Strong First Order Electroweak Phase Transitions in the Standard Model with a Real Scalar Singlet Extension
Thesis Defense
2:00 pm –
3:30 pm
Jorgensen Hall Room: 247
Virtual Location:
Zoom
Target Audiences:
Contact:
Physics Department, (402) 472-2770, paoffice2@unl.edu
Anthony Hooper will defend his thesis topic, “Strong First Order Electroweak Phase Transitions in the Standard Model with a Real Scalar Singlet Extension”. in person and via Zoom.
Abstract: The large matter-antimatter asymmetry of the universe and whether the electroweak sector has always been broken are currently unanswered by the standard model (SM). One solution that addresses both these concerns is to impose a strong first order electroweak phase transition (SFOEWPT) and ensure electroweak baryogenesis occurs. Models that undergo a SFOEWPT in the early universe create bubbles of the true vacuum that expand until the universe reaches the vacuum expectation value measured today. If the phase transition is strong enough, then these bubbles may generate a detectable stochastic gravitational wave (GW).
However, the SM by itself can only perform a smooth cross over phase transition, thus we extended the SM with a real scalar singlet and required the above criteria. Although the model is simple, the mixed-mass eigenstates create a rich phenomenology from light to heavy singlet masses. We analyzed the parameter space for singlets masses up to 2 TeV, carefully imposing the necessary theoretical and experimental constraints for each regime and ensuring that a SFOEWPT occurred. We found that much of the parameter space can be probed by future collider and GW experiments.
Abstract: The large matter-antimatter asymmetry of the universe and whether the electroweak sector has always been broken are currently unanswered by the standard model (SM). One solution that addresses both these concerns is to impose a strong first order electroweak phase transition (SFOEWPT) and ensure electroweak baryogenesis occurs. Models that undergo a SFOEWPT in the early universe create bubbles of the true vacuum that expand until the universe reaches the vacuum expectation value measured today. If the phase transition is strong enough, then these bubbles may generate a detectable stochastic gravitational wave (GW).
However, the SM by itself can only perform a smooth cross over phase transition, thus we extended the SM with a real scalar singlet and required the above criteria. Although the model is simple, the mixed-mass eigenstates create a rich phenomenology from light to heavy singlet masses. We analyzed the parameter space for singlets masses up to 2 TeV, carefully imposing the necessary theoretical and experimental constraints for each regime and ensuring that a SFOEWPT occurred. We found that much of the parameter space can be probed by future collider and GW experiments.