Weak Scale Triggers in the SMEFT
High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
2026-04-23 v2 High Energy Physics - Theory
Abstract
There are no weak scale triggers in the SMEFT up to dimension six that can solve the hierarchy problem far above the weak scale. Our arguments can be used to show that the same is true at dimension eight. Weak scale triggers are local operators sensitive to the Higgs mass squared and they are needed in a large number of qualitatively different cosmological solutions to the hierarchy problem. These solutions have little in common besides the use of a trigger operator. We argue that focusing on the signatures of the three already-known trigger operators can lead to discover or exclude this class of solutions to the hierarchy problem.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2512.11026,
title = {Weak Scale Triggers in the SMEFT},
author = {Pier Giuseppe Catinari and Raffaele Tito D'Agnolo and Pablo Sesma},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2512.11026},
year = {2026}
}
Comments
35 pages, 8 figures, 5 tables; updates in agreement with published version