Quantum Field Theory and the Electroweak Standard Model

Lecture notes with a brief introduction to Quantum field theory and the Standard Model are presented. The lectures were given at the 2017 European School of High-Energy Physics. The main features, the present status, and problems of the Standard Model are discussed.Comment: 35 page

Ultraviolet Complete Quantum Field Theory and Particle Model

An ultraviolet complete particle model is constructed for the observed particles of the standard model. The quantum field theory associates infinite derivative entire functions with propagators and vertices, which make quantum loops finite and maintain Poincar\'e invariance and unitarity of the model. The electroweak model $SU(2)\times U(1)$ group is treated as a broken symmetry group with non-vanishing experimentally determined boson and fermion masses. A spontaneous symmetry breaking of the vacuum by a scalar Higgs field is not invoked to restore boson and fermion masses to the initially massless $SU(2)\times U(1)$ Lagrangian of the standard model. The hierarchy naturalness problem of the Higgs boson mass is resolved and the model contains only experimentally observed masses and coupling constants. The model can predict a stable vacuum evolution. Experimental tests to distinguish the standard model from the alternative model are proposed. The finite quantum field theory can be extended to quantum gravity.Comment: 18 pages, 1 figure, typos corrected. Typos corrected and new text added. V4 compatible with published pape

Introduction to Gauge Theory of Gravitation

The fundamental interactions of nature, the electroweak and the quantum chromodynamics, are described in the Standard Model by the Gauge Theory under internal symmetries that maintain the invariance of the functional action. The fundamental interaction of gravitation is very well described by Einstein's General Relativity in a Riemannian spacetime metric, but General Relativity has been over time a gravitational field theory apart from the Standard Model. The theory of Gauge allows under symmetries of the group of Poincar\'e to impose invariances in the functional of the action of the spinor field that result in the gravitational interaction with the fermions. In this approach the gravitational field, besides being described by the equation similar to General Relativity, also brings a spin-gravitational interaction in a Riemann-Cartan spacetime.Comment: 23 page

Gedanken Worlds without Higgs: QCD-Induced Electroweak Symmetry Breaking

To illuminate how electroweak symmetry breaking shapes the physical world, we investigate toy models in which no Higgs fields or other constructs are introduced to induce spontaneous symmetry breaking. Two models incorporate the standard SU(3)_c x SU(2)_L x U(1)_Y gauge symmetry and fermion content similar to that of the standard model. The first class--like the standard electroweak theory--contains no bare mass terms, so the spontaneous breaking of chiral symmetry within quantum chromodynamics is the only source of electroweak symmetry breaking. The second class adds bare fermion masses sufficiently small that QCD remains the dominant source of electroweak symmetry breaking and the model can serve as a well-behaved low-energy effective field theory to energies somewhat above the hadronic scale. A third class of models is based on the left-right--symmetric SU(3)_c x SU(2)_L x SU(2)_R x U(1)_{B-L} gauge group. In a fourth class of models, built on SU(4)_{PS} x SU(2)_L x SU(2)_R gauge symmetry, lepton number is treated as a fourth color. Many interesting characteristics of the models stem from the fact that the effective strength of the weak interactions is much closer to that of the residual strong interactions than in the real world. The Higgs-free models not only provide informative contrasts to the real world, but also lead us to consider intriguing issues in the application of field theory to the real world.Comment: 20 pages, no figures, uses RevTeX; typos correcte

Towards a Nonequilibrium Quantum Field Theory Approach to Electroweak Baryogenesis

We propose a general method to compute $CP$-violating observables from extensions of the standard model in the context of electroweak baryogenesis. It is alternative to the one recently developed by Huet and Nelson and relies on a nonequilibrium quantum field theory approach. The method is valid for all shapes and sizes of the bubble wall expanding in the thermal bath during a first-order electroweak phase transition. The quantum physics of $CP$-violation and its suppression coming from the incoherent nature of thermal processes are also made explicit.Comment: 19 pages, 1 figure available upon e-mail reques

Resonant Relaxation in Electroweak Baryogenesis

We compute the leading, chiral charge-changing relaxation term in the quantum transport equations that govern electroweak baryogenesis using the closed time path formulation of non-equilibrium quantum field theory. We show that the relaxation transport coefficients may be resonantly enhanced under appropriate conditions on electroweak model parameters and that such enhancements can mitigate the impact of similar enhancements in the CP-violating source terms. We also develop a power counting in the time and energy scales entering electroweak baryogenesis and include effects through second order in ratios $\epsilon$ of the small and large scales. We illustrate the implications of the resonantly enhanced ${\cal O}(\epsilon^2)$ terms using the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model, focusing on the interplay between the requirements of baryogenesis and constraints obtained from collider studies, precision electroweak data, and electric dipole moment searches.Comment: 30 pages plus appendices, 7 figure

Theoretical aspects of electroweak symmetry breaking in SUSY models

The electroweak (EW) symmetry breaking in the simplest supersymmetric (SUSY) extensions of the standard model (SM), i.e. minimal and next-to-minimal supersymmetric standard models (MSSM and NMSSM), is considered. The spectrum of the Higgs particles, upper bound on the mass of the lightest Higgs boson and little hierarchy problem are discussed. The breakdown of gauge symmetry and Higgs phenomenology within the E6 inspired SUSY models with extra U(1)' factor are briefly reviewed.Comment: Plenary talk at the XIXth International Workshop on High Energy Physics and Quantum Field Theory, Golitsyno, Moscow, Russia, September 2010, 15 page