Stability of the electroweak vacuum with respect to vacuum tunneling to the Komatsu vacuum in the cMSSM

TL;DR

This paper examines the stability of the electroweak vacuum in the cMSSM against tunneling to the Komatsu vacuum, identifying new constraints and excluded regions in parameter space using numerical tools.

Contribution

It provides a detailed analysis of vacuum stability in the cMSSM, incorporating vacuum tunneling effects and identifying new excluded regions consistent with the observed Higgs mass.

Findings

Excluded regions near tachyonic vacua are more stringent at certain parameter values.

New vacuum stability constraints are identified for parameters matching the Higgs mass.

Regions with vacuum tunneling half-life less than the universe's age are constrained.

Abstract

We investigate the stability of the electroweak vacuum with respect to vacuum tunneling to the Komatsu vacuum, which exists when $m_L^2 + m_{H_u}^2<0$, in the cMSSM. Employing the numerical tools SARAH, SPheno and CosmoTransitions, we scan and constrain the parameter space of the cMSSM up to 10 TeV. Regions excluded due to having a vacuum tunneling half-life less than the age of the observable universe are concentrated near the regions where the electroweak vacuum is tachyonic and are more stringent at smaller $m_0$, larger and negative $A_0$, and larger $\tan\beta$. New excluded regions, which satisfy $m_h \simeq 125 \text{GeV}$, are found.