The Electro-Weak Phase Transition at Colliders: Discovery Post-Mortem

We explore the capabilities of a future proton collider to probe the nature of the electro-weak phase transition, following the hypothetical discovery of a new scalar particle. We focus on the real singlet scalar field extension of the Standard Model, representing the most minimal, and challenging to probe, framework that can enable a strong first-order electro-weak phase transition. By constructing detailed phenomenological methods for measuring the mass and accessible couplings of the new scalar particle, we find that a 100 TeV proton collider has the potential to explore the parameter space of the real singlet model and provide meaningful constraints on the electro-weak phase transition. We empirically find some necessary conditions for the realization of a strong first order electroweak phase transition and conjecture that additional information, including through multiscalar processes and gravitational wave detectors, are likely needed to gauge the nature of the cosmological electro-weak transition. This study represents the first crucial step towards solving the inverse problem in the context of the electro-weak phase transition.

Automated summary

This study explores the capabilities of a future proton collider to investigate the nature of the electro-weak phase transition after the discovery of a new scalar particle. By constructing phenomenological methods, the study finds that a 100 TeV proton collider has the potential to explore the parameter space of the real singlet model and provide meaningful constraints on the electro-weak phase transition. However, additional information may be needed to fully understand the nature of the cosmological electro-weak transition.