arXiv subjects

M. Consoli

Publications and source records attributed to M. Consoli.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2025

Reply to "There is no 690 GeV resonance"

A recent paper has criticised the idea that, beside the resonance of mass $m_h= 125$ GeV, the Higgs field might exhibit a relatively narrow, second resonance with a mass $M_H \sim 690$ GeV. Without considering the evidence we have provided, the criticism also concerned our claim that experimental signals for this new resonance might already be seen in some LHC data. Since our extensive work is covered by several papers, we will summarise here the whole issue, namely: i) the theoretical motivations for a two-mass structure in cutoff $\Phi^4$ theory; ii) the checks from lattice simulations and the prediction $(M_H)^{\rm Theor} = 690\,(30)$ GeV; iii) the present experimental indications of a new, relatively narrow resonance in the expected mass range. This compact presentation will thus give the elements to objectively judge on a relevant question of present-day particle physics.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2025

The 690 GeV scalar resonance

Spontaneous symmetry breaking through the Higgs field has been experimentally confirmed as a basic ingredient of the Standard Model. However, the origin of the phenomenon may not be entirely clear, because, in perturbation theory, the vacuum turns out to be a metastable state. An alternative scenario was proposed that implies a second resonance of the Higgs field ${\cal H}$ with a well delimited mass $(M_H)^{\rm Theor} = 690\,(30)$ GeV. This stabilises the potential, but, owing to an $H$ coupling to longitudinal $W$s with the same typical strength as that of the low-mass state with $m_h= 125$ GeV, it would still remain a relatively narrow resonance. Our scope here is twofold. First, leaving out many details, we outline a simple logical path where the, apparently surprising, idea of such a second resonance follows from basic properties of $\Phi^4$ theories. Secondly, we spell out a definite experimental signature of this resonance that is clearly visible in various LHC data. As a by-product, the ${\cal H} ^3$ term gives $\kappa_\lambda = (M_H/m_h) \sim $ 5.5 consistently with the ATLAS and CMS data.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2025

Additional evidence of a new 690 GeV scalar resonance

An alternative to the idea of a metastable electroweak vacuum would be an initial restriction to the pure scalar sector of the Standard Model, but describing spontaneous symmetry breaking consistently with studies indicating that there are two different mass scales in the problem: a mass scale $M_H$ associated with the zero-point energy and a mass scale $m_h$ defined by the quadratic shape of the potential at its minimum. Therefore, differently from perturbation theory where these two mass scales coincide, the Higgs field could exhibit a second resonance with mass $(M_H)^{\rm Theor} = 690\,(30)$ GeV. This stabilises the potential, but the heavy Higgs $H$ would couple to longitudinal $W$s with the same typical strength as the low-mass state with $m_h=125$ GeV and so would still remain a relatively narrow resonance. While interesting signals from LHC experiments were previously pointed out, we have now enlarged our data sample, sharpened the analysis of some final states, and noted correlations between different channels that point directly to such a second resonance. The combined statistical evidence, even if roughly estimated, is thus so large that the observed deviations from the background cannot represent statistical fluctuations.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2021

The CMB, preferred reference system and dragging of light in the earth frame

The dominant CMB dipole anisotropy is a Doppler effect due to a particular motion of the solar system with velocity of 370 km/s. Since this derives from peculiar motions and local inhomogeneities, one could meaningfully consider a fundamental frame of rest $\Sigma$ associated with the Universe as a whole. From the group properties of Lorentz transformations, two observers, individually moving within $\Sigma$, would still be connected by the relativistic composition rules. But ultimate implications could be substantial. Physical interpretation is thus traditionally demanded to correlating some dragging of light observed in laboratory with the direct CMB observations. Today the small residuals, from Michelson-Morley to present experiments with optical resonators, are just considered instrumental artifacts. However, if the velocity of light in the interferometers is not the same parameter "c" of Lorentz transformations, nothing would prevent a non-zero dragging. Furthermore, observable effects would be much smaller than classically expected and most likely of irregular nature. We review an alternative reading of experiments which leads to remarkable correlations with the CMB observations. Notably, we explain the irregular $10^{-15}$ fractional frequency shift presently measured with optical resonators operating in vacuum and solid dielectrics. For integration times of about 1 second, and typical Central-Europe latitude, we also predict daily variations of the Allan variance in the range $(5\div12) \cdot 10^{-16}$.

