Gravity and the stability of the Higgs vacuum

Burda, Philipp; Gregory, Ruth; Moss, Ian

Abstract

We discuss the effect of gravitational interactions on the lifetime of the Higgs vacuum where generic quantum gravity corrections are taken into account. Using a “thin-wall” approximation, we provide a proof of principle that small black holes can act as seeds for vacuum decay, spontaneously nucleating a new Higgs phase centered on the black hole with a lifetime measured in millions of Planck times rather than billions of years. The corresponding parameter space constraints are, however, extremely stringent; therefore, we also present numerical evidence suggesting that with thick walls, the parameter space may open up. Implications for collider black holes are discussed.

Citation

Burda, P., Gregory, R., & Moss, I. (2015). Gravity and the stability of the Higgs vacuum. Physical Review Letters, 115(7), Article 071303. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.115.071303

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jul 14, 2015
• Online Publication Date: Aug 13, 2015
• Publication Date: Aug 13, 2015
• Deposit Date: Sep 17, 2015
• Publicly Available Date: Sep 29, 2015
• Journal: Physical Review Letters
• Print ISSN: 0031-9007
• Electronic ISSN: 1079-7114
• Publisher: American Physical Society
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 115
• Issue: 7
• Article Number: 071303
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.115.071303
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1431553