The Universality class of the electroweak theory

May, 1998
35 pages
Published in:
  • Nucl.Phys.B 532 (1998) 283-314
e-Print:
Report number:
  • CERN-TH-98-08,
  • NORDITA-98-30-HE

Citations per year

1990199920082017202505101520
Abstract:
We study the universality class and critical properties of the electroweak theory at finite temperature. Such critical behaviour is found near the endpoint m_H=m_{H,c} of the line of first order electroweak phase transitions in a wide class of theories, including the Standard Model (SM) and a part of the parameter space of the Minimal Sypersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM). We find that the location of the endpoint corresponds to the Higgs mass m_{H,c} = 72(2) GeV in the SM with sin^2 theta_W = 0, and m_{H,c} < 80 GeV with sin^2 theta_W = 0.23. As experimentally m_H > 88 GeV, there is no electroweak phase transition in the SM. We compute the corresponding critical indices and provide strong evidence that the phase transitions near the endpoint fall into the three dimensional Ising universality class.
Note:
  • 35 pages, 15 figures Report-no: CERN-TH/98-08, NORDITA-98/30HE
  • 11.10.Wx
  • 11.15.Ha
  • 12.60.Jv
  • 98.80.Cq
  • Universality class
  • Finite temperature
  • Electroweak phase transition
  • Lattice simulations
  • electroweak interaction
  • universality