Abstract
We consider a simple scale-invariant action coupling the Higgs field to the metric scalar curvature R and containing an R2 term that exhibits spontaneous breaking of scale invariance and electroweak symmetry. The coefficient of the R2 term in this case determines the self-coupling of the Higgs boson in the Einstein frame, and the scalaron becomes a dilaton weakly coupled to the Higgs boson. Majorana mass terms for right-handed neutrinos can be generated in a scale-invariant manner by using the Higgs-field invariant; in this case, the existing experimental limits on the Higgs-boson total width rule out Majorana mass values in a certain range. The model inherits the naturalness issues of general relativity connected with the smallness of the gravitational and cosmological constants.
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Acknowledgments
I am grateful to Massimiliano Rinaldi for valuable communication. The author acknowledges support from the Simons Foundation. This work is supported by the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine under project 0121U109612 and by the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv under project 22BF023-01.
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Shtanov, Y. Electroweak symmetry breaking by gravity. J. High Energ. Phys. 2024, 221 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/JHEP02(2024)221
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/JHEP02(2024)221