Inflating to the Weak Scale

TL;DR

This paper proposes a novel solution to the hierarchy problem by linking the Higgs mass to inflationary dynamics, where quantum fluctuations during inflation select the observed electroweak scale.

Contribution

It introduces a new mechanism where inflation determines the Higgs mass by favoring the vacuum with the largest vacuum energy, demonstrated through a proof-of-principle model.

Findings

Inflation can set the Higgs mass to its observed value.

Quantum fluctuations during inflation influence the Higgs vacuum state.

The model shows inflation as a natural explanation for the weak scale.

Abstract

We present a new solution to the hierarchy problem, where the Higgs mass is at its observed electroweak value because such a patch inflates the most in the early universe. If the Higgs mass depends on a field undergoing quantum fluctuations during inflation, then inflation will fill the universe with the Higgs mass that corresponds to the largest vacuum energy. The hierarchy problem is solved if the maximum vacuum energy occurs for the observed Higgs mass. We demonstrate this notion with a proof-of-principle model containing an axion, a modulus field and the Higgs, and show that inflation can be responsible for the weak scale.