Abstract

We study dynamical symmetry breaking in the Standard Model including the next-to-leading order terms. We introduce at a high, but finite, energy scale Lambda a top quark condensate H={t {bar t}} and derive, using path integral methods, the effective potential including quadratic fluctuations in the scalar field H. We neglect the contributions of all components of the massive electroweak gauge bosons. The existence of a non-trivial minimum in the effective potential leads to the condition that the cut-off Lambda is limited from above: Lambda < Lambda_{crit} approx 4.7 m_t^{phys.} (for N_c = 3), and to a new lower bound for the 4-fermion coupling a = (G N_c Lambda^2)/(8 pi^2) > 1.60. Similar results are obtained if we demand, instead, that the next-to-leading order contributions not shift the location z=(m_t^{bare}/Lambda)^2 of the minimum drastically, e.g.~by not more than a factor of 2. The results are reproduced diagrammatically, where the leading plus all the next-to-leading order diagrams in the (1/N_c)-expansion are included. Dominant QCD effects are also included, but their impact on the numerical results is shown to be small.