2003/04/21 by Michael S. Chanowitz, Chanowitz, Michael S.
Physics and Astronomy · #FOS: Physical sciences #High Energy Physics - Phenomenology (hep-ph) #hep-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.hep-ph/0304199
12 pages, 4 figures, presented at the Workshop on Electroweak Precision Data and the Higgs Mass, DESY-Zeuthen, February 28 - March 1, 2003; typos in table 3 corrected, discussion of products of CL's generalized; kinder, gentler abstract
arxiv created 2003/05/20 · arxiv updated 2009/11/30
Because of two 3σ anomalies, the Standard Model (SM) fit of the precision electroweak data has a poor confidence level, CL= 0.02. Since both anomalies involve challenging systematic issues, it might appear that the SM could still be valid if the anomalies resulted from underestimated systematic error. Indeed the CL of the global fit could then increase to 0.71, but that fit predicts a small Higgs boson mass, mH=45 GeV, that is inconsistent at 95% CL with the lower limit, mH>114 GeV, established by direct searches. The data then favor new physics if the anomalous measurements are both excluded or both retained, and the Higgs boson mass cannot be predicted until the new physics is understood. The validity of the SM could however be maintained by a propitious combination of statistical fluctuation and systematic error. The current data do not allow a definitive conclusion.