A new theoretical paper demonstrates that the mass of elementary particles such as the Z and W bosons may arise from twisted geometries with hidden dimensions.
This work outlines a way to bypass the Higgs field as a source of particle mass, providing a new tool for understanding how the Higgs field itself might have emerged, and a possible way to resolve some of the persistent gaps in the Standard Model of particle physics.
“In our image, matter arises from the resistance of the geometry itself, not from external fields,” says theoretical physicist Richard Pinčák of the Slovak Academy of Sciences.
Related: The Higgs boson may not be the gateway to new physics after all
The Higgs field was first proposed in the 1960s as a way to explain why elementary particles have mass—a huge problem that has hindered the creation of consistent particle physics models. Physicists were able to build the Standard Model that we rely on today thanks in part to the Higgs field.
Here’s how it works. Imagine the universe is filled with invisible goo. Any particle that travels through the universe also travels through this goo, and each particle interacts with it slightly differently.
Particles that interact strongly with sticky matter, like wading through mud, behave as “heavy” particles such as W and Z bosons. Particles that barely interact are “light”, such as electrons. Photons don’t interact with it at all. This interaction is called the Higgs mechanism, and it explains the particle mass very neatly.
We know the Higgs field is real because its quantum ripple, the Higgs boson, was finally discovered with great confidence in 2012 at the Large Hadron Collider. However, this does not mean that the Higgs mechanism is the be all and end all.
For example, we still don’t know why the Higgs field has the properties it does. The Higgs field solution also doesn’t explain dark matter or dark energy, or why the Higgs field exists in the first place.
We’re missing something somewhere — and Pinčák and his colleagues think some clues may lie in the hidden geometry, based on their study of a seven-dimensional space called G.2 manifold.
Manifolds can describe the curvature of seemingly flat space at different scales. (Yan Yuanyuan/Moment/Getty Images)
A manifold is a mathematical space – a general term used for any “shape” that can have curves, folds or twists. Physicists often use manifolds to describe the geometry of spacetime, or the hidden extra dimensions proposed in theories such as string theory.
These spaces can have more directions than the up and down, left and right, front and back that are familiar in everyday life. Some manifolds require the full seven independent directions. A manifold with a specific seven-dimensional structure arranged in a very tightly constrained manner is called a G2 manifold.
The researchers developed a new equation called G2-Ricci Flow allows them to simulate G How2 Various changes occur over time.
“Just like in organic systems, such as the twist in DNA or the handedness of amino acids, these extradimensional structures can possess a torsion, an intrinsic twist,” explains Pinčák.
“When we let them evolve in time, we found that they can form stable configurations called solitons. These solitons can provide a purely geometric explanation for phenomena such as spontaneous symmetry breaking.”
A soliton is like a single, self-sustaining wave that maintains its shape forever. Researchers discovered that their G2 The manifold relaxes into such a stable configuration – and that configuration has a twist, or twist, which is imprinted on the W and Z bosons, producing exactly the same mass-imparting effect as the Higgs mechanism.
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The results also preliminarily indicate that the accelerated expansion of the universe may be related to the curvature generated by the torsion of G.2 Many aspects can be taught. And if this torsion field behaves as a field, it should manifest itself as particles, just as the Higgs field produced the Higgs boson.
The researchers named the hypothetical particle Torstone and described how it would behave.
If it existed, Torstone might be detectable in particle collider anomalies, strange glitches in the cosmic microwave background, or even gravitational wave glitches. Its existence is far from proven, but if torsion fields exist, now we know where to start looking.
It was some pretty wild and exciting stuff, but so was the Higgs Field for its time – and it took nearly 50 years to be proven. Hopefully we won’t have to wait that long to get answers about possible G2 Various, but so far this approach holds promise for solving some pressing problems.
“Nature often prefers simple solutions,” Pinchak said.
“Perhaps the mass of the W and Z bosons does not come from the famous Higgs field, but directly from the geometry of seven-dimensional space.”
The study was published in Nuclear PhysicsB.
