Gravity and the stability of the Higgs vacuum

Burda, Philipp; Gregory, Ruth; Moss, Ian

doi:10.1103/physrevlett.115.071303

Gravity and the stability of the Higgs vacuum

Burda, Philipp; Gregory, Ruth; Moss, Ian

Authors

Philipp Burda

Ruth Gregory

Ian Moss

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

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