physics.gen-ph↗

arXiv2021

A hidden, heavier resonance of the Higgs field

In Veltman's original view, the Standard Model with a large Higgs particle mass of about 1 TeV was the natural completion of non-renormalizable Glashow model. This mass was thus a second threshold for weak interactions, as the W mass was for the non-renormalizable 4-fermion V-A theory. Today, after the observation of the narrow scalar resonance at 125 GeV, Veltman's large-mass idea seems to be ruled out. Yet, this is not necessarily true. Depending on the description of SSB in $\Phi^4$ theory, and by combining analytic calculations and lattice simulations, besides the known particle at 125 GeV, a new resonance of the Higgs field may also show up around 700 GeV. The peculiarity, though, is that this heavier state would couple to longitudinal vector bosons with the same typical strength of the low-mass state and thus represent a relatively narrow resonance. In this way, such hypothetical new resonance would naturally fit with some excess of 4-lepton events observed by ATLAS around 680 GeV. Analogous data from CMS are needed to confirm or disprove this interpretation. Implications of a two-mass structure for radiative corrections are also discussed.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2018

Cosmic Microwave Background and the issue of a fundamental preferred frame

Correlating ether-drift measurements in laboratory and CMB observations in space would confirm the existence of a preferred reference frame. To this end, however, the velocity of light in the interferometers cannot be the same parameter 'c' of Lorentz transformations. Thus, for the earth velocity of 370 km/s, a fundamental 10^(-15) light anisotropy, as presently observed in vacuum and in solid dielectrics, could reveal a 10^(-9) difference in the vacuum refractivity between an ideal freely-falling frame and an apparatus on the earth surface. In this perspective, the stochastic nature of the vacuum could explain the irregular character of the signal and the substantial reduction of its statistical average (10^(-18) or smaller). For the same v=370 km/s the different refractivity, about 10^(-4) and 10^(-5) for air or helium at atmospheric pressure, could also explain the observed anisotropy, respectively about 10^(-10) and 10^(-11). The mechanism enhancing the signal in gaseous matter, but ineffective in solid dielectrics, is naturally identified in a non-local, temperature gradient of a fraction of millikelvin. This is found in all classical experiments and might ultimately reflect the CMB temperature dipole or the fundamental energy flow in a Lorentz-non-invariant vacuum. Clarification requires dedicated experiments and improvements in the data analysis.

physics.gen-ph↗

arXiv2016

Cosmic Background Radiation and `ether-drift' experiments

`Ether-drift' experiments have played a crucial role for the origin of relativity. Though, a recent re-analysis shows that those original measurements where light was still propagating in gaseous systems, differently from the modern experiments in vacuum and in solid dielectrics, indicate a small universal anisotropy which is naturally interpreted in terms of a non-local thermal gradient. We argue that this could possibly be the effect, on weakly bound gaseous matter, of the temperature gradient due to the Earth's motion within the Cosmic Background Radiation (CBR). Therefore, a check with modern laser interferometers is needed to reproduce the conditions of those early measurements with today's much greater accuracy. We emphasize that an unambiguous confirmation of our interpretation would have far reaching consequences. For instance, it would also imply that all physical systems on the moving Earth are exposed to a tiny energy flow, an effect that, in principle, could induce forms of self-organization in matter.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2013

Gravity as an emergent phenomenon: experimental signatures

According to some authors, gravity might be an emergent phenomenon in a fundamentally flat space-time. In this case the speed of light in the vacuum would not coincide exactly with the basic parameter "c" entering Lorentz transformations and, for an apparatus placed on the Earth's surface, light should exhibit a tiny fractional anisotropy at the level 10^{-15}. We argue that, most probably, this effect is now observed in many room-temperature ether-drift experiments and, in particular, in a very precise cryogenic experiment where this level of signal is about 100 times larger than the designed short-term stability. To fully appreciate what is going on, however, one should consider the vacuum as a true physical medium whose fundamental quantum nature gives rise to the irregular, non-deterministic pattern which characterizes the observed signal.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2013

