Sp(4) gauge theory on the lattice: towards SU(4)/Sp(4) composite Higgs (and beyond)

Abstract

The Sp(4) gauge theory with two Dirac fundamental flavours provides a candidate for the microscopic origin of composite-Higgs models based on the SU(4)/Sp(4) coset. We employ a combination of two different, complementary strategies for the numerical lattice calculations, based on the Hybrid Monte Carlo and on the Heat Bath algorithms. We perform pure Yang-Mills, quenched computations and exploratory studies with dynamical Wilson fermions. We present the first results in the literature for the spectrum of glueballs of the pure Sp(4) Yang-Mills theory, an EFT framework for the interpretation of the masses and decay constants of the lightest pion, vector and axial-vector mesons, and a preliminary calculation of the latter in the quenched approximation. We show the first numerical evidence of a bulk phase transition in the lattice theory with dynamical Wilson fermions, and perform the technical steps necessary to set up future investigations of the mesonic spectrum of the full theory.

Comments: References added, discussions expanded, figures improved, typos fixed. Version accepted for publication on JHEP