Selected for a Viewpoint in Physics week ending PRL 115, 221801 (2015) PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 27 NOVEMBER 2015
Cosmological Relaxation of the Electroweak Scale
Peter W. Graham,1 David E. Kaplan,1,2,3,4 and Surjeet Rajendran3 1Stanford Institute for Theoretical Physics, Department of Physics, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA 2Department of Physics and Astronomy, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, USA 3Berkeley Center for Theoretical Physics, Department of Physics, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA 4Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (WPI), Todai Institutes for Advanced Study, University of Tokyo, Kashiwa 277-8583, Japan (Received 22 June 2015; published 23 November 2015) A new class of solutions to the electroweak hierarchy problem is presented that does not require either weak-scale dynamics or anthropics. Dynamical evolution during the early Universe drives the Higgs boson mass to a value much smaller than the cutoff. The simplest model has the particle content of the standard model plus a QCD axion and an inflation sector. The highest cutoff achieved in any technically natural model is 108 GeV.
DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.115.221801 PACS numbers: 12.60.Fr
Introduction.—In the 1970s, Wilson [1] had discovered Our models only make the weak scale technically natural that a fine-tuning seemed to be required of any field theory [9], and we have not yet attempted to UV complete them which completed the standard model Higgs sector, unless for a fully natural theory, though there are promising its new dynamics appeared at the scale of the Higgs mass. directions [10–14]. Note that technical naturalness means Since then, there have essentially been one and a half a theory still contains small parameters, yet they are explanations proposed: dynamics and anthropics. quantum mechanically stable, and therefore one can imag- Dynamical solutions propose new physics at the electro- ine field-theoretic UV completions. In addition, our models weak scale which cuts off contributions to the quadratic require large field excursions, far above the cutoff, and term in the Higgs potential. Proposals include supersym- small couplings. We judge the success of our models by metry, compositeness for the Higgs boson (and its holo- how far they are able to naturally raise the cutoff of the graphic dual), extra dimensions, or even quantum gravity Higgs boson. Our simplest model can raise the cutoff to at the electroweak scale [2–6]. While these scenarios all ∼1000 TeV, and we present a second model which can lead to a technically natural electroweak scale, collider and raise the cutoff up to ∼105 TeV. indirect constraints force these models into fine-tuned — regions of their parameter spaces. Anthropics, on the other Minimal model. In our simplest model, the particle hand, allows for the tuning, but it assumes the existence of a content below the cutoff is just the standard model plus the – multiverse. Its difficulty is in the inherent ambiguity in QCD axion [15 17], with an unspecified inflation sector. defining both probability distributions and observers. Of course, by itself the QCD axion does not solve the We propose a new class of solutions to the hierarchy hierarchy problem. However, the only changes we need to problem. The Lagrangian of these models is not tuned and make to the normal axion model are to give the axion a yet has no new physics at the weak scale cutting off loops. very large (noncompact) field range, and a soft symmetry- In fact, the simplest model has no new physics at the weak breaking coupling to the Higgs boson. scale at all. It is instead dynamical evolution of the Higgs The axion will have its usual periodic potential, but now mass in the early Universe that chooses an electroweak extending over many periods for a total field range that scale parametrically smaller than the cutoff of the theory. is parametrically larger than the cutoff (and may be larger Our theories take advantage of the simple fact that the than the Planck scale), similar to recent inflation models Higgs mass squared equal to zero, while not a special point such as axion monodromy [10–14]. The exact (discrete) in terms of symmetries, is a special point in terms of shift symmetry of the axion potential is then softly broken dynamics; namely, it is the point where the weak force by a small dimensionful coupling to the Higgs boson. spontaneously breaks and the theory enters a different This small coupling will set the weak scale and will be phase [7]. It is this which chooses the weak scale, allowing technically natural, making the weak scale technically it to be very close to zero. This mechanism takes some natural and thus solving the hierarchy problem. inspiration from Abbott’s attempt to solve the cosmological We add to the standard model Lagrangian the following constant problem [8]. terms:
