Probable or improbable universe? Correlating electroweak vacuum instability with the scale of inflation
Abstract
Measurements of the Higgs boson and top quark masses indicate that the Standard Model Higgs potential becomes unstable around ΛI ~ 1011 GeV. This instability is cosmologically relevant since quantum fluctuations during inflation can easily destabilize the electroweak vacuum if the Hubble parameter during inflation is larger than ΛI (as preferred by the recent BICEP2 measurement). Here, we perform a careful study of the evolution of the Higgs field during inflation, obtaining different results from those currently in the literature. We consider both tunneling via a Coleman-de Luccia or Hawking-Moss instanton, valid when the scale of inflation is below the instability scale, as well as a statistical treatment via the Fokker-Planck equation appropriate in the opposite regime. We show that a better understanding of the post-inflation evolution of the unstable AdS vacuum regions is crucial for determining the eventual fate of the universe. If these AdS regions devour all of space, a universe like ours is indeed extremely unlikely without new physics to stabilize the Higgs potential; however, if these regions crunch, our universe survives, but inflation must last a few e-folds longer to compensate for the lost AdS regions. Lastly, we examine the effects of generic Planck-suppressed corrections tomore »
- Authors:
-
- Inst. for Advanced Study, Princeton, NJ (United States). School of Natural Sciences
- Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States). Michigan Center for Theoretical Physics
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC)
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1454554
- Grant/Contract Number:
- SC0007859; SC0009988; PHY 1049896
- Resource Type:
- Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Name:
- Journal of High Energy Physics (Online)
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Name: Journal of High Energy Physics (Online); Journal Volume: 2015; Journal Issue: 1; Journal ID: ISSN 1029-8479
- Publisher:
- Springer Berlin
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS; Higgs Physics; Cosmology of Theories beyond the SM; Standard Model
Citation Formats
Hook, Anson, Kearney, John, Shakya, Bibhushan, and Zurek, Kathryn M. Probable or improbable universe? Correlating electroweak vacuum instability with the scale of inflation. United States: N. p., 2015.
Web. doi:10.1007/JHEP01(2015)061.
Hook, Anson, Kearney, John, Shakya, Bibhushan, & Zurek, Kathryn M. Probable or improbable universe? Correlating electroweak vacuum instability with the scale of inflation. United States. https://doi.org/10.1007/JHEP01(2015)061
Hook, Anson, Kearney, John, Shakya, Bibhushan, and Zurek, Kathryn M. Tue .
"Probable or improbable universe? Correlating electroweak vacuum instability with the scale of inflation". United States. https://doi.org/10.1007/JHEP01(2015)061. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1454554.
@article{osti_1454554,
title = {Probable or improbable universe? Correlating electroweak vacuum instability with the scale of inflation},
author = {Hook, Anson and Kearney, John and Shakya, Bibhushan and Zurek, Kathryn M.},
abstractNote = {Measurements of the Higgs boson and top quark masses indicate that the Standard Model Higgs potential becomes unstable around ΛI ~ 1011 GeV. This instability is cosmologically relevant since quantum fluctuations during inflation can easily destabilize the electroweak vacuum if the Hubble parameter during inflation is larger than ΛI (as preferred by the recent BICEP2 measurement). Here, we perform a careful study of the evolution of the Higgs field during inflation, obtaining different results from those currently in the literature. We consider both tunneling via a Coleman-de Luccia or Hawking-Moss instanton, valid when the scale of inflation is below the instability scale, as well as a statistical treatment via the Fokker-Planck equation appropriate in the opposite regime. We show that a better understanding of the post-inflation evolution of the unstable AdS vacuum regions is crucial for determining the eventual fate of the universe. If these AdS regions devour all of space, a universe like ours is indeed extremely unlikely without new physics to stabilize the Higgs potential; however, if these regions crunch, our universe survives, but inflation must last a few e-folds longer to compensate for the lost AdS regions. Lastly, we examine the effects of generic Planck-suppressed corrections to the Higgs potential, which can be sufficient to stabilize the electroweak vacuum during inflation.},
doi = {10.1007/JHEP01(2015)061},
journal = {Journal of High Energy Physics (Online)},
number = 1,
volume = 2015,
place = {United States},
year = {Tue Jan 13 00:00:00 EST 2015},
month = {Tue Jan 13 00:00:00 EST 2015}
}
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