Cosmic Variation of Proton to Electron Mass Ratio with an interacting Higgs Scalar Field

TL;DR

This paper explores how a cosmological Higgs scalar field can cause variations in the proton-to-electron mass ratio while allowing the universe to transition smoothly from matter domination to dark energy domination, aligning with observational data.

Contribution

It introduces a model where a Higgs scalar field with self-interaction causes proton-electron mass ratio variation, compatible with cosmological observations and different gravity theories.

Findings

Variation pattern embedded in dark energy EOS

Negligible impact on effective EOS

Consistent with quasar spectral data

Abstract

We discuss that it is quite possible to realize the smooth transition of the universe between a matter/radiation dominated deceleration and a dark energy dominated acceleration, even with a variation of proton-to-electron mass ratio. The variation is incorporated into the theory of gravity using a cosmological Higgs scalar field with a non-trivial self-interaction potential, leading to a varying Higgs vacuum expectation value (VEV). This matches well with the data from molecular absorption spectra of a series of Quasars. In comparison with late-time cosmology, an observational consistency is reached using a Markov chain Monte Carlo simulation and JLA+OHD+BAO data sets. We find that the pattern of variation is embedded within the evolving Equation of State (EOS) of the scalar Dark Energy/Matter components, but leaves negligible trace on the effective EOS of the system. We discuss three cases of scalar extended theory of gravity, (a) a minimally coupled scalar, (b) a non-minimally coupled scalar and (c) a generalized Brans-Dicke setup. We also give a toy model of a unified cosmic history from inflation to the present era and discuss how the Higg VEV might have changed as a function of look back time.