The Anatomy of Electro-Weak Symmetry Breaking. I: The Higgs boson in the Standard Model
Abdelhak Djouadi
TL;DR
This review systematically dissects the Higgs sector within the Standard Model, detailing how electroweak symmetry breaking generates masses and defines the Higgs couplings. It synthesizes the Higgs decay channels, including fermionic, gauge-boson, and loop-induced modes, with state-of-the-art radiative corrections and phenomenological implications for current and future colliders. It also covers Higgs production mechanisms at hadron colliders, emphasizing higher-order QCD corrections, scale dependence, and PDF uncertainties to deliver precise predictions for discovery and property measurements. The work underlines the interplay between precision electroweak data, direct searches, and theoretical constraints (unitarity, triviality, vacuum stability, fine-tuning) in carving out the viable Higgs mass window and guides experimental strategies for probing EWSB. Overall, it provides a comprehensive framework for interpreting Higgs phenomenology at the LHC, future e+e- colliders, and beyond.
Abstract
This review is devoted to the study of the mechanism of electroweak symmetry breaking and this first part focuses on the Higgs particle of the Standard Model. The fundamental properties of the Higgs boson are reviewed and its decay modes and production mechanisms at hadron colliders and at future lepton colliders are described in detail.