20 research outputs found
Constraints on the SU(3) Electroweak Model
We consider a recent proposal by Dimopoulos and Kaplan to embed the
electroweak SU(2)_L X U(1)_Y into a larger group SU(3)_W X SU(2) X U(1) at a
scale above a TeV. This idea is motivated by the prediction for the weak mixing
angle sin^2 theta_W = 1/4, which naturally appears in these models so long as
the gauge couplings of the high energy SU(2) and U(1) groups are moderately
large. The extended gauge dynamics results in new effective operators that
contribute to four-fermion interactions and Z pole observables. We calculate
the corrections to these electroweak precision observables and carry out a
global fit of the new physics to the data. For SU(2) and U(1) gauge couplings
larger than 1, we find that the 95% C.L. lower bound on the matching (heavy
gauge boson mass) scale is 11 TeV. We comment on the fine-tuning of the high
energy gauge couplings needed to allow matching scales above our bounds. The
remnants of SU(3)_W breaking include multi-TeV SU(2)_L doublets with electric
charge (+-2,+-1). The lightest charged gauge boson is stable, leading to
cosmological difficulties.Comment: 17 pages, LaTeX, 4 figures embedded, uses JHEP.cl
The Possibilist Transactional Interpretation and Relativity
A recent ontological variant of Cramer's Transactional Interpretation, called
"Possibilist Transactional Interpretation" or PTI, is extended to the
relativistic domain. The present interpretation clarifies the concept of
'absorption,' which plays a crucial role in TI (and in PTI). In particular, in
the relativistic domain, coupling amplitudes between fields are interpreted as
amplitudes for the generation of confirmation waves (CW) by a potential
absorber in response to offer waves (OW), whereas in the nonrelativistic
context CW are taken as generated with certainty. It is pointed out that
solving the measurement problem requires venturing into the relativistic domain
in which emissions and absorptions take place; nonrelativistic quantum
mechanics only applies to quanta considered as 'already in existence' (i.e.,
'free quanta'), and therefore cannot fully account for the phenomenon of
measurement, in which quanta are tied to sources and sinks.Comment: Final version with some minor corrections as published in Foundations
of Physics. This paper has significant overlap with Chapter 6 of my book on
the Transactional Interpretation, forthcoming from Cambridge University
Press:
http://www.cambridge.org/us/knowledge/isbn/item6860644/?site_locale=en_US
(Additional preview material is available at rekastner.wordpress.com)
Comments welcom
Planck-Scale Physics and Neutrino Masses
We discuss gravitationally induced masses and mass splittings of Majorana,
Zeldovich-Konopinski-Mahmoud and Dirac neutrinos. Among other implications,
these effects can provide a solution of the solar neutrino puzzle. In
particular, we show how this may work in the 17 keV neutrino picture.Comment: 10 pages, IC/92/79, SISSA-83/92/EP, LMU-04/92 (the preprint number
has been corrected; no other changes
Planck scale effects in neutrino physics
We study the phenomenology and cosmology of the Majoron (flavon) models of
three active and one inert neutrino paying special attention to the possible
(almost) conserved generalization of the Zeldovich-Konopinski-Mahmoud lepton
charge. Using Planck scale physics effects which provide the breaking of the
lepton charge, we show how in this picture one can incorporate the solutions to
some of the central issues in neutrino physics such as the solar and
atmospheric neutrino puzzles, dark matter and a 17 keV neutrino. These
gravitational effects induce tiny Majorana mass terms for neutrinos and
considerable masses for flavons. The cosmological demand for the sufficiently
fast decay of flavons implies a lower limit on the electron neutrino mass in
the range of 0.1-1 eV.Comment: 24 pages, 1 figure (not included but available upon request), LaTex,
IC/92/196, SISSA-140/92/EP, LMU-09/9