Constraining exotic sources of electroweak symmetry breaking

The proposed research seeks to examine and constrain possible theoretical extensions of the Standard Model of particle physics (SM). The SM is a theory which successfully describes almost all known particle interactions. With the discovery of the Higgs boson, which is responsible for the mass of elementary particles via electroweak symmetry breaking (EWSB), all the major pieces of the SM have been experimentally verified. However, there are many indications that the SM is incomplete. One possible area of the SM that could be extended is the process of EWSB. Instead of the single Higgs boson of the SM being the sole source, there could be new exotic sources of EWSB. The goal of this research is to take the simplest model that adds exotic EWSB to the SM and relate its parameters to measurable experimental quantities and processes. Experimental data can then be used to constrain the allowed values of these parameters. These constraints will initially show where new physics could be expected to be found, and if no new physics is discovered the results can be used to rule out the possibility of exotic EWSB.

Faculty Supervisor:

Heather Logan

Student:

Partner:

Osaka University

Discipline:

Physics

Sector:

Education

University:

Carleton University

Program: