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  • Open Access

Running couplings in high-temperature effective field theory

Mikael Chala1,*, Andrii Dashko1,†, and Guilherme Guedes2,‡

  • 1Departamento de Física Teórica y del Cosmos, Universidad de Granada, E-18071 Granada, Spain
  • 2CERN, Theoretical Physics Department, Esplanade des Particules 1, Geneva 1211, Switzerland

  • *Contact author: mikael.chala@ugr.es
  • †Contact author: andrii.dashko@ugr.es
  • ‡Contact author: guilherme.guedes@cern.ch
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Phys. Rev. D 113, 055026 – Published 16 March, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/ptqg-5g38

Abstract

In this work, we study the renormalization-group evolution of parameters in the three-dimensional effective field theory (3D EFT) that describes the thermally driven electroweak phase transition of the Higgs field. We consider tree-level and radiatively generated barriers induced by beyond the Standard Model physics, enabling a first-order phase transition at and below the soft scale, respectively. For each case, we compute the two-loop running of the 3D EFT couplings, including the effects of the leading nonrenormalizable terms. We then analyze how the new contributions to the beta functions compare with those in the super-renormalizable case, highlighting their impact on perturbative computations of the scalar potential, which describes the vacuum structure of the theory. By incorporating higher-order corrections in the mass parameter evolution, as well as the running of other effective operators, we set the stage for testing their impact on phase transition dynamics in lattice simulations.

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Phys. Rev. D 113, 055026– Published 16 March, 2026
  • Received 10 November 2025
  • Accepted 23 February 2026
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