Complexity of chaotic fields and standard model parameters

Abstract

In order to understand the parameters of the standard model of electroweak and strong interactions (coupling constants, masses, mixing angles) one needs to embed the standard model into some larger theory that accounts for the observed values. This means some additional sector is needed that fixes and stabilizes the values of the fundamental constants of nature. In these lecture notes we describe in nontechnical terms how such a sector can be constructed. Our additional sector is based on rapidly fluctuating scalar fields that, although completely deterministic, evolve in the strongest possible chaotic way and exhibit complex behaviour. These chaotic fields generate potentials for moduli fields, which ultimately fix the fundamental parameters. The chaotic dynamics can be physically interpreted in terms of vacuum fluctuations. These vacuum fluctuations are different from those of QED or QCD but coupled with the same moduli fields as QED and QCD are. The vacuum energy generated by the chaotic fields underlies the currently observed dark energy of the universe. Our theory correctly predicts the numerical values of the electroweak and strong coupling constants using a simple principle, the minimization of vacuum energy. Implementing some additional discrete symmetry assumptions one also obtains predictions for fermion masses, as well as a Higgs mass prediction of 154 GeV.Comment: 27 pages, 7 figures. Invited lectures given at the Erice summer school `The Logic of Nature, Complexity and New Physics: From Quark-Gluon Plasma to Superstrings, Quantum Gravity and Beyond' (Erice, 29 Aug.-7. Sept. 2006