Experimental and theoretical arguments for the number and the mass of the Higgs particles

Data from relatively recent experiments with linear colliders relevant to the mass of the Higgs are used for orientation purposes to find a satisfactory theory for determining the number and the mass of these elusive particles. The proposed minimally supersymmetric extension of the standard model is based on successive symmetry breaking of higher dimensional space with a maximal number of Killing's vectors, i.e. a maximally symmetric space. It is shown that the most likely scheme for the Higgs is that consistent with five physical Higgs particles, two charged and three neutrals. These five physical particles result from eight components that are most probably not directly observable. Important for the description of these particles is the mixing parameter tan beta and the cross-section. Guided by the results obtained by fitting the scarce experimental data, the most likely range in which the mass of the Higgs particle may be found is between 160-18OGeV with 161.8 and 169.4GeV being the most likely two values. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.