Two-loop heavy top effects on precision observables and the Higgs mass

Abstract

The electroweak corrections induced by a heavy top on the main precision observables are now available up to O(g^4 mt^2/mw^2). The new results significantly reduce the theoretical uncertainty and have a sizable impact on the determination of sin^2theta_eff. We give precise predictions for mw and the effective sine in different renormalization schemes, estimate their accuracy, and discuss the implications for the indirect determination of M_H. From the present data for sin^2theta_eff we obtain M_H = 127 +143 -71 GeV (or M_H < 430 GeV at 95% C.L.).