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Title: Inelastic strong interactions at high energies. Annual progress report, June 1, 1980-May 1, 1981

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/6682035· OSTI ID:6682035

The study of Grand Unified Field Theories was continued, concentrating on the symmetry breaking by Higgs bosons with the inclusion of single-gauge-loop corrections at both zero and nonzero temperature. The possible metastable phases of an SU(N) gauge theory broken by a Higgs boson of the adjoint representation are SU(r)xSU(N-r)xU(1) only. The phase diagram of broken SU(N) and O(2N) theories was displayed as a function of two renormalization-group-invariant parameters. All phase transitions were found to be first order and, at least in the Colemen-Weinberg regime, the phase diagram is completely different from that of the tree approximation; for example, several phase transitions may take place if the mass parameter (effectively the temperature) of the theory is decreased. Upper bounds were obtained for the phase-transition temperature in terms of the Higgs boson mass both for an SU(N) field theory with a Higgs boson in the adjoint representation and for the Glashow-Weinberg-Salam theory of electro-weak interactions. Finally, upper bounds were found for the masses of Higgs bosons in both of the above-mentioned types of theories in terms of the supercooling ratio, provided the expansion rate of the universe is too large and the tunneling rate is too small to complete the phase transition before the symmetric phase becomes unstable.

Research Organization:
Cincinnati Univ., OH (USA)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
DOE Contract Number:
AS02-76ER02978
OSTI ID:
6682035
Report Number(s):
DOE/ER/02978-6; TRN: 81-004348
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English