LANDSCAPE IMPLICATIONS OF EXTENDED HIGGS MODELS

Abstract

From several points of view, it is strongly suggested that the current universe is unstable and will ultimately decay to one that is exactly supersymmetric (SUSY). The possibility that atoms and molecules form in this future universe requires that the degenerate electron/selectron mass is non-zero and hence that electroweak symmetry breaking (EWSB) survives the phase transition to exact SUSY. However, the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM) and several of its extensions have no EWSB in the SUSY limit. Among the extended Higgs models that have been discussed, one stands out in this regard. The Higgs sector that is revealed at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) will therefore have implications for the future universe. We also address the question as to whether the transition to the exact SUSY phase with EWSB is exothermic.