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Electroweak symmetry breaking is the Higgs-field breaking $SU(2{)}_L\times U(1{)}_Y\to U(1{)}_Q$. It gives masses to the $W$ and $Z$ bosons while leaving the photon massless.

With the hypercharge convention $Q=T_3+Y$, the lower component of the Higgs doublet has $T_3=-1/2$ and $Y=1/2$. Thus $Q⟨\varphi ⟩=0$: the vacuum expectation value is electrically neutral. This is why one combination of the neutral gauge fields remains the massless photon, as the electroweak doublet gauge-boson mass matrix shows.

Continue the chosen Higgs field potential example with $g=3/5$ and $g^{\prime }=4/5$. The tree-level electroweak gauge-boson masses are $m_W=72\mathrm{GeV}$, $m_Z=120\mathrm{GeV}$ and $m_A=0$. In the $(W^3,B)$ basis,Its orthonormal eigenvectors $(4/5,3/5{)}^T$ and $(3/5,-4/5{)}^T$ have eigenvalues zero and $14400{\mathrm{GeV}}^2$. Thus $\cos {\theta }_W=3/5=m_W/m_Z$. This is an exact model check, not a fit to measured electroweak interaction parameters.

A diagonal charged-fermion Yukawa coupling expands asThe Yukawa coupling remains a free parameter: the mechanism relates a fermion mass to its scalar interaction but does not predict the numerical mass. This example concerns charged fermions; the minimal Standard Model has no right-handed neutrino and does not account for neutrino oscillations without an extension.

The 1999 recognition of Gerard 't Hooft and Martinus J. G. Veltman concerned the theoretical quantum structure of the electroweak interaction.^[ref] Renormalizability makes repeated radiative corrections predictive from a fixed set of inputs. It does not imply that the perturbation series converges, nor that renormalization alone chooses the correct particle content or excludes all physics beyond the Standard Model.

The Gargamelle collaboration prepared an experimental test by exposing its heavy-liquid bubble chamber to neutrino and antineutrino beams at CERN. The readout selected events producing hadrons without an identified muon or electron, compared with events containing a charged lepton. Its 1974 report assessed alternative origins from neutrons and long-lived neutral kaons, finding them insufficient to explain the sample. That supported neutral currents; it did not isolate a radiative correction or demonstrate renormalizability.^[ref]

The distinction matters when using the tree-level electroweak gauge-boson masses:Beyond tree level, self-energies, interaction vertices and counterterms alter how chosen input observables predict another observable. The Weinberg angle then needs a specified renormalization scheme; inserting its value from one convention into a formula from another can create an apparent discrepancy. A meaningful higher-order test must state both its independent experimental inputs and the calculated loop order.

Work with canonically normalized real components of the scalar field; a complex representation can first be written in terms of its real and imaginary components. At a vacuum expectation value ${\phi }_0$, expansion of the scalar potential givesThe linear term vanishes by stationarity. Thus the scalar mass matrix is the Hessian matrix of the scalar potential. Invariance under each Lie algebra generator gives the identity ${\partial }_{r}V(\phi )(i{T}_a\phi {)}_r=0$. Differentiating this identity with respect to ${\phi }_s$ and evaluating at the stationary point removes the term containing ${\partial }_{r}V$, leavingThe kernel of the map $T\mapsto iT{\phi }_0$ is precisely the Lie algebra of the stabilizer subgroup H. Consequently its restriction to a complementary space of broken Lie algebra generators is injective: a linear combination that annihilates ${\phi }_0$ would belong both to the stabilizer algebra and its complement, and hence would vanish. There are therefore $\dim G-\dim H$ independent Goldstone directions in the scalar mass matrix, tangent to the vacuum manifold. There are $\dim G-\dim H$ symmetry-protected massless scalars.

