An Inflationary Probe of Cosmic Higgs Switching. (arXiv:1905.05764v1 [hep-th])
<a href="http://arxiv.org/find/hep-th/1/au:+Fan_J/0/1/0/all/0/1">JiJi Fan</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/hep-th/1/au:+Reece_M/0/1/0/all/0/1">Matthew Reece</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/hep-th/1/au:+Wang_Y/0/1/0/all/0/1">Yi Wang</a>
A scalar Higgs field can be repeatedly switched on and off when it couples to
a classically oscillating scalar modulus field. The modulus flips the Higgs
mass term between stable and tachyonic values. We study a cosmological scenario
in which such repeated phase transitions occur during inflation. An irrelevant
operator coupling the Higgs field to the inflaton can then imprint the pattern
of phase transitions in the correlation functions of the inflaton. Using both
numerical and analytic studies, we show that the inflaton 2-point function
carries characteristic imprints of the modulus oscillation and its effect on
the Higgs boson. We briefly remark on the potential observability of such
patterns and how they might be distinguished from other dynamics in the early
universe.
A scalar Higgs field can be repeatedly switched on and off when it couples to
a classically oscillating scalar modulus field. The modulus flips the Higgs
mass term between stable and tachyonic values. We study a cosmological scenario
in which such repeated phase transitions occur during inflation. An irrelevant
operator coupling the Higgs field to the inflaton can then imprint the pattern
of phase transitions in the correlation functions of the inflaton. Using both
numerical and analytic studies, we show that the inflaton 2-point function
carries characteristic imprints of the modulus oscillation and its effect on
the Higgs boson. We briefly remark on the potential observability of such
patterns and how they might be distinguished from other dynamics in the early
universe.
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