Higgs particles

The theoretical work on models of the electroweak interaction and simple grand unified models with a nonstandard set of Higgs particles is reviewed. Emphasis is placed on light and even strictly massless Higgs particles: Goldstone and pseudo-Goldstone bosons. It is shown that such bosons arise in a natural way in the theory if the Higgs particles are in fact composite. The low-energy effective Lagrangian of these particles is studied. A detailed study is made of the problem of CP breaking in a strong interaction and of a natural solution of this problem through the introduction of a pseudo-Goldstone particle: an axion. The theory of the “standard” axion and its experimental status are reviewed. Possible “invisible” and “visualized” axions are discussed, as are certain astrophysical aspects of the existence of an axion. By analogy with the axion, an analysis is made of another hypothetical particle: the strictly massless Goldstone boson or arion. Model-independent properties of the arion are determined. The similarity between the arion fields and magnetic fields and the differences between these fields are shown. Possible methods for detecting an arion field are discussed. An experiment which has set a limit on the strength of the arion interaction is described. Neutral Goldstone bosons whose emission is accompanied by changes in fermion flavors (“familons”) are discussed. Two versions of the theory with a Goldstone boson (a majoron) which arises upon a spontaneous breaking of lepton number are described.