#1 Cosmological defects in the 3-Higgs Doublet Model

A popular way to solve some current problems with the Standard Model of particle physics, such as Dark Matter, is by extending its Higgs sector. One example is the 3-Higgs doublet model (3HDM) which contains a rich particle content and a complex potential. Depending on the symmetry we impose, we can have disconnected minima in the potential. During the  evolution of the early universe different physical structures could originate due to this topology (domain walls, vortices, etc…).In this project, our first objective is to numerically locate the minima of the potential. We then use a premade code to simulate the boundary between two regions of space that have settled in different degenerate minima. Our hope is that if the minima are disconnected in potential space we can find the appearance of a charged condensate of particles on the physical border (domain wall).

Requirements: 2nd year students and above. Some programming experience.

Number of students: Can be either 1 or 2 students.