ABC Preon Model

The ABC Preon Model is a model for elementary particle physics that involves several preon particles. As with all preon models, the ABC Preon Model is an attempt to model all known particles in a way that involves fewer underlying components than does the present standard model of elementary particle physics. The ABC Preon Model postulates the existence of three particles, named the A, the B, and the C, and proposes that they are bound by a force carried by the neutrino. Since it dovetails into the present standard model, the ABC Preon Model is consistent with the vast majority of the standard model, but its differences lead to additional predictions beyond those made by the standard model.

In the ABC Preon Model, the electron is proposed to be composed of a neutral anti-A particle, a negatively charged B particle and a neutrino. The masses of the A and B particles are 45.6 GeV/c² and 34.8 GeV/c², respectively. In the model, the muon and tauon are identified as excited states of the electron. The model further proposes the existence of a third preon, the C particle, with a mass of 67.9 GeV/c² and an electric charge of +2. Protons are proposed to consist of a C particle, two A particles, one B particle, and three neutrinos that individually bind an A or B to the C. Neutrons are proposed to consist of a C particle, one A particle, two B particles, and three binding neutrinos. The concept of a "neutrinic charge" is proposed, with the C particle having a neutrinic charge of 3, and the A and B particles each having a neutrinic charge of -1. In this way, all known low mass particles (those with masses less than 34.8 GeV/c²) are seen to be states of matter with zero total neutrinic charge. (The anti-A has a neutrinic charge of +1, and when combined with the B neutrinic charge of -1, the massive leptons have zero total neutrinic charge.) Quarks are identified as being the bound state of a C, neutrino, and either an A (for the up quark and charm quark) or a B (for the down quark, strange quark and bottom quark). The ABC Preon Model does not require the existence of a top quark. All baryons (of which protons and neutrons are two types) are made of a C particle, three neutrinos, and A's and B's. Mesons are made of C anti-C pairs combined with a single A or B and a single anti-A or anti-B. In this way, all present identifications of matter in terms of quarks and leptons can be directly mapped over to a new identification in terms of A, B, C and neutrino constituents.

In addition to reducing the number of elementary particles, the ABC Preon Model also reduces the number of forces needed to model nature. Instead of the electromagnetic, gravitational, strong and weak forces of the standard model, the ABC Preon Model has electromagnetic, gravitational and neutrinic forces, reducing the number of known forces from four to three. The ABC Preon Model accomplishes this by identifying the weak force as a quantum tunneling process, rather than a force.

The ABC Preon Model involves a significant philosophical departure from modern advances in high energy physics theory, in that it focuses on entities that are proposed to really exist. This is in contrast with the underpinnings of the standard model which tend to be advanced, abstract and sophisticated mathematical constructs such as a Lagrangian or a Symplectic group. While this departure likely makes it easier for lay people to understand the ABC Preon Model, ironically it makes it harder for those expert in the standard model to grasp it. In the standard model, any discussions of quarks as real physical entities must be heavily nuanced, since the essence of the standard model lies in its underlying equations and not in mental pictures of actual physical entities. The mental pictures of quarks, leptons and Feynman diagrams are really more instructional tools than the basics of the theory. In contrast, for the ABC Preon Model, the essence of the theory is the existence of proposed simple objects that are postulated to exist, which is a style of thinking that has not been popular in high energy physics for several decades.

There is substantial agreement in the experimental record with the predictions of the ABC Preon Model. The ABC Preon Model also provides a very simple basis for all known matter. Additionally, there are many predictions of the ABC Preon Model that have yet to be verified experimentally.

Goals and Motivation

A primary motivation for all preon models is simplicity. While nature may not be simple, science has often advanced by recognizing underlying simplicity. The most famous example is the work of Copernicus and Kepler who replaced a very complicated system of celestial spheres with a much simpler heliocentric system. Advances in understanding the elemental makeup of the world have also involved moving toward simpler underlying models (see below), and there is some likelihood that if a new model is simpler that it may indeed be a better representative of nature than a more complicated model. An additional advantage of simplicity is that simple models are readily understood without the need to be simultaneously aware of many facets all at once. This then allows for a deeper understanding of nature.

Beyond simplicity, another obvious goal is that any physical model must have experimental validity, in that it must agree with the experimental record. Clearly, if a model predicts one thing, and nature unambiguously indicates something else, the model must be set aside or improved.

Secondly, any good model must be experimentally unique. Often, what is touted to be a new theory is, in the end, simply a renaming of things from an old theory. While it may be interesting, the critical issue is whether a theory predicts something different from its competitors so that a test can be done to see which one best represents nature.

History of Elementary Particles Before the Standard Model

Earth, Water, Air and Fire

Many ancient civilizations agreed on an early classical element system that involved four primary building blocks of nature. The ancient elements were considered to be Fire, which was hot and dry, Earth, which was dry and cold, water which was cold and wