English

Precise interpretations of traditional fine-tuning measures

High Energy Physics - Phenomenology 2025-01-27 v2 High Energy Physics - Theory Data Analysis, Statistics and Probability

Abstract

We uncover two precise interpretations of traditional electroweak fine-tuning (FT) measures that were historically missed. (i) a statistical interpretation: the traditional FT measure shows the change in plausibility of a model in which a parameter was exchanged for the ZZ boson mass relative to an untuned model in light of the ZZ boson mass measurement. (ii) an information-theoretic interpretation: the traditional FT measure shows the exponential of the extra information, measured in nats, relative to an untuned model that you must supply about a parameter in order to fit the ZZ mass. We derive the mathematical results underlying these interpretations, and explain them using examples from weak scale supersymmetry. These new interpretations allow us to rigorously define FT in particle physics and beyond; shed fresh light on the status of extensions to the Standard Model; and lastly, allow us to precisely reinterpret historical and recent studies using traditional FT measures.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2406.03533,
  title  = {Precise interpretations of traditional fine-tuning measures},
  author = {Andrew Fowlie and Gonzalo Herrera},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2406.03533},
  year   = {2025}
}

Comments

10 pages, 4 figures, matches version accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. D

R2 v1 2026-06-28T16:54:59.651Z