Electroweak Symmetry Breaking

Abstract

This paper examines the Higgs particle self-coupling and its implications for electroweak symmetry breaking in the Standard Model. We review the current experimental constraints on the Higgs trilinear coupling and discuss the challenges in measuring it precisely. The potential consequences of deviations from the Standard Model prediction are explored, including the possibility of new physics. We then consider an alternative ultraviolet complete electroweak theory based on finite quantum field theory, which does not require spontaneous symmetry breaking or a non-zero vacuum expectation value. The predictions of this model for particle masses and the stability of the electroweak vacuum are compared to the standard Higgs mechanism. Finally, we review the SM derivation of the W-boson mass, its dependence on radiative corrections and its experimentally determined value.