and the false vacua using the one-loop effective potential at finite temperatures. Imposing the Sakharov condition of the departure from thermal equilibrium for baryogenesis, we survey allowed regions of parameters of the model. We then investigate the gravitational waves produced at electroweak bubble collisions in the early Universe, such as the sound wave, the bubble wall collision and the plasma turbulence. We find that the strength at the peak frequency can be large enough to be detected at future space-based gravitational interferometers such as eLISA, DECIGO and BBO. Predicted deviations in the various Higgs boson couplings are also evaluated at the zero temperature, and are shown to be large enough too. Therefore, in this model strongly first order electroweak phase transition can be tested by the combination of the precision study of various Higgs boson couplings at LHC, the measurement of the triple Higgs boson coupling at future lepton colliders and the shape of the spectrum of gravitational wave detectable at future gravitational interferometers.