Re: Why is the Higgs Boson tachyonic?

Souvik wrote:
Why is the (mass)^2 term of the Higgs Boson negative in the Standard
Model Lagrangian to start with? I understand that along with the H^4
term, it gives rise to dynamical symmetry breaking, which explains a
bunch of stuff (and eventually gives us a physical mass term for the
Higgs). But I find such a negative mass^2 rather unnatural, as it
implies that if symmetry remains unbroken (at high enough
temperatures), the Higgs Boson is an on-shell tachyon!

That's exactly the reason why m^2<0 - it forces a broken symmetry.
See also the entry ''What about particles faster than light''
in my theoretical physics FAQ at
http://www.mat.univie.ac.at/~neum/physics-faq.txt


Arnold Neumaier

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