This Goldstone theorem guarantees at least that many zero quadratic masses. The claim that these are all the massless scalars additionally requires nonzero curvature transverse to the vacuum orbit. For example, $V=\kappa ({\phi }^T\phi -v^2{)}^4$, with $\kappa >0$, has an ordinary spherical vacuum manifold but its entire Hessian matrix vanishes there. These accidental massless radial modes beyond Goldstone modes are not excluded by the hypotheses. For the indicated orthogonal group breaking, the protected number is

For the Higgs doublet, put $r=\sqrt{2{\varphi }^{†}\varphi }=v+H$ and $z=\sqrt{2}\varphi /r$ wherever $r\ne 0$. If $z=(z_1,z_2{)}^T$, thenThis explicitly exhibits the three angular coordinates as an SU(2) transformation of a real radial field. In particular, the polar coordinates for the electroweak Higgs doublet can locally be chosen in the formAt the vacuum the three variations generated by $-i{\sigma }_1$, $-i{\sigma }_2$, and $i(I-{\sigma }_3)$ acting on $(0,1{)}^T$ are independent over the reals. They span the three broken directions; the remaining generator $Q=({\sigma }_3+I)/2$ annihilates the vacuum. This proves that the exponential supplies local angular coordinates. An inverse local gauge transformation, applied also to the gauge fields, removes these three fields in unitary gauge. They supply the longitudinal polarizations of the massive W bosons and Z boson through the Higgs mechanism. The parameterization is local about a nonzero vacuum, rather than a coordinate system through every possible zero of the Higgs doublet.

Use the metric $(+---)$ and define the charged W bosons and neutral gauge fields bywhere $s_W=\sin {\theta }_W$, $c_W=\cos {\theta }_W$, and $\tan {\theta }_W=g^{\prime }/g$. Direct substitution into the gauge-covariant kinetic term givesand henceThe electroweak doublet gauge-boson mass matrix in the $(A^3,B)$ basis isIts normalized zero direction is $(s_W,c_W)$ and its massive direction is $(c_W,-s_W)$. Thus the scalar-vector terms in physical fields arewith the tree-level electroweak gauge-boson massesThese are also charge eigenstates. The unbroken U(1) gauge symmetry has generator $Q=T_3+Y$; on the Higgs doublet, $Y=I/2$. Since $[Q,T_{\pm }]=\pm T_{\pm }$, the combinations $W^{\pm }$ have charges $\pm 1$, while Z, the photon, and H are neutral. The photon disappears from the displayed scalar-vector terms because $g{A}^3-g^{\prime }B=\sqrt{g^2+g^{\prime 2}}Z$. The photon is massless and has no direct tree-level coupling to the remaining radial scalar in this sector. This does not remove its interactions with charged W bosons, or exclude a scalar-to-photon interaction generated by loops.

Finally, retain the printed normalization of the Higgs field potential:The kinetic term is $\frac{1}{2}(\partial H{)}^2$, so the Higgs radial mass for a half-normalized quartic potential is $\boxed{m_H^2=\lambda v^2}$. The extra factor of two familiar from a potential with prefactor $\lambda$, rather than $\lambda /2$, does not apply here.

Use metric $g_{\mu \nu }=\mathrm{diag}(1,-1,-1,-1)$ and the hypercharge convention $Q=T^3+Y$. Then the Higgs doublet has $Y=1/2$ and transforms under electroweak gauge invariance asThe covariant derivative sign consistent with the requested expression isA convention that instead calls the doublet hypercharge one puts $Y/2$ in the charge generator and derivative; the physical coupling is the same. Here $B_{\mu }\mapsto B_{\mu }-{\partial }_{\mu }\beta /g^{\prime }$ and the matrix-valued $SU(2)$ connection transforms as $A_{\mu }\mapsto U{A}_{\mu }{U}^{-1}+(i/g)({\partial }_{\mu }U)U^{-1}$, making $D_{\mu }\varphi$ transform like $\varphi$.

In unitary gauge, the upper component of the derivative comes from the off-diagonal Pauli matrices:The lower component isWriting $c_W=\cos {\theta }_W$, $s_W=\sin {\theta }_W$, inversion of the neutral rotation gives $A^3=c_{W}Z+s_{W}A$ and $B=-s_{W}Z+c_{W}A$. Since $g^{\prime }=g\tan {\theta }_W$, the coefficient of the photon vanishes, whereas $-g{c}_W-g^{\prime }{s}_W=-g/c_W$. ThusThe zero photon coupling expresses the neutrality of the surviving radial Higgs boson.

The scalar Lagrangian density is ${\mathcal{L}}_{\varphi }=(D_{\mu }\varphi {)}^{†}{D}^{\mu }\varphi -V$. Adding $-F_{\mu \nu }^a{F}^{a\mu \nu }/4-B_{\mu \nu }{B}^{\mu \nu }/4$ gives the complete bosonic electroweak Lagrangian density. Its scalar and vector mass terms, after electroweak symmetry breaking, are obtained directly asIndeed, the shifted quartic Higgs potential normalization gives ${\varphi }^{†}\varphi -v^2/2=vH+H^2/2$. Comparing with a canonically normalized real scalar mass term, a complex vector mass term and a real vector mass term yieldsThe extra factor one half in this paper's Higgs potential is why $M_H^2$ is $\lambda v^2$, rather than $2\lambda v^2$ in another common convention. The tree-level electroweak gauge-boson masses give $\cos {\theta }_W=M_W/M_Z$: measure the two vector masses and take their ratio. Beyond tree level this extraction requires a specified renormalization convention and radiative corrections.

Expanding the vector terms gives the cubic and quartic Higgs couplings to electroweak gauge bosons:The four elementary Feynman diagrams and their all-incoming Feynman rules are shown below. Differentiating with respect to two identical $Z$ fields supplies a factor two; differentiating with respect to two identical Higgs fields supplies another factor two in the quartic rules.

There are no elementary $H\gamma \gamma$, $HZ\gamma$, $HH\gamma \gamma$ or $HHZ\gamma$ vertices in this tree-level Lagrangian density. Loop-induced photon interactions are a different order. The scalar self-interactions, if included, have rules $HHH:-3i{M}_H^2/v$ and $HHHH:-3i{M}_H^2/v^2$.

The prime LEP2 search used the Higgs boson coupling to Z bosons through Higgsstrahlung, $e^{+}{e}^{-}\to Z^{\ast }\to ZH$, shown in the first panel of the process figure in Question 3. This identifies an associated-production interaction, rather than an on-shell decay of a single $Z$ into a heavier Higgs. The channel's historical role is documented in the LEP2 Higgs-search account.

For the free charged W boson, take $W_{\mu }(x)=\int d^{4}p{e}^{-ipx}{W}_{\mu }(p)/(2\pi {)}^4$, with the conjugate field carrying $e^{ipx}$. In the action, multiplying the two field strengths gives $2[p^2{W}_{\mu }^{†}{W}^{\mu }-(p\cdot W^{†})(p\cdot W)]$. ThereforeTo invert it, separate the transverse and longitudinal projectors $P_T=g-pp/p^2$, $P_L=pp/p^2$. The operator is $(p^2-M_W^2)P_T-M_W^2{P}_L$, soSince the quadratic action kernel is $-O$, its Proca propagator isFor all momentum components small relative to $M_W$, the low-momentum limit is $D_{\mu \nu }\simeq i{g}_{\mu \nu }/M_W^2$, with corrections of relative order $p^2/M_W^2$ or $p_{\mu }{p}_{\nu }/M_W^2$. This local limit leads to the Fermi interaction, with $G_F/\sqrt{2}=g^2/(8M_W^2)$ for the charged-current normalization used here.

Take $T_i={\tau }_i/2$ and the hypercharge generator $Y=I_2/2$ on the scalar. The two commuting factors of the electroweak interaction have independent invariant gauge kinetic terms and therefore independent coupling constants. Non-Abelian gauge invariance requires the same $g$ for all three $SU(2)$ generators, while the $U(1)$ factor has its own $g^{\prime }$; no symmetry of this product group requires $g=g^{\prime }$.

A nonzero Higgs doublet can be rotated by $SU(2)$ toThe fundamental representation acts transitively on normalized complex doublets, so this fixes an internal direction without changing the vacuum norm. A general infinitesimal generator annihilates this vacuum only ifFor real parameters this means ${\alpha }_1={\alpha }_2=0$ and $\beta ={\alpha }_3$. Thus the connected stabilizer subgroup is one-dimensional:This proves the claimed electroweak symmetry breaking and identifies the unbroken electric charge generator.

The gauge covariant derivative isWriting the connection as ${\mathcal{A}}_{\mu }=g{A}_{\mu }^i{T}_i+g^{\prime }{B}_{\mu }Y$, its local transformation is ${\mathcal{A}}_{\mu }^{\prime }=U{\mathcal{A}}_{\mu }{U}^{-1}-i({\partial }_{\mu }U)U^{-1}$. Direct substitution gives $D_{\mu }^{\prime }(U\varphi )=U{D}_{\mu }\varphi$. Unitarity then provesso the scalar kinetic term is gauge-invariant.

