FERMION MASS SCALE AND POSSIBLE EFFECTS OF HIGGS BOSONS ON EXPERIMENTAL OBSERVABLES

We consider a conventional SU(2) ⊗ U(1) gauge theory with two (or more) Higgs doublets, but with the fermion mass scale determined by the vacuum expectation values of the Higgs particles rather than determined only by widely differing Higgs couplings. Such an alternative to the standard theory cannot be excluded by current data; the Higgs-fermion coupling is allowed to be at least 70 times that of the standard Weinberg-Salam theory. In such a model, one has the possibility of observing large and interesting effects due to the Higgs particles in the theory. These include decays of heavy quarkonium states and Drell-Yan production of ℓ+ℓ-(ℓ = e, μ, τ). Restrictions due to charged Higgs scalar currents (in π, μ and β decay and in neutrino production) take unexpected forms and are not too stringent. The best place to search for a Higgs is in K+N→μ+μ-X (subsect. 3.5). © 1979.