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Triple-alpha process and the anthropically allowed values of the weak scale

1999; American Physical Society; Volume: 61; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1103/physrevd.61.017301

1538-4500

T. Jeltema, Marc Sher,

Scientific Research and Discoveries

In multiple-universe models, the constants of nature may have different values in different universes. Agrawal, Barr, Donoghue, and Seckel have pointed out that the Higgs boson mass parameter, as the only dimensionful parameter of the standard model, is of particular interest. By considering a range of values of this parameter, they showed that the Higgs vacuum expectation value must have a magnitude less than $5.0$ times its observed value, in order for complex elements, and thus life, to form. In this Brief Report, we look at the effects of the Higgs boson mass parameter on the triple-alpha process in stars. This process, which is greatly enhanced by a resonance in carbon-12, is responsible for virtually all of the carbon production in the universe. We find that the Higgs vacuum expectation value must have a magnitude greater than $0.99$ times its observed value in order for an appreciable amount of carbon to form, thus significantly narrowing the allowed region of Agrawal et al.