Minimalistic Musings about the Standard Model

Martinus (“Tini”) Veltman’s early contributions to the Standard Model were essential for its success. After some nostalgic reminiscences, I turn to the Standard Model with a minimalistic attitude, the point of view that beyond the SM there is only the Planck scale. Known since long, the gravitational force can be obtained as the gauge theory of local Poincaré symmetry, called gauge gravity. This gauge theory of gravity embodies per se a Palatini formulation. This causes the potential of non-minimally coupled Higgs inflation to have an intriguing improved large field behaviour. Some of its effects are experimentally accessible or refutable. The question of quantum corrections is discussed.