0031-9007=15=115(22)=221801(9) 221801-1 © 2015 American Physical Society PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS week ending PRL 115, 221801 (2015) 27 NOVEMBER 2015 1 ϕ 2 2 ~ μν ð−M þ gϕÞjhj þ VðgϕÞþ G Gμν; ð1Þ 32π2 f where M is the cutoff of the theory (where standard model loops are cutoff), h is the Higgs doublet, Gμν is the QCD ~ μν μναβ field strength (and G ¼ ϵ Gαβ), g is our dimensionful coupling, and we have neglected order one numbers. We have set the mass of the Higgs boson to be at the cutoff M so that it is natural. The field ϕ is like the QCD axion, but it can take on field values much larger than f. However, despite its noncompact nature it has all of the properties of the QCD axion with couplings set by f. Setting g → 0, the Lagrangian has a shift symmetry ϕ → ϕ þ 2πf (broken from a continuous shift symmetry by nonperturbative QCD ϕ’ effects). Thus, g can be treated as a spurion that breaks FIG. 1 (color online). Here is a characterization of the s potential in the region where the barriers begin to become this symmetry entirely. This coupling can generate small ϕ important. This is the one-dimensional slice in the field space potential terms for , and we take the potential with after the Higgs boson is integrated out, effectively setting it to its ϕ technically natural values by expanding in powers of g . minimum. To the left, the Higgs VEV is essentially zero and is Nonperturbative effects of QCD produce an additional OðmWÞ when the barriers become visible. The density of the potential for ϕ, satisfying the discrete shift symmetry. barriers is greatly reduced for clarity. Below the QCD scale, our potential becomes 4 2 2 Λ ∼ fπmπ ð3Þ ð−M2 þ gϕÞjhj2 þðgM2ϕ þ g2ϕ2 þ ÞþΛ4 cosðϕ=fÞ; times the dimensionless ratios of the quark masses. Since ð2Þ 2 mπ changes linearly with the quark masses, it is propor- tional to the Higgs VEV. Therefore, Λ4 grows linearly with ϕ 2 where the ellipsis represents terms higher order in g =M , the VEV [18]. ϕ and thus we take the range of validity for in this effective During inflation, the relaxion must roll over an Oð1Þ ϕ ≲ 2 field theory to be M =g. We have approximated the fraction of its full field range, ∼ðM2=gÞ, to naturally cross periodic potential generated by QCD as a cosine, but in fact the critical point for the Higgs boson where m2 ¼ 0. Note Λ h the precise form will not affect our results. Of course is that for the early Universe dynamics, one can consider the very roughly set by QCD, but with important corrections 2 2 2 potential to be just gM ϕ or g ϕ since the field value for that we will discuss below. Both g and Λ break symmetries, ϕ ∼ ðM2=gÞ makes these equivalent. Our solution is insen- and it is technically natural for them to be much smaller sitive to the initial condition for ϕ (as long as the Higgs than the cutoff. The parameters g and Λ are responsible for boson starts with a positive mass squared) because ϕ is the smallness of the weak scale. This model plus inflation slow rolling due to Hubble friction. This places the slow- solves the hierarchy problem. roll constraints on ϕ that g 221801-2 PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS week ending PRL 115, 221801 (2015) 27 NOVEMBER 2015 There are three conditions on the Hubble scale of inflation. much smaller than Λ4=f. Therefore, around this point, First is that the vacuum energy during inflation is greater quantum fluctuations of ϕ will be relevant. The field ϕ will than the vacuum energy change along the ϕ potential, be distributed over many periods f (see Fig. 2), but in all namely, M4,so of these the Higgs boson will have a weak-scale VEV. This quantum spreading is an oddity of the model. As the 2 M ð Þ ð Þ Universe inflates, different patches of the Universe will Hi > vacuum energy : 5 ϕ Mpl have a range of field values and a range of Higgs VEVs, but all around the weak scale. In future work, we will show The second constraint is the requirement that the Hubble it is possible to build models which land the full initial scale during inflation is lower than the QCD scale (so the patch in a single vacuum, thus removing this feature of our barriers form in the first place): solution [21]. At the end of inflation, part of the resulting ϕ range stops Λ ð Þ ð Þ Hi < QCD barriers form ; 6 before the classical stopping point and is therefore classi- cally unstable. This is because, during inflation, the Λ ’ where QCD is taken to be the scale where the instanton relaxion s quantum fluctuations dominates its classical contributions to the axion potential are unsuppressed. We rolling on these “ledges” in the potential, and thus some Λ ∼ Λ expect numerically that QCD . Finally, a condition tiny fraction of Hubble patches remain there until they can could be placed on the Hubble scale by requiring that ϕ’s classically roll. The vast majority of Hubble patches find ϕ evolution be dominated by classical rolling (and not in vacua with varying potential barrier heights. Because of 4 2 quantum fluctuations—similar to a constraint of δρ=ρ < 1 the small value of gf ∼ Λ =M , barrier heights grow in inflation) so that every inflated patch of the Universe slowly, with subsequent minima increasing their barriers ∼Λ4(Λ4 ð 2 2Þ) makes it to the electroweak vacua by = M mh such that many barriers can be “walked over” via field fluctuations of the order of the 0 Vϕ Hubble scale. Eventually, most patches reach vacua where → ð 2Þ1=3 ð Þ Hi < 2 Hi < gM classical beats quantum : the barrier height does not allow quantum fluctuations to Hi ð Þ randomly walk over the barrier. Today, nearly all of the 7 classically stable vacua have lifetimes exponentially larger than the age of the Universe. Therefore, the vast majority of We will see below that, while this constraint will be a bit the Hubble patches at the end of inflation are in vacua stronger than the previous one, a certain variation of the which last much longer than today’s Hubble time. As a model can avoid this constraint, in which case the previous result of these multiple vacua, there will, in principle, be one becomes the relevant one. domain walls after reheating in the full initial patch of the The slow rolling of ϕ stops when Λ has risen to the point where the slope of the barriers Λ4=f matches the slope of the potential, gM2. This occurs at [19] gM2f ∼ Λ4: ð8Þ (a) From the three condition equations (5), (7), and (8),we (b) have a constraint on the cutoff M: