Probing the Higgs mechanism via γγ→W+W−

We investigate the sensitivity of the reaction γγ→${\mathit{W}}^{+}$ ${\mathit{W}}^{\mathrm{-}}$ to the Higgs sector based on the complete one-loop corrections in the minimal standard model and the gauged nonlinear σ model. While this sensitivity is very strong for the suppressed cross section of equally polarized photons and longitudinal W bosons, it is only marginal for the dominant mode of transverse polarizations. The corrections within the σ model turn out to be UV finite in accordance with the absence of ln${\mathit{M}}_{\mathit{H}}$ terms in the standard model with a heavy Higgs boson.