Cosmological Higgs-Axion Interplay for a Naturally Small Electroweak Scale

Area of Science:

• Particle Physics
• Cosmology
• Astroparticle Physics

Background:

• The electroweak scale is naturally small, posing a fine-tuning problem in the Standard Model.
• Existing theories often introduce new physics at the electroweak scale to address this.
• The Higgs boson's properties and early universe cosmology are key to understanding fundamental physics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a novel mechanism for generating a naturally small electroweak scale.
• To explore a cosmological scenario involving Higgs-axion interactions.
• To identify potential observable consequences and experimental tests.

Main Methods:

• Investigating the coupling between the Higgs boson and an axionlike field.
• Modeling a prolonged era in the early Universe where dynamical screening of the Higgs mass occurs.
• Analyzing the theoretical predictions for new particles and their properties.

Main Results:

• A new realization of the Higgs-axion interplay mechanism is presented.
• This model leaves no sign of new physics at the electroweak scale, up to 10^9 GeV.
• The model predicts two very light and weakly coupled axionlike states.
• One of these states is a viable dark matter candidate.

Conclusions:

• The proposed Higgs-axion interplay offers a natural solution to the small electroweak scale problem without new physics at that scale.
• The existence of light axionlike states, including a potential dark matter candidate, is a key prediction.
• Future experimental strategies can test this cosmological Higgs-axion interplay.