The little hierarchy problem encountered in the constrained minimal supersymmetric model (CMSSM) can be ameliorated in supersymmetric models based on the gauge symmetry G_{422} \equiv SU(4)_c x SU(2)_L x SU(2)_R. The standard assumption in CMSSM (and in SU(5) and SO(10)) of universal gaugino masses can be relaxed in G_{422}, and this leads to a significant improvement in the degree of fine tuning required to implement radiative electroweak breaking in the presence of a characteristic supersymmetry breaking scale of around a TeV. Examples of Higgs and sparticle mass spectra realized with 10% fine tuning are presented.
In this note we present a review of the little Higgs models that stabilize the electroweak by realizing the Standard Model Higgs as a pseudo-Goldstone boson.
We present a simple solution to the little hierarchy problem in the MSSM: a vector-like fourth generation. With O(1) Yukawa couplings for the new quarks, the Higgs mass can naturally be above 114 GeV. Unlike a chiral fourth generation, a vector-like generation can solve the little hierarchy problem while remaining consistent with precision electroweak and direct production constraints, and maintaining the success of the grand unified framework. The new quarks are predicted to lie between ~ 300 - 600 GeV and will thus be discovered or ruled out at the LHC. This scenario suggests exploration of …
We use supersymmetry to address the little hierarchy problem in Randall-Sundrum models by naturally generating a hierarchy between the IR scale and the electroweak scale. Supersymmetry is broken on the UV brane which triggers the stabilization of the warped extra dimension at an IR scale of order 10 TeV. The Higgs and top quark live near the IR brane whereas light fermion generations are localized towards the UV brane. Supersymmetry breaking causes the first two sparticle generations to decouple, thereby avoiding the supersymmetric flavour and CP problems, while an accidental R-symmetry protec…
We investigate the little hierarchy between Z boson mass and the SUSY breaking scale in the context of landscape of electroweak symmetry breaking vacua. We consider the radiative symmetry breaking and found that the scale where the electroweak symmetry breaking conditions are satisfied and the average stop mass scale is preferred to be very close to each other in spite of the fact that their origins depend on different parameters of the model. If the electroweak symmetry breaking scale is fixed at about 1 TeV by the supersymmetry model parameters then the little hierarchy seems to be preferred…
We show that the little hierarchy problem can be solved in the no-scale supergravity framework. In this model the supersymmetry breaking scale is generated when the electroweak symmetry breaking condition is satisfied and therefore, unlike usual supersymmetric models, the correlation between the electroweak symmetry breaking scale and the average stop mass scale can be justified. This correlation solves the little hierarchy puzzle. Using minimal supergravity boundary conditions, we find that the parameter space predicted by no-scale supergravity is allowed by all possible experimental constrai…
We investigate the impact of TeV-scale matter belonging to complete vectorlike multiplets of unified groups on the lightest Higgs boson in the MSSM. We find that consistent with perturbative unification and electroweak precision data the mass m_h can be as large as 160 GeV. These extended MSSM models can also render the little hierarchy problem less severe, but only for lower values of m_h < 125 GeV. We present estimates for the sparticle mass spectrum in these models.
Constraints from precision electroweak measurements reveal no evidence for new physics up to 5 - 7 TeV, whereas naturalness requires new particles at around 1 TeV to address the stability of the electroweak scale. We show that this "little hierarchy problem" can be cured by introducing a symmetry for new particles at the TeV scale. As an example, we construct a little Higgs model with this new symmetry, dubbed T-parity, which naturally solves the little hierarchy problem and, at the same time, stabilize the electroweak scale up to 10 TeV. The model has many important phenomenological consequen…
We discuss two possible extensions to the standard model in which an inert singlet scalar state that only interacts with the Higgs boson is added together with some fermions. In one model the fermions provide for a see-saw mechanism for the neutrino masses, in the other model for grand unification of the gauge couplings. Masses and interaction strengths are fixed by the requirement of controlling the finite one-loop corrections to the Higgs boson mass thus addressing the little hierarchy problem. The inert scalar could provide a viable dark matter candidate. Direct detection of this scalar sin…
We argue that adding gauge-singlet real scalars to the Standard Model can both ameliorate the little hierarchy problem and provide a realistic source of Dark Matter. Masses of the scalars should be in the 1-3 TeV range, while the lowest cutoff of the (unspecified) UV completion of the model must be ~> 5 TeV, depending on the Higgs boson mass and the number of singlets present. The scalars couple to the Majorana mass term for right-handed neutrinos implying one massless neutrino. The resulting mixing angles are consistent with the tri-bimaximal mixing scenario.
We show that the addition of real scalars (gauge singlets) to the Standard Model can both ameliorate the little hierarchy problem and provide realistic Dark Matter candidates. To this end, the coupling of the new scalars to the standard Higgs boson must be relatively strong and their mass should be in the 1-3 TeV range, while the lowest cutoff of the (unspecified) UV completion must be >~ 5 TeV, depending on the Higgs boson mass and the number of singlets present. The existence of the singlets also leads to realistic and surprisingly reach neutrino physics. The resulting light neutrino mass sp…
In supersymmetric models with scalar sequestering, superconformal strong dynamics in the hidden sector suppresses the low-energy couplings of mass dimension two, compared to the squares of the dimension one parameters. Taking into account restrictions on the anomalous dimensions in superconformal theories, I point out that the interplay between the hidden and visible sector renormalizations gives rise to quasi-fixed point running for the supersymmetric Standard Model squared mass parameters, rather than driving them to 0. The extent to which this dynamics can ameliorate the little hierarchy pr…
We discuss a minimal extension to the standard model in which two singlet scalar states that only interacts with the Higgs boson is added. Their masses and interaction strengths are fixed by the two requirements of canceling the one-loop quadratic corrections to the Higgs boson mass and providing a viable dark matter candidate. Direct detection of the lightest of these new states in nuclear scattering experiments is possible with a cross section within reach of future experiments.
While LHC8 Higgs mass and sparticle search constraints favor a multi-TeV value of gravitino mass m_{3/2}, electroweak naturalness favors a superpotential higgsino mass μ~100-200 GeV: the mis-match results in an apparent Little Hierarchy characterized by μ<< m_{3/2}. It has been suggested that the Little Hierarchy arises from a mis-match between Peccei-Quinn (PQ) and hidden sector intermediate scales v_{PQ}<< m_{\rm hidden}. We examine the Murayama-Suzuki-Yanagida (MSY) model of radiatively-driven PQ symmetry breaking which not only generates a weak scale value of μbut also produces intermediat…
Experiments are once again under way at the LHC. This time around, however, the mood in the high-energy physics community is pessimistic. There is a growing suspicion that naturalness arguments that predict new physics near the weak scale are faulty and that prospects for a new discovery are limited. We argue that such doubts originate from a misunderstanding of the foundations of naturalness arguments. In spite of the first run at the LHC, which aggravated the little-hierarchy problem, there is no cause for doubting naturalness or natural theories. Naturalness is grounded in Bayesian probabil…
We study constrained versions of the minimal supersymmetric model and investigate the hierarchy between the electroweak scale and the scale of superpartners that can be achieved without relying on specifying model parameters by more than one digit. This approach automatically avoids scenarios in which a large hierarchy is obtained by special choices of parameters and yet keeps scenarios that would be otherwise disfavored by various sensitivity measures. We consider models with universal gaugino and scalar masses, models with non-universal Higgs masses or non-universal gaugino masses and focus …
The current experimental lower bound on the Higgs mass significantly restricts the allowed parameter space in most realistic supersymmetric models, with the consequence that these models exhibit significant fine-tuning. We propose a solution to this `supersymmetric little hierarchy problem'. We consider scenarios where the stop masses are relatively heavy - in the 500 GeV to a TeV range. Radiative stability of the Higgs soft mass against quantum corrections from the top quark Yukawa coupling is achieved by imposing a global SU(3) symmetry on this interaction. This global symmetry is only appro…
