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Electroweak ηw meson

Gia Dvali1, Archil Kobakhidze2, and Otari Sakhelashvili2

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Phys. Rev. D 111, 113002 – Published 9 June, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/mxdm-wb1p

Abstract

We argue that the Standard Model is accompanied by a new pseudoscalar degree of freedom, ηw meson, which cancels the topological susceptibility of the electroweak vacuum and gets its mass from this effect. The prediction is based on the analyticity properties of the Chern-Simons correlator combined with the basic features of gravity. Depending on the quality level of the U(1)B+L symmetry, the ηw emerges as a B+L pseudo-Goldstone boson or as a Stückelberg 2-form of the electroweak gauge redundancy. An intriguing scenario of the first category is the emergence of ηw in the form of the phase of a U(1)B+L-violating fermion condensate triggered by the instantons, somewhat similar to the η′ meson in QCD. Regardless of its origin, the presence of the ηw meson in the theory appears to be a matter of consistency.

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Phys. Rev. D 111, 113002– Published 9 June, 2025
  • Received 19 August 2024
  • Accepted 22 May 2025
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