The vacuum as a form of turbulent fluid: motivations, experiments, implications

Basic foundational aspects of both quantum theory and relativity might induce to represent the physical vacuum as an underlying highly turbulent fluid. By explicit numerical simulations, we show that a form of statistically isotropic and homogeneous vacuum turbulence is entirely consistent with the present ether-drift experiments. In particular, after subtracting known forms of disturbances, the observed stochastic signal requires velocity fluctuations whose absolute scale is well described by the average Earth's motion with respect to the Cosmic Microwave Background. We emphasize that the existence of a genuine stochastic ether drift could be crucial for the emergence of forms of self-organization in matter and thus for the whole approach to complexity.

physics.gen-ph↗

arXiv2013

The classical ether-drift experiments: a modern re-interpretation

The condensation of elementary quanta and their macroscopic occupation of the same quantum state, say k=0 in some reference frame Sigma, is the essential ingredient of the degenerate vacuum of present-day elementary particle physics. This represents a sort of `quantum ether' which characterizes the physically realized form of relativity and could play the role of preferred reference frame in a modern re-formulation of the Lorentzian approach. In spite of this, the so called `null results' of the classical ether-drift experiments, traditionally interpreted as confirmations of Special Relativity, have so deeply influenced scientific thought as to prevent a critical discussion on the real reasons underlying its alleged supremacy. In this paper, we argue that this traditional null interpretation is far from obvious. In fact, by using Lorentz transformations to connect the Earth's frame to Sigma, the small observed effects point to an average Earth's velocity of about 300 km/s, as in most cosmic motions. A common feature is the irregular behaviour of the data. While this has motivated, so far, their standard interpretation as instrumental artifacts, our new re-analysis of the very accurate Joos experiment gives clear indications for the type of Earth's motion associated with the CMB anisotropy and leaves little space for this traditional interpretation. The new explanation requires instead a view of the vacuum as a stochastic medium, similar to a fluid in a turbulent state of motion, in agreement with basic foundational aspects of both quantum physics and relativity. The overall consistency of this picture with the present experiments with vacuum optical resonators and the need for a new generation of dedicated ether-drift experiments are also emphasized.

physics.gen-ph↗

arXiv2011

Basic randomness of nature and ether-drift experiments

We re-consider the idea that quantum fluctuations might reflect the existence of an 'objective randomness', i.e. a basic property of the vacuum state which is independent of any experimental accuracy of the observations or limited knowledge of initial conditions. Besides being responsible for the observed quantum behaviour, this might introduce a weak, residual form of `noise' which is intrinsic to natural phenomena and could be important for the emergence of complexity at higher physical levels. By adopting Stochastic Electro Dynamics as a heuristic model, we are driven to a picture of the vacuum as a form of highly turbulent ether, which is deep-rooted into the basic foundational aspects of both quantum physics and relativity, and to search for experimental tests of this scenario. An analysis of the most precise ether-drift experiments, operating both at room temperature and in the cryogenic regime, shows that, at present, there is some ambiguity in the interpretation of the data. In fact the average amplitude of the signal has precisely the magnitude expected, in a 'Lorentzian' form of relativity, from an underlying stochastic ether and, as such, might not be a spurious instrumental effect. This puzzle, however, should be solved in a next future with the use of new cryogenically cooled optical resonators whose stability should improve by about two orders of magnitude. In these new experimental conditions, the persistence of the present amplitude would represent a clean evidence for the type of random vacuum we are envisaging.

physics.gen-ph↗

arXiv2010

Emergent gravity and ether-drift experiments

According to several authors, gravity might be a long-wavelength phenomenon emerging in some 'hydrodynamic limit' from the same physical, flat-space vacuum viewed as a form of superfluid medium. In this framework, light might propagate in an effective acoustic geometry and exhibit a tiny anisotropy that could be measurable in the present ether-drift experiments. By accepting this view of the vacuum, one should also consider the possibility of sizeable random fluctuations of the signal that reflect the stochastic nature of the underlying `quantum ether' and could be erroneously interpreted as instrumental noise. To test the present interpretation, we have extracted the mean amplitude of the signal from various experiments with different systematics, operating both at room temperature and in the cryogenic regime. They all give the same consistent value < A > = O (10^{-15}) which is precisely the magnitude expected in an emergent-gravity approach, for an apparatus placed on the Earth's surface. Since physical implications could be substantial, it would be important to obtain more direct checks from the instantaneous raw data and, possibly, with new experimental set-ups operating in gravity-free environments.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2009