Little Higgs theories are an attempt to address the little hierarchy problem, i.e., the tension between the naturalness of the electroweak scale and the precision measurements showing no evidence for new physics up to 5-10 TeV. In little Higgs theories, the Higgs mass-squareds are protected to the one-loop order from the quadratic divergence. This allows the cutoff to be raised up to \~10 TeV, beyond the scales probed by the precision data. However, strong constraints can still arise from the contributions of the new TeV scale particles and hence re-introduces the fine-tuning problem. In this …
We propose a new dynamical relaxation mechanism of the little hierarchy problem, based on a singlet extension of the minimal supersymmetric standard model (MSSM). In this scenario, the small soft mass parameter of an MSSM singlet is responsible for the electroweak symmetry breaking and the non-zero Higgs vacuum expectation value, whereas the effect of the large soft mass parameter of the Higgs boson, -m_{h_u}^2 is dynamically compensated by a flat direction of the MSSM singlets. The small singlet's soft mass and the Z boson mass can be protected, even if the stop mass is heavier than 10 or 20 …
In original twin Higgs model, vacuum misalignment between electroweak and new physics scales is realized by adding explicit $\mathbb{Z}_2$ breaking term. Introducing additional twin Higgs could accommodate spontaneous $\mathbb{Z}_2$ breaking, which explains the origin of this misalignment. We introduce a class of two twin Higgs doublet models with most general scalar potential, and discuss general conditions which trigger electroweak and $\mathbb{Z}_2$ symmetry breaking. Various scenarios on realising the vacuum misalignment are systematically discussed in a natural two Higgs double model fram…
TeV scale mirage mediation has been proposed as a supersymmetry breaking scheme reducing the fine tuning for electroweak symmetry breaking in the minimal supersymmetric extension of the standard model. We discuss a moduli stabilization set-up for TeV scale mirage mediation which allows an extra-dimensional interpretation for the origin of supersymmetry breaking and naturally gives an weak-scale size of the Higgs B-parameter. The set-up utilizes the holomorphic gauge kinetic functions depending on both the heavy dilaton and the light volume modulus whose axion partners are assumed to be periodi…
We extend a model of the Dirac gauginos, which originate from N=2 supersymmetry (SUSY) for the gauge sector, such that the N=2 SUSY is imposed also to the sfermion sector but only for the 3rd generation squarks and sleptons. In addition to the N=2 supersymmetry, our model is constructed based on the SU(3)c times SU(3)L times U(1)' gauge symmetry. By this extension, the dominant source of radiative correction to the Higgs mass squared coming from the stop loop becomes controllable based on the enhanced symmetry. Then it becomes a viable model which provides a solution to the little hierarchy pr…
We study a class of supersymmetric models with non-universal gaugino masses that could arise from F-terms in a general combination of the singlet and adjoint representations of SU(5). We explore models that satisfy present Large Hadron Collider and other bounds, showing how the allowed parameter space is divided into distinct "continents". Regions of parameter space that ameliorate the supersymmetric little hierarchy problem with a small mu parameter include the usual focus point scenario, but also natural areas with much lighter squarks and sleptons. These models are continuously connected in…
From a theoretical point of view it is not hard to imagine gaugino masses being much lighter than scalar masses. The dominant contributions to gaugino masses are then their anomaly-mediated values. Given current lower bounds on gauginos, which are near the W-mass scale, considering a little hierarchy between weak-scale gauginos and much heavier scalars requires suspending normal intuition on finetuning and naturalness of the Higgs potential. Nevertheless, tantalizing perks come from the hypothesis: lessened flavor and CP violation problems, more compatibility with gauge coupling unification an…
We describe a composite Higgs scenario in which a cosmological relaxation mechanism naturally gives rise to a hierarchy between the weak scale and the scale of spontaneous global symmetry breaking. This is achieved through the scanning of sources of explicit global symmetry breaking by a relaxion field during an exponentially long period of inflation in the early universe. We explore this mechanism in detail in a specific composite Higgs scenario with QCD-like dynamics, based on an ultraviolet $SU(N)_{\textrm{TC}}$ 'technicolor' confining gauge theory with three Dirac technifermion flavors. We…
We adopt a bottom-up Effective Field Theory (EFT) approach to derive a model-independent Veltman condition to cancel the quadratic divergences in the Higgs mass. We show using the equivalence theorem that all deviations in the Higgs couplings to the W and Z from the SM predictions should vanish. We argue based on tree-level unitarity, that any new physics that naturally cancels the quadratic divergences should be ~19 TeV. We show that the level of fine-tuning required is O(0.1- 1%) unless the UV sector has a symmetry that forces the satisfaction of the model-independent Veltman condition, in w…
The little Higgs mechanism provides an alternative solution to the hierarchy problem, arguably fitting better into the phenomenological hint of the "little hierarchy" which may cause some fine-tuning for the case of supersymmetry. We discuss an aspect of little Higgs physics lacking proper attention -- the construction of an interesting and consistent chiral fermionic sector and its phenomenological implications. At least for the kind of example models to be discussed, the gauge and top sector structure of a model largely dictates, through gauge anomaly cancellation conditions, a specific chir…
We demonstrate that the NMSSM can have small fine tuning and modest light stop mass while still evading all experimental constraints. For small tan(beta) [large tan(beta)], the relevant scenarios are such that there is always (often) a SM-like Higgs boson that decays to two lighter -- possibly much lighter -- pseudoscalar Higgses.
Motivated by the KKLT string compactification involving a supersymmetry-breaking uplifting potential, we examine 4D effective supergravity with a generic form of uplifting potential, focusing on the possibility that the resulting mixed modulus-anomaly mediated soft terms realize the little hierarchy between the Higgs boson masses $m_H$ and the sparticle masses $m_{SUSY}$. It is noted that for some type of uplifting potential, the anomaly-mediated contribution to $m_H^2$ at $M_{GUT}$ can cancel the subsequent renormalization group evolution of $m_H^2$ down to TeV scale, thereby the model can na…
In the standard model in universal extra dimensions (UED) the mass of the Higgs field is driven to the cutoff of the higher-dimensional theory. This re-introduces a small hierarchy since the compactification scale 1/R should not be smaller than the weak scale. In this paper we study possible solutions to this problem by considering five-dimensional theories where the Higgs field potential vanishes at tree level due to a global symmetry. We consider two avenues: a Little Higgs model and a Twin Higgs model. An obstacle for the embedding of these four-dimensional models in five dimensions is that…
We construct a simple theory in which the fine-tuning of the standard model is significantly reduced. Radiative corrections to the quadratic part of the scalar potential are constrained to be symmetric under a global U(4) x U(4)' symmetry due to a discrete Z_2 "twin" parity, while the quartic part does not possess this symmetry. As a consequence, when the global symmetry is broken the Higgs fields emerge as light pseudo-Goldstone bosons, but with sizable quartic self-interactions. This structure allows the cutoff scale, Λ, to be raised to the multi-TeV region without significant fine-tuning. I…
We propose a simple gauge extension of the minimal supersymmetric standard model (MSSM), where the fine tuning in the Higgs mass parameters is highly reduced. The Higgs boson is insensitive to high energies because of supersymmetry and also because it is a pseudo-Goldstone boson of a global symmetry (referred to as double protection or super-little Higgs mechanism). A large shift in the Higgs quartic self coupling is obtained via a non-decoupling D-term coming from an extra gauge group, resulting in a Higgs that can be as heavy as 135 GeV with a tuning milder than 10%. With an appropriate choi…
The little Higgs idea is a new way to solve the little hierarchy problem by protecting the Higgs mass from quadratically divergent one-loop corrections. In this talk I describe the phenomenology of one particular realization of the little Higgs idea: the "Littlest Higgs" model.
The little Higgs idea is an alternative to supersymmetry as a solution to the gauge hierarchy problem. In this note, I review various little Higgs models and their phenomenology with emphases on the precision electroweak constraints in these models.
The AdS/CFT correspondence is applied to a close analogue of the little hierarchy problem in $AdS_{d+1}$, $d \geq 3$. The new mechanism requires a Maxwell field that gauges a $U(1)_R$ symmetry in a bulk supergravity theory with a negative cosmological constant. Supersymmetry is explicitly broken by a non-local boundary term with dimensionless coupling $h$. Non-locality appears to cause no pathology, and the SUSY breaking deformation engendered is exactly marginal. SUSY breaking effects in the bulk are computed using the $U(1)$ Ward identity. Conformal dimensions and thus masses of scalar and s…
In this paper we consider a set of soft supersymmetry breaking terms within the NMSSM which leads to a small hierarchy between the supersymmetry breaking scale and the electroweak scale. Specifically only the gaugino masses and the soft term in the Higgs sector are non-vanishing at the GUT scale. This pattern can be found in gaugino mediated models and in higher-dimensional orbifold GUTs. We study the phenomenology of this scenario and find different low energy spectra depending on the Yukawa coupling $λ$ of the NMSSM singlet. In particular, for low values of $λ$ the singlet is the lightest sc…
Little Higgs theories are a fascinating new idea to solve the little hierarchy problem by stabilizing the Higgs mass against one-loop quadratically divergent radiative corrections. In this talk I give a brief overview of the idea, focusing mainly on the littlest Higgs model, and present a sampling of the electroweak precision constraints.
We show that all the parameters which destabilize the weak scale can be taken around the weak scale in the MSSM without conflicting with the SM Higgs mass bound set by LEP experiment. The essential point is that if the lightest CP-even Higgs h in the MSSM has only a small coupling to Z boson, g_{ZZh}, LEP cannot generate the Higgs sufficiently. In the scenario, the SM Higgs mass bound constrains the mass of the heaviest CP-even Higgs H which has the SM like g_{ZZH} coupling. However, it is easier to make the heaviest Higgs heavy by the effect of off-diagonal elements of the mass matrix of the …
We point out that in theories where the gravitino mass, $M_{3/2}$, is in the range (10-50)TeV, with soft-breaking scalar masses and trilinear couplings of the same order, there exists a robust region of parameter space where the conditions for electroweak symmetry breaking (EWSB) are satisfied without large imposed cancellations. Compactified string/M-theory with stabilized moduli that satisfy cosmological constraints generically require a gravitino mass greater than about 30 TeV and provide the natural explanation for this phenomenon. We find that even though scalar masses and trilinear coupl…
An alternate solution of hierarchy problem in the Standard Model namely, the Little Higgs model, has been proposed lately. In this work $B_d^0-\bar{B_d^0}$ mass difference in the framework of the Little Higgs model is evaluated. The experimental limits on the mass difference is shown to provide meaningful constraints on the parameter space of the model.
Little Higgs models may provide a solution to the gauge hierarchy problem in the mass of the Higgs boson. In this framework the Higgs boson is arisen as the pseudo-Nambu-Goldstone (PNG) boson. We show that the lepton triplet introduced in a little Higgs model explains a small mass parameter in the double see-saw mechanism for neutrino masses, and it can also gives an explanation for the axion like particle recently reported by PVLAS collaboration.
The Coulomb enhancement of low energy electrons in nuclear beta decay generates sharp cutoffs in the accompanying antineutrino spectrum at the beta decay endpoint energies. It has been conjectured that these features will interfere with measuring the effect of a neutrino mass hierarchy on an oscillated nuclear reactor antineutrino spectrum. These sawtooth-like features will appear in detailed reactor antineutrino spectra, with characteristic energy scales similar to the oscillation period critical to neutrino mass hierarchy determination near a 53 km baseline. However, these sawtooth-like dist…
Little Higgs models offer a new way to address the hierarchy problem, and give rise to a weakly-coupled Higgs sector. These theories predict the existence of new states which are necessary to cancel the quadratic divergences of the Standard Model. The simplest version of these models, the Littlest Higgs, is based on an $SU(5)/SO(5)$ non-linear sigma model and predicts that four new gauge bosons, a weak isosinglet quark, $t'$, with $Q=2/3$, as well as an isotriplet scalar field exist at the TeV scale. We consider the contributions of these new states to precision electroweak observables, and ex…
Little Higgs models provides us a new solution of the {\it hierarchy problem} of the SM. The problem is associated with the large difference in scales of SM and plank scale. One of the main features of these models is the existence of a vector like top quark. The CP violating $K_L \to π^0 ν\barν$ process n the SM model is dominated by top quark penguin & box graphs. We examine this process in the Little Higgs model where the top quark sector has significant differences from the Standard Model.
Little Higgs models represent an alternative to Supersymmetry as a solution to the Hierarchy Problem. After introducing the main physical ideas of these models, we present the fine-tuning associated to the electroweak breaking in Little Higgs scenarios. Taking into account the most general properties of this scenarios and focusing on two representative ``Little Higgs'' models, we find that the fine-tuning is much higher than suggested by the rough estimates usually made. The main sources that increase the fine-tuning in these models are identified, then they can be taken into account in order …
The hierarchy problem is investigated in the $\mathbb{Z}_2$ Two Higgs Doublet extension of the Standard Model. From the quadratic divergences of the Higgs field propagators fine-tuning constraints are extracted and solved. This leads to the mass relation $m_{h^0}^2 < 2 m_t^2 < m_{H^0}^2$, where $h^0$ is the analogue of the SM Higgs boson and $H^0$ a heavier neutral scalar. The constraint leads to an admissible condition on the Higgs boson mass, in contrast to a similar treatment for the Standard Model. Based on this analysis it is argued that there may not be a little hierarchy problem for the…
Little Higgs scenario provides us a new solution for the hierarchy problem of the Standard Model. The Littlest Higgs model with T-parity, which is one of models in the scenario, solves the dark matter problem in our universe. In this talk, we discuss how accurately the property of the dark matter is determined at linear collides. We also mention how precisely does the thermal abundance of the dark matter determined at the 500 GeV and 1 TeV collides, and compare the results with those at the LHC.
Little Higgs theories are an exciting new possibility for physics at TeV energies. In the Standard Model the Higgs mass suffers from an instability under radiative corrections. This ``hierarchy problem'' motivates much of current physics beyond the Standard Model research. Little Higgs theories offer a new and very promising solution to this problem in which the Higgs is naturally light as a result of non-linearly realized symmetries. This article reviews some of the underlying ideas and gives a pedagogical introduction to the Little Higgs. The examples provided are taken from the paper "A Lit…
We present a new solution to the Hierarchy Problem utilizing non-linearly realized discrete symmetries. The cancelations occur due to a discrete symmetry that is realized as a shift symmetry on the scalar and as an exchange symmetry on the particles with which the scalar interacts. We show how this mechanism can be used to solve the Little Hierarchy Problem as well as give rise to light axions.
The hierarchy problem and the identity of dark matter are two of the central driving forces in particle physics. Twin Higgs models provide an elegant solution to the little hierarchy problem, while Strongly Interacting Massive Particles (SIMPs) provide an appealing dark matter candidate. Here we show that SIMPs can easily be embedded in the Twin Higgs setup, such that dark matter and the hierarchy problem can be addressed in a single framework. This also provides a natural explanation to the proximity between the confinement scale of SIMP dark matter and the strong scale of QCD.
The Standard Model has some intrinsic beauty in the sector of fermions and gauge bosons. Its scalar sector, though minimal, is however haunted by the hierarchy problem. The fermionic spectrum also have two major problems, the flavor problem with its fundamental notion about why there are three families, and the phenomenological limitation of massless neutrinos. We present here a completed chiral fermionic sector model, based on a little Higgs model, that has the plausible potential of addressing all these problems of the SM at an accessible energy scale, and comment briefly on its phenomenolog…
Though the predictions of the Standard Model (SM) are in excellent agreement with experiments there are still several theoretical problems, such as fine-tuning and the hierarchy problem. These problems are associated with the Higgs sector of the SM, where it is widely believed that some {\it ``new physics"} will take over at the TeV scale. One beyond the SM theory which resolves these problems is the Little Higgs (LH) model. In this work we shall investigate the effects of the LH model on $\gggg$ scattering; where the process $\gggg$ at high energies occurs in the SM through diagrams involving…
We examine the fine-tuning associated to electroweak breaking in Little Higgs scenarios and find it to be always substantial and, generically, much higher than suggested by the rough estimates usually made. This is due to implicit tunings between parameters that can be overlooked at first glance but show up in a more systematic analysis. Focusing on four popular and representative Little Higgs scenarios, we find that the fine-tuning is essentially comparable to that of the Little Hierarchy problem of the Standard Model (which these scenarios attempt to solve) and higher than in supersymmetric …
While little Higgs models provide an interesting way to address the hierarchy problem, concrete models in the literature typically face two major obstacles. First, the mechanism for generating a Higgs quartic coupling often leads to large violations of custodial symmetry. Second, there is a tension between precision electroweak observables in the gauge sector and fine-tuning in the top sector. In this work, we present a new little Higgs model which solves both of these problems. The model is based on an SO(6)xSO(6)/SO(6) coset space which has custodial symmetry built in. The Higgs quartic coup…
I review some of the latest directions in supersymmetric model building, focusing on SUSY breaking mechanisms in the minimal supersymmetric standard model [MSSM], the "little" hierarchy and $μ$ problems, etc. I then discuss SUSY GUTs and UV completions in string theory.
We discuss how two birds---the little hierarchy problem of low-scale type-I seesaw models and the search for a viable dark matter candidate---are (proverbially) killed by one stone: a new inert scalar state
We demonstrate the potential of forthcoming mu -> e gamma and mu-e conversion experiments to implicate or disfavor solutions to the gauge hierarchy problem before the advent of the CERN Large Hadron Collider. Solutions of dynamical electroweak symmetry breaking, little Higgs, supersymmetry, and extra dimensions are considered. Correlations of mu -> e gamma and mu-e conversion branching ratios are analyzed for discriminating patterns. Measurements of these exotic muon decays may have compelling implications for supersymmetric solutions.
We review the mechanism of radiative electroweak symmetry breaking taking place in SUSY versions of the standard model. We further discuss different proposals for the origin of SUSY-breaking and the corresponding induced SUSY-breaking soft terms. Several proposals for the understanding of the little hierarchy problem are critically discussed.
Radiative corrections with new heavy particles coupling to Higgs doublets destabilize the electroweak scale and require an ad-hoc counterterm cancelling the large loop contribution. If the mass scale m1 of these new particles in in the TeV range, this feature constitutes the "little fine-tuning problem". We consider the case that the new-physics spectrum has a little hierarchy with two particle mass scales m1, m2 and m2 = O(10 m1) and no tree-level couplings of the heavier particles to Higgs doublets. As a concrete example we study the (next-to-)minimal supersymmetric standard model ((N)MSSM) …
We study the little hierarchy between mass parameters in the Higgs sector and other SUSY breaking masses. This type of spectrum can relieve the fine-tuning problem in the MSSM Higgs sector. Our scenario can be realized by superconformal dynamics. The spectrum in our scenario has significant implications in other phenomenological aspects like the relic abundance of the lightest neutralino and relaxation of the unbounded-from-below constraints.
