[Paper Review] What is the Standard Model Higgs ?

Afsar Abbas|ArXiv.org|Dec 5, 1999

Distributed and Parallel Computing Systems2 references3 citations

TL;DR

This paper argues that in the Standard Model, the Higgs boson cannot be a physical particle due to its arbitrary isospin and hypercharge, which preserve charge quantization and the model's foundational structure. The Higgs is instead interpreted as a fundamental vacuum state underlying the entire Standard Model framework, not a propagating particle, challenging the conventional view of the Higgs as a physical excitation.

ABSTRACT

It is shown that in the Standard Model, the property of charge quantization holds for a Higgs with arbitrary isospin and hypercharge. These defining quantum numbers of the Higgs remain unconstrained while the whole basic and fundamental structure of the Standard Model remains intact. Hence it is shown that the Higgs cannot be a physical particle. Higgs is the underlying `vacuum' over which the whole edifice of the Standard Model stands.

Motivation & Objective

• To investigate whether the Higgs boson in the Standard Model can be a physical particle based on quantum number constraints.
• To analyze the implications of arbitrary isospin and hypercharge for the Higgs field's physicality.
• To assess whether charge quantization and the Standard Model's foundational structure remain intact under arbitrary Higgs quantum numbers.
• To challenge the conventional interpretation of the Higgs as a physical particle and propose it as a vacuum condensate instead.
• To explore the consequences of gauge invariance and charge quantization for the Higgs sector's physical realization.

Proposed method

• Analytical derivation of charge quantization conditions in the context of the Higgs mechanism with arbitrary isospin and hypercharge.
• Use of the Standard Model's gauge group structure (SU(2)L × U(1)Y) to examine consistency of quantum numbers.
• Application of the Higgs mechanism to show that the model's structure remains invariant under arbitrary Higgs quantum numbers.
• Logical deduction that if the Higgs is not constrained by quantum numbers, it cannot be a physical particle.
• Interpretation of the Higgs as a background vacuum state rather than a propagating field excitation.
• Use of group theory and gauge symmetry to demonstrate that the Higgs field's role is foundational but not physical in the particle sense.

Experimental results

Research questions

• RQ1 Can the Higgs boson be a physical particle if its isospin and hypercharge are arbitrary?
• RQ2 Does charge quantization remain valid when the Higgs has arbitrary quantum numbers?
• RQ3 What is the physical status of the Higgs field if it does not break gauge symmetry in a unique way?
• RQ4 How does the Standard Model's structure remain consistent when the Higgs is not uniquely defined by quantum numbers?
• RQ5 Is the Higgs better understood as a vacuum condensate rather than a physical particle?

Key findings

• The Higgs field's arbitrary isospin and hypercharge do not break charge quantization, preserving the Standard Model's consistency.
• The entire foundational structure of the Standard Model remains intact regardless of the Higgs's quantum numbers.
• Because the Higgs is not constrained by physical quantum numbers, it cannot be a physical particle in the conventional sense.
• The Higgs is reinterpreted as a vacuum state—fundamental but not a propagating excitation.
• The paper concludes that the Higgs is not a particle but the underlying vacuum over which the Standard Model is built.
• The argument is based on gauge invariance, charge quantization, and the absence of constraints on Higgs quantum numbers.