Acoustic phonons in a magnetized vacuum? First-principle lattice results on the mass spectrum of the electroweak model in a strong magnetic field
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arXiv
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| Format: | Preprint |
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2026
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| _version_ | 1866912836909793280 |
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| author | Chernodub, M. N. Goy, V. A. Molochkov, A. V. |
| author_facet | Chernodub, M. N. Goy, V. A. Molochkov, A. V. |
| contents | We use numerical Monte Carlo simulations to determine the mass spectrum of the bosonic sector of the electroweak model in an external magnetic field of the electroweak-scale strength ($10^{20}\,{\rm T}$) at zero temperature. It is known that as the magnetic field gets stronger, the electroweak vacuum undergoes two consecutive crossover-type transitions, passing from (i) the conventional symmetry-broken homogeneous phase to (ii) an intermediate inhomogeneous vortex phase characterized by a (superconducting) condensate of electrically charged $W$ bosons and then to (iii) a homogeneous phase with a restored electroweak symmetry. We show that the spin component of the $W$ boson aligned with the direction of the magnetic field is the lightest excitation in all three phases. Its mass continuously decreases in the low-field broken phase and becomes very small in the intermediate phase. We argue that this nearly massless excitation corresponds to a Goldstone acoustic phonon mode associated with vibrations of the lattice of electroweak vortices. In the high-field symmetry-restored phase, where the vortices disappear, the lightest $W$ mass rises again. Neither Higgs nor $Z$ boson masses vanish across all studied phases and crossover transitions. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2601_14573 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Acoustic phonons in a magnetized vacuum? First-principle lattice results on the mass spectrum of the electroweak model in a strong magnetic field Chernodub, M. N. Goy, V. A. Molochkov, A. V. High Energy Physics - Lattice Superconductivity High Energy Physics - Theory We use numerical Monte Carlo simulations to determine the mass spectrum of the bosonic sector of the electroweak model in an external magnetic field of the electroweak-scale strength ($10^{20}\,{\rm T}$) at zero temperature. It is known that as the magnetic field gets stronger, the electroweak vacuum undergoes two consecutive crossover-type transitions, passing from (i) the conventional symmetry-broken homogeneous phase to (ii) an intermediate inhomogeneous vortex phase characterized by a (superconducting) condensate of electrically charged $W$ bosons and then to (iii) a homogeneous phase with a restored electroweak symmetry. We show that the spin component of the $W$ boson aligned with the direction of the magnetic field is the lightest excitation in all three phases. Its mass continuously decreases in the low-field broken phase and becomes very small in the intermediate phase. We argue that this nearly massless excitation corresponds to a Goldstone acoustic phonon mode associated with vibrations of the lattice of electroweak vortices. In the high-field symmetry-restored phase, where the vortices disappear, the lightest $W$ mass rises again. Neither Higgs nor $Z$ boson masses vanish across all studied phases and crossover transitions. |
| title | Acoustic phonons in a magnetized vacuum? First-principle lattice results on the mass spectrum of the electroweak model in a strong magnetic field |
| topic | High Energy Physics - Lattice Superconductivity High Energy Physics - Theory |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.14573 |