Minkowski space structure of the Higgs potential in the two-Higgs-doublet model

The Higgs potential of 2HDM keeps its generic form under the group of transformation GL(2,C), which is larger than the usually considered reparametrization group SU(2). This reparametrization symmetry induces the Minkowski space structure in the orbit space of 2HDM. Exploiting this property, we present a geometric analysis of the number and properties of stationary points of the most general 2HDM potential. In particular, we prove that charge-breaking and neutral vacua never coexist in 2HDM and establish conditions when the most general explicitly CP-conserving Higgs potential has spontaneously CP-violating minima. We also define the prototypical model of a given 2HDM, which has six free parameters less than the original one but still contains all the essential physics. Our analysis avoids manipulation with high-order algebraic equations.