Charge quantization from a number operator
We explain how an unexpected algebraic structure, the division algebras, can be seen to underlie a generation of quarks and leptons. From this new vantage point, electrons and quarks are simply excitations from the neutrino, which formally plays the role of a vacuum state. Using the ladder operators...
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Elsevier
2015-03-01
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| Series: | Physics Letters B |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0370269315000337 |
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doaj-68f0af7aaf7e4fb186b80cece7928a482020-11-24T21:30:58ZengElsevierPhysics Letters B0370-26932015-03-01742195199Charge quantization from a number operatorC. Furey0Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 2Y5, Canada; University of Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada; Correspondence to: Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 2Y5, Canada.We explain how an unexpected algebraic structure, the division algebras, can be seen to underlie a generation of quarks and leptons. From this new vantage point, electrons and quarks are simply excitations from the neutrino, which formally plays the role of a vacuum state. Using the ladder operators which exist within the system, we build a number operator in the usual way. It turns out that this number operator, divided by 3, mirrors the behaviour of electric charge. As a result, we see that electric charge is quantized because number operators can only take on integer values.Finally, we show that a simple hermitian form, built from these ladder operators, results uniquely in the nine generators of SUc(3) and Uem(1). This gives a direct route to the two unbroken gauge symmetries of the standard model.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0370269315000337 |
| collection |
DOAJ |
| language |
English |
| format |
Article |
| sources |
DOAJ |
| author |
C. Furey |
| spellingShingle |
C. Furey Charge quantization from a number operator Physics Letters B |
| author_facet |
C. Furey |
| author_sort |
C. Furey |
| title |
Charge quantization from a number operator |
| title_short |
Charge quantization from a number operator |
| title_full |
Charge quantization from a number operator |
| title_fullStr |
Charge quantization from a number operator |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Charge quantization from a number operator |
| title_sort |
charge quantization from a number operator |
| publisher |
Elsevier |
| series |
Physics Letters B |
| issn |
0370-2693 |
| publishDate |
2015-03-01 |
| description |
We explain how an unexpected algebraic structure, the division algebras, can be seen to underlie a generation of quarks and leptons. From this new vantage point, electrons and quarks are simply excitations from the neutrino, which formally plays the role of a vacuum state. Using the ladder operators which exist within the system, we build a number operator in the usual way. It turns out that this number operator, divided by 3, mirrors the behaviour of electric charge. As a result, we see that electric charge is quantized because number operators can only take on integer values.Finally, we show that a simple hermitian form, built from these ladder operators, results uniquely in the nine generators of SUc(3) and Uem(1). This gives a direct route to the two unbroken gauge symmetries of the standard model. |
| url |
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0370269315000337 |
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AT cfurey chargequantizationfromanumberoperator |
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