Novel Approach to Renormalize the Electroweak Sector of the Standard Model

Abstract

We discuss a novel approach to renormalize the Electroweak Sector of the Standard Model, in which \sin^2\theta_{eff}, measured at the Z^0 peak, is identified with the basic renormalized electroweak mixing parameter. This approach shares the desirable convergence properties of the MS scheme and provides a framework for calculations that are strictly independent of the electroweak scale in finite orders of perturbation theory. We illustrate the method with updated precise calculations of \sin^2\theta_{eff} and M_W, as functions of M_H, and comment on the implications of these calculations for the Higgs boson search and the theoretical prediction of M_W.