Pair production processes and flavor in gauge-invariant perturbation theory

Abstract

Gauge-invariant perturbation theory is an extension of ordinary perturbation theory which describes strictly gauge-invariant states in theories with a Brout-Englert-Higgs effect. Such gauge-invariant states are composite operators which have necessarily only global quantum numbers. As a consequence, flavor is exchanged for custodial quantum numbers in the standard model, recreating the fermion spectrum in the process. Here, we study the implications of such a description, possibly also for the generation structure of the standard model. In particular, this implies that scattering processes are essentially bound-state-bound-state interactions, and require a suitable description. We analyze the implications for the pair-production process $e^{+}{e}^{-}\to \bar{f}f$ at a linear collider to leading order. We show how ordinary perturbation theory is recovered as the leading contribution. Developing a suitable PDF-type language, we also assess the impact of sub-leading contributions. We find that only for very heavy fermions in the final state, especially top quarks, sizable corrections could emerge. This gives an interesting, possibly experimentally testable, scenario for the formal field theory underlying the electroweak sector of the standard model.

11 pages, 2 figures, revised version: We corrected a calculation in Sec.3 and reworked/improved the presentation

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Cited by in corpus (12)

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• Gauge Symmetries, Symmetry Breaking, and Gauge-Invariant Approaches
• On the observable spectrum of theories with a Brout-Englert-Higgs effect
• Gauge-invariant description of the Higgs resonance and its phenomenological implications
• Analytical relations for the bound state spectrum of gauge theories with a Brout-Englert-Higgs mechanism
• Vector boson scattering from the lattice
• A composite massless vector boson
• Constraining the Higgs valence contribution in the proton
• Excited states of massive fermions in a chiral gauge theory
• Restoring the Bloch-Nordsieck theorem in the electroweak sector of the standard model
• Testing the mechanism of lepton compositness
• The Fröhlich-Morchio-Strocchi mechanism: A underestimated legacy