At the constant vacuum the gauge covariant derivative becomesConsequentlywhere $\mathcal{V}=(A^1,A^2,A^3,B{)}^T$ andThe factor $1/2$ is the canonical real-vector mass-term normalization; the displayed electroweak doublet gauge-boson mass matrix contains squared masses when the gauge kinetic terms are canonical.

The electric charge generator acts on gauge fields through the Adjoint representation, not through the scalar's two-by-two matrix. With $U=e^{i\alpha Q}$, the brackets $[T_3,T_1]=i{T}_2$ and $[T_3,T_2]=-i{T}_1$ give $\delta A^1=\alpha A^2$, $\delta A^2=-\alpha A^1$, and neutral $A^3,B$. Hence the electromagnetic charge matrix of electroweak gauge fields in the requested basis isChoose positive gauge couplings by the gauge-field sign convention. Set $s_W=g^{\prime }/\sqrt{g^2+g^{\prime 2}}$ and $c_W=g/\sqrt{g^2+g^{\prime 2}}$. The Weinberg angle rotation diagonalizes the neutral block, while $W^{\pm }=(A^1\mp i{A}^2)/\sqrt{2}$ obey $\delta W^{\pm }=\pm i\alpha W^{\pm }$. The physical electroweak gauge bosons areThe charges are in units of $e=g{s}_W=g^{\prime }{c}_W$. Thus the tree-level electroweak gauge-boson masses satisfy $m_W=m_Z{c}_W$, and the unbroken photon is massless.

The electron and neutrino form the left-chiral lepton doublet, while the right-chiral electron is a weak singlet. In four-component notation use chiral projectors $P_{L,R}=(1\mp {\gamma }_5)/2$ and packageHere each entry can be obtained by projecting a Dirac field; only the indicated chirality propagates. The hypercharges follow from $Q=T_3+Y$: $(0,-1)=(1/2,-1/2)+Y_{\Psi }$ gives $Y_{\Psi }=-1/2$, and $T_3=0,Q=-1$ gives $Y_{\psi }=-1$. The minimal theory has no right-handed neutrino.

The gauge-invariant lepton kinetic Lagrangian isIf unprojected Dirac spinors are used as notation instead, insert $P_L$ in the first kinetic term and $P_R$ in the second. The inactive components are not additional physical degrees of freedom. Each term is invariant because the gauge covariant derivative transforms in the same gauge group representation as its field.

No bare Dirac mass term is possible: $\bar{\Psi }\Psi$ and $\bar{\psi }\psi$ vanish by opposite adjoint projectors, while a cross term $\bar{\Psi }\psi$ has an uncontracted weak-doublet index and hypercharge $-1/2$. A neutrino Dirac mass would additionally require the absent right-handed field. A Majorana mass term pairs a chiral field with itself; ${\Psi }^T{C}^{-1}\Psi$ has hypercharge $-1$ and ${\psi }^T{C}^{-1}\psi$ has $-2$, so neither is invariant. These statements concern quadratic masses before electroweak symmetry breaking, not masses involving scalar insertions.

For the Higgs conjugate doublet, put $\epsilon =i{\tau }_2$. The given identity $\epsilon {\tau }_i^{\ast }=-{\tau }_i\epsilon$ exponentiates to $\epsilon U^{\ast }=U\epsilon$ for $U\in SU(2)$. ThereforeIn particular its weak isospin remains $T=1/2$ while its hypercharge reverses. Since $\Psi \mapsto e^{-i\beta /2}U\Psi$, both ${\varphi }^{\prime †}\Psi$ and $\bar{\Psi }{\varphi }^{\prime }$ transform in the trivial representation of the full gauge group. They remain a Lorentz spinor and its adjoint; gauge singlet does not mean Lorentz scalar.

Finally the Yukawa interactionis gauge invariant: the first term has total hypercharge $+1/2+1/2-1=0$, and its doublet indices are contracted. At the Higgs field vacuum it becomes $-(y_{e}v/\sqrt{2}){\bar{e}}_L{e}_R+h.c.$. Rephase $e_R$ to make the coefficient real and positive and assemble $e=e_L+e_R$. ThenThis explicitly generates the gauge-invariant electron Yukawa mass, without a bare mass in the unbroken theory.

Take ${\tau }^a={\sigma }^a/2$, $Y_{\varphi }=1/2$, metric $g_{\mu \nu }=\mathrm{diag}(1,-1,-1,-1)$, and a Higgs potential with ${\mu }_h^2>0$, $\lambda >0$. The gauge-scalar electroweak interaction isHere $B_{\mu \nu }={\partial }_{\mu }{B}_{\nu }-{\partial }_{\nu }{B}_{\mu }$. With the printed plus-sign convention for $D_{\mu }$, define $[D_{\mu },D_{\nu }]=ig{W}_{\mu \nu }^a{\tau }^a+i{g}^{\prime }{Y}_{\varphi }{B}_{\mu \nu }$; thus $W_{\mu \nu }^a={\partial }_{\mu }{W}_{\nu }^a-{\partial }_{\nu }{W}_{\mu }^a-g{ϵ}^{abc}{W}_{\mu }^b{W}_{\nu }^c$. The minus sign in the nonlinear gauge field strength follows from this convention.

The minima have ${\varphi }^{†}\varphi =v^2/2$, with $v^2={\mu }_h^2/\lambda$. A gauge transformation rotates the vacuum to $(0,v{)}^T/\sqrt{2}$. In unitary gauge, the three angular Goldstone bosons are removed, leaving $\varphi =(0,v+H{)}^T/\sqrt{2}$ and one real Higgs boson. The generator $Q=T^3+Y$ annihilates the vacuum, because its lower component has $T^3=-1/2$ and hypercharge $1/2$. This identifies the unbroken electromagnetic gauge group.

The quadratic terms from the Higgs field kinetic term areDefine the Weinberg angle and physical fields byThe neutral combinations areThe neutral gauge-boson mass matrix is $(v^2/4)\left(\begin{array}{cc}{g}^2& -g{g}^{\prime }\\ -g{g}^{\prime }& g^{\prime 2}\end{array}\right)$. It has eigenvalues zero and $(g^2+g^{\prime 2})v^2/4$, with the zero eigenvector giving $A_{\mu }$. Expanding the Higgs potential about its minimum gives $V=\text{constant}+\lambda v^2{H}^2+\lambda v{H}^3+\lambda H^4/4$. Therefore the tree-level electroweak gauge-boson masses and scalar mass areAlso $m_W=m_Z\cos {\theta }_W$ and $e=g\sin {\theta }_W=g^{\prime }\cos {\theta }_W$. The three removed Goldstone bosons supply the longitudinal polarization vector degrees of freedom of the massive electroweak gauge bosons.

Replacing $v^2$ by $(v+H{)}^2$ in the neutral mass term gives all the Higgs boson couplings to Z bosons in unitary gauge:There are exactly the cubic $HZZ$ and quartic $HHZZ$ elementary tree-level Feynman diagrams. Differentiating with respect to the identical fields gives Feynman rules $2i{m}_Z^2{g}_{\mu \nu }/v$ and $2i{m}_Z^2{g}_{\mu \nu }/v^2$, respectively. There is no elementary $ZHH$ vertex for the real neutral radial field.

The Weinberg angle rotates the neutral gauge fields into the photon and Z boson:$g$ belongs to $SU(2{)}_L$, $g^{\prime }$ to $U(1{)}_Y$, and $e$ is the positive magnitude of the electron electric charge. These definitions use $Q=T_3+Y$; doubling the definition of hypercharge requires halving its coefficient in the covariant derivative. The electromagnetic coupling of a weak multiplet follows by substituting this rotation.

For a fermion component, the corresponding neutral coefficient isFor a left-handed charged lepton, $T_3=-1/2$ and $Q=-1$, giving $g_L=-1/2+{\sin }^2{\theta }_W$. Its right-handed component has $T_3=0$, giving $g_R={\sin }^2{\theta }_W$. This algebra links the neutral current to the electromagnetic charge assignment. Together with the Higgs doublet, it also gives the tree-level electroweak gauge-boson masses with $m_W/m_Z=\cos {\theta }_W$; precise comparisons require a defined renormalization convention and radiative corrections.