Electroweak Symmetry Breaking without the $\mu^2$ Term

Abstract

We demonstrate that from a low energy perspective a viable breaking of the electroweak symmetry, as present in nature, can be achieved without the (negative sign) $\mu^2$ mass term in the Higgs potential, thereby avoiding completely the appearance of relevant operators, featuring coefficients with a positive mass dimension, in the theory. We show that such a setup is self consistent and not ruled out by Higgs physics. In particular, we point out that it is the lightness of the Higgs boson that allows for the electroweak symmetry to be broken dynamically via operators of $D\geq 4$, consistent with the power expansion. Beyond that, we entertain how this scenario might even be preferred phenomenologically compared to the ordinary mechanism of electroweak symmetry breaking, as realized in the Standard Model, and argue that it can be fully tested at the LHC. In an appendix, we classify UV completions that could lead to such a setup, considering also the option of generating all scales dynamically.