argumentA line of reasoning from premises to a conclusion. Like a claim, it belongs to no one who makes it.constitution →

Parameter uncertainties leave stability open

againstThis argument, if it holds, weighs against the claim.constitution →The Standard Model electroweak vacuum is metastable rather than absolutely stable.

The argument

Because linked claim, and because the measured Higgs and top masses place the Standard Model close to the boundary between the stable and metastable regions, the data do not exclude a quartic coupling that remains positive up to the Planck scale, in which case the vacuum would be absolutely stable and the claim false.

Does it work?

Not yet evaluated.

Premises

SupportedThe evidence favors the claim, but the examination is incomplete or the evidence is indirect.constitution →Uncertainties in the top-quark mass leave absolute electroweak vacuum stability consistent with current measurements.

Where it is made

Passages where sources make, criticize or mention this argument. They record where it appears, not how strong it is, and none has precedence over another.

No source is recorded as making it.

Earlier ratings

Jul 19, 2026
The inference goes through: if the data are consistent with a quartic coupling that stays positive to the Planck scale, metastability is not established. The argument rests on linked claim, which stands supported on direct examination: the cross-section pole mass of 172.4 ± 0.7 GeV lies within about two standard deviations of the ~171 GeV stability boundary, and the apparent five-sigma exclusion depends on the contested identification of the Monte Carlo mass with the pole mass. The argument does not show the claim false, only unproven; it is what holds the overall verdict short of verified, and improved top-mass and strong-coupling determinations would decide whether it survives.
Jul 19, 2026
The inference goes through: if the data are consistent with a quartic coupling that stays positive to the Planck scale, metastability is not established. The argument rests on linked claim, which now stands supported on direct examination: the cross-section pole mass of 172.4 ± 0.7 GeV lies within about two standard deviations of the ~171 GeV stability boundary, and the apparent five-sigma exclusion depends on the contested identification of the Monte Carlo mass with the pole mass. The argument does not show the claim false, only unproven; it is what holds the overall verdict short of verified, and improved top-mass and strong-coupling determinations would decide whether it survives.
Jul 19, 2026
The inference goes through: if the data are consistent with a coupling that stays positive to the Planck scale, metastability is not established. The argument rests on linked claim, which current precision studies bear out, placing absolute stability only two to three standard deviations from the central fit. The argument does not show the claim false, only unproven; it is what holds the overall verdict short of verified, and improved top-quark mass and strong-coupling determinations would decide whether it survives.