Vacuum structure of the left-right symmetric model

Understand

The left-right symmetric model (LRSM), originally proposed to explain parity violation in low energy processes, has since emerged as an attractive framework for light neutrino masses via the seesaw mechanism.

• The scalar sector of the minimal LRSM consists of an $SU(2)$ bi-doublet, as well as left- and right-handed weak isospin triplets, thus making the corresponding vacuum structure much more complicated than that of the Standard Model.
• In particular, the desired ground state of the Higgs potential should be a charge conserving, and preferably global, minimum with parity violation at low scales.
• We show that this is not a generic feature of the LRSM potential and happens only for a small fraction of the parameter space of the potential.