5209981
Improved metastability bounds on the standard model Higgs mass
Abstract Depending on the Higgs-boson and top-quark masses, M H and M t , the effective potential of the Standard Model at finite (and zero) temperature can have a deep and non-standard stable minimum 〈 φ ( T )〉 at values of the field much larger than G F −1 2 . We have computed absolute lower bounds on M H , as a function of M t , imposing the condition of no decay by thermal fluctuations, or quantum tunnelling, to the stable minimum. Our effective potential at zero temperature includes all next-to-leading logarithmic corrections (making it extremely scale-independent), and we have used pole masses for the Higgs-boson and top-quark. Thermal corrections to the effective potential include plasma effects by one-loop ring resummation of Debye masses. All calculations, including the effective potential and the bubble nucleation rate, are performed numerically, and so the results do not rely on any kind of analytical approximation. Easy-to-use fits are provided for the benefit of the reader. Conclusions on the possible Higgs detection at LEP-200 are drawn.
14725224
On the nature of the electroweak phase transition
We discuss the finite-temperature effective potential of the Standard Model, Veff(�,T), with emphasis on the resummation of the most important infrared contributions. We compute the one-loop scalar and vector boson self-energies in the zero-momentum limit. By solving the corresponding set of gap equations, with the inclusion of subleading contributions, we find a non-vanishing magnetic mass for the SU(2) gauge bosons. We comment on its possible implications for the nature of the electroweak phase transition. We also discuss the range of validity of our approximations and compare this with other approaches.
14064131
What is the upper limit on the lightest supersymmetric Higgs mass
In this talk the question of what is the upper bound on the lightest supersymmetric Higgs mass, m_h is addressed. This question is relevant since experimental lower bounds on m_h might implement, in the near future, exclusion of supersymmetry. By imposing (perturbative) unification of the gauge couplings at some high scale \simgt 10^{17} GeV, we have found that for a top-quark mass M_t=175 GeV, and depending on the supersymmetric parameters, this bound can be as high as 205 GeV.
119373296
The baryogenesis window in the MSSM
Thermal two-loop QCD corrections associated with light stops have a dramatic effect on the strength of the MSSM electroweak phase transition, making it more strongly first order as required for the viability of electroweak baryogenesis. We perform a perturbative analysis of the transition strength in this model, including these important contributions, extending previous work to arbitrary values of the pseudoscalar Higgs boson mass, m_A. We find a strong enough transition in a region with 2120 GeV, a light Higgs boson with nearly standard couplings, and mass below 85 GeV within the reach of LEP II, and one stop not much heavier than the top quark. In addition, we give a qualitative discussion of the parameter space dependence of the transition strength and comment on the possibility that the transition turns to a crossover for sufficiently large Higgs masses.
282605
Novel Opportunities for EW Breaking from Low-Scale SUSY Breaking
In supersymmetric scenarios with a low scale of SUSY breaking [sqrt{F}=O(TeV)] the conventional MSSM Higgs sector can be substantially modified, mainly because the Higgs potential contains additional effective quartic terms. The Higgs spectrum can be dramatically changed, and the lightest state can be much heavier than in usual SUSY scenarios. Novel opportunities for electroweak breaking arise, and the electroweak scale may be obtained in a less fine-tuned way for wide ranges of tan(beta) and the Higgs mass, offering a possible solution to the MSSM fine-tuning problem.
117085675
Finetuning in EW Symmetry Breaking
After revisiting the hierarchy problem of the Standard Model and its implications for the scale of New Physics, I consider the finetuning problem in two main scenarios beyond the Standard Model: Supersymmetry (both in the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model and alternative models) and Little Higgs models. The main conclusions are that New Physics should appear on the reach of the LHC; that some supersymmetric models can solve the hierarchy problem with acceptable residual finetuning and, finally, that Little Higgs models generically suffer from large tunings, many times hidden.
41578027
Nuclear Star Formation Activity and Black Hole Accretion in Nearby Seyfert Galaxies
Recent theoretical and observational works indicate the presence of a correlation between the star-formation rate (SFR) and active galactic nucleus (AGN) luminosity (and, therefore, the black hole accretion rate, Ṁ_(BH) of Seyfert galaxies. This suggests a physical connection between the gas-forming stars on kpc scales and the gas on sub-pc scales that is feeding the black hole. We compiled the largest sample of Seyfert galaxies to date with high angular resolution (~0.''4-0.''8) mid-infrared (8-13 μm) spectroscopy. The sample includes 29 Seyfert galaxies drawn from the AGN Revised Shapley-Ames catalog. At a median distance of 33 Mpc, our data allow us to probe nuclear regions on scales of ~65 pc (median value). We found no general evidence of suppression of the 11.3 μm polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) emission in the vicinity of these AGN, and we used this feature as a proxy for the SFR. We detected the 11.3 μm PAH feature in the nuclear spectra of 45% of our sample. The derived nuclear SFRs are, on average, five times lower than those measured in circumnuclear regions of 600 pc in size (median value). However, the projected nuclear SFR densities (median value of 22 M_☉ yr^(–1) kpc^(–2)) are a factor of 20 higher than those measured on circumnuclear scales. This indicates that the SF activity per unit area in the central ~65 pc region of Seyfert galaxies is much higher than at larger distances from their nuclei. We studied the connection between the nuclear SFR and Ṁ_(BH) and showed that numerical simulations reproduce our observed relation fairly well.