Ultraviolet origin of the Higgs mass (multiplet, compositeness, or string excitation)

Ascertain whether the Higgs mass originates from one of the following ultraviolet structures: inclusion of the Higgs within a larger multiplet, compositeness of the Higgs as a bound state of fermions, or realization of the Higgs as an excitation in string theory; determine which framework, if any, accounts for the low-energy Higgs parameter.

Background

In discussing whether the Higgs boson should be regarded as ontologically fundamental, the paper notes that some beyond-the-Standard-Model frameworks propose specific ultraviolet origins for the Higgs mass. However, these proposals remain speculative and unconfirmed experimentally.

The authors explicitly state that it is unknown which of these UV realizations (if any) is correct, identifying a concrete unresolved question about the Higgs mass's origin within a more fundamental theory.

References

Koren (2020) expects the Higgs mass to be a parameter resulting from input values of a UV theory in low-energy theory, even if it is unknown whether the Higgs mass ultimately emerges as part of a larger multiplet, as a bound state of fermions, or as an excitation in string theory.

— Deriving Ontological Statements from the Unnatural Higgs Mass  (2403.20282 - Branahl, 2024) in Section 4.2 (Selective Realism Allows for a Fundamental Higgs in Preliminary EFTs)