Higgs as heavy-lifted physics during inflation

• Published in: The journal of high energy physics Vol. 2019; no. 4; pp. 1 - 31
• Main Author: Wu, Yi-Peng
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.04.2019; Springer Nature B.V; SpringerOpen
• Subjects: Astronomical models; Classical and Quantum Gravitation; Coding; Cosmology; Cosmology of Theories beyond the SM; Effective Field Theories; Elementary Particles; High energy physics; Particle production; Physics; Physics and Astronomy; Quantum Field Theories; Quantum Field Theory; Quantum Physics; Regular Article - Theoretical Physics; Relativity Theory; Standard model (particle physics); String Theory; Effective Field Theories; Cosmology of Theories beyond the SM
• ISSN: 1029-8479; 1029-8479
• DOI: 10.1007/JHEP04(2019)125

A bstract Signals of heavy particle production during inflation are encoded as nonanalytic momentum scaling in primordial non-Gaussianity. These non-analytic signatures can be sourced by Standard Model particles with a modified Higgs scale uplifted by the slow-roll dynamics of inflation. We show that such a lifting mechanism becomes more efficient with the presence of a strong Higgs-inflaton mixing, where the Higgs mass scale is further increased by a small speed of sound in the effective theory of inflation. As a primary step towards detecting new particles in the cosmological collider program, non-Gaussianity due to heavy Higgs production in the strong-mixing regime can act as important background signals to be tested by future cosmological surveys.