Higgs criticality beyond the Standard Model
Thomas Steingasser (Massachusetts Institute of Technology & Black Hole Initiative at Harvard University)

The Higgs potential appears fine-tuned, relating to the hierarchy problem, the metastability of the electroweak vacuum and, arguably, the cosmological constant problem. While such behavior is puzzling in conventional particle physics, it is a common feature of dynamical systems. This motivated the conjecture that the Higgs' parameters are set by some dynamical mechanism. In this talk, I will demonstrate how these ideas can be linked — in a mostly mechanism-independent way — to concrete phenomenological predictions that can be tested by realistic future experiments such as the FCC or next-generation GW detectors. Along the way, I will also highlight several lessons learnt for the construction of concrete vacuum selection mechanisms.