Ultraweak excitations of the quantum vacuum as physical models of gravity

It has been argued by several authors that the space-time curvature observed in gravitational fields, and the same idea of forms of physical equivalence different from the Lorentz group, might emerge from the dynamical properties of the physical flat-space vacuum in a suitable hydrodynamic limit. To explore this idea, one could start by representing the physical vacuum as a Bose condensate of elementary quanta and look for vacuum excitations that, on a coarse grained scale, resemble the Newtonian potential. In this way, it is relatively easy to match the weak-field limit of classical General Relativity or of some of its possible variants. The idea that Bose condensates can provide various forms of gravitational dynamics is not new. Here, I want to emphasize some genuine quantum field theoretical aspects that can help to understand i) why infinitesimally weak, 1/r interactions can indeed arise from the same physical vacuum of electroweak and strong interactions and ii) why, on a coarse-grained scale, their dynamical effects can be re-absorbed into an effective curved metric structure.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2009

Vacuum structure and ether-drift experiments

In the data of the ether-drift experiments there might be sizable fluctuations superposed on the smooth sinusoidal modulations due to the Earth's rotation and orbital revolution. These fluctuations might reflect the stochastic nature of the underlying "quantum ether" and produce vanishing averages for all vectorial quantities extracted from a naive Fourier analysis of the data. By comparing the typical stability limits of the individual optical resonators with the amplitude of their relative frequency shift, the presently observed signal, rather than being spurious experimental noise, might also express fundamental properties of a physical vacuum similar to a superfluid in a turbulent state of motion. In this sense, the situation might be similar to the discovery of the CMBR that was first interpreted as mere instrumental noise.

physics.gen-ph↗

arXiv2009

Do 1/r potentials require massless particles ?

Long-range 1/r potentials play a fundamental role in physics. Their ultimate origin is usually traced back to the existence of genuine massless particles as photons or gravitons related to fundamental properties of continuum quantum field theories such as gauge invariance. In this Letter, it is argued that, in principle, an asymptotic, infinitesimally weak 1/r potential might also occur in the cutoff version of a simple, one-component spontaneously broken Φ^4 theory, after taking into account the peculiar nature of the zero-momentum limit of the connected scalar propagator. Physical interpretation, phenomenological implications and proposals for a new generation of lattice simulations are also discussed.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2008

An alternative heavy Higgs mass limit

After commenting on the present value of the Higgs particle mass from radiative corrections, we explore the phenomenological implications of an alternative, non-perturbative renormalization of the scalar sector where the mass of the Higgs particle does not represent a measure of observable interactions at the Higgs mass scale. In this approach the Higgs particle could be very heavy, even heavier than 1 TeV, and remain nevertheless a relatively narrow resonance.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2008

Precision tests with a new class of dedicated ether-drift experiments

In principle, by accepting the idea of a non-zero vacuum energy, the physical vacuum of present particle physics might represent a preferred reference frame. By treating this quantum vacuum as a relativistic medium, the non-zero energy-momentum flow expected in a moving frame should effectively behave as a small thermal gradient and could, in principle, induce a measurable anisotropy of the speed of light in a loosely bound system as a gas. We explore the phenomenological implications of this scenario by considering a new class of dedicated ether-drift experiments where arbitrary gaseous media fill the resonating optical cavities. Our predictions cover most experimental set up and should motivate precise experimental tests of these fundamental issues.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2007

Flat-space picture of gravity vs. General Relativity: a precision test for present ether-drift experiments

Modern ether-drift experiments in vacuum could in principle detect the tiny refractive index that, in a flat-space picture of gravity, is appropriate for an apparatus placed on the Earth's surface. In this picture, in fact, if there were a preferred reference frame, light on the Earth would exhibit a slight anisotropy with definite quantitative differences from General Relativity. By re-analyzing the data published by two modern experiments with rotating optical resonators, and concentrating on the part of the signal that should be free of spurious systematic effects, we have found evidences that would support the flat-space scenario.

gr-qc↗