2011/12/31 by V. Barger, Vernon Barger, Daniel J. H. Chung +2 · 1 citation
Mathematics · Physics and Astronomy · #Asymmetry #Baryogenesis #Baryon asymmetry #Cosmology and Gravitation Theories #Dark Matter and Cosmic Phenomena #Degenerate energy levels #Discrete symmetry #Electroweak interaction #Explicit symmetry breaking #Gauge boson #Gauge theory #Geometry #Global symmetry #Mathematics #Parameter space #Particle physics #Particle physics theoretical and experimental studies #Phase transition #Physics #Quantum mechanics #Scalar (mathematics) #Scalar field #Spontaneous symmetry breaking #Symmetry (geometry) #Symmetry breaking #Technicolor #Theoretical physics #hep-ph #hep-th
paper · pdf · doi:10.1016/j.physletb.2012.02.040
published as Phys.Lett. B710 (2012) 1-7 · 17 pages, 4 figures
arxiv created 2012/02/16 · openalex publication_date 2012/02/20 · arxiv updated 2014/06/02 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/06
We propose a group theoretic condition which may be applied to extensions of the Standard Model in order to locate regions of parameter space in which the electroweak phase transition is strongly first order, such that electroweak baryogenesis may be a viable mechanism for generating the baryon asymmetry of the universe. Specifically, we demonstrate that the viable corners of parameter space may be identified by their proximity to an enhanced discrete symmetry point. At this point, the global symmetry group of the theory is extended by a discrete group under which the scalar sector is non-trivially charged, and the discrete symmetry is spontaneously broken such that the discrete symmetry relates degenerate electroweak preserving and breaking vacua. This idea is used to investigate several specific models of the electroweak symmetry breaking sector. The phase transitions identified through this method suggest implications for other relics such as dark matter and gravitational waves.