Paper detail

Phenomenology of a left-right-symmetric model inspired by the trinification model

The trinification model is an interesting extension of the Standard Model based on the gauge group $SU(3)_C\times SU(3)_L\times SU(3)_R$. It naturally explains parity violation as a result of spontaneous symmetry breaking, and the observed fermion masses and mixings can be reproduced using only a few parameters. We study the low-energy phenomenology of the trinification model in order to compare its predictions to experiment. To this end, we construct a low-energy effective field theory, thereby reducing the number of particles and free parameters that need to be studied. We constrain the model parameters using limits from new-particle searches as well as precision measurements. The scalar sector of the model allows for various phenomenological scenarios, such as the presence of a light fermiophobic scalar in addition to a Standard-Model-like Higgs, or a degenerate (twin) Higgs state at 126 GeV. We show how a measurement of the Higgs couplings can be used to distinguish such scenarios from the Standard Model. We find that the trinification model predicts that several new scalar particles have masses in the $\mathcal{O}\left(100\text{ GeV}\right)$ range. Moreover, large regions of the parameter space lead to measurable deviations from Standard-Model predictions of the Higgs couplings. Hence the trinification model awaits crucial tests at the Large Hadron Collider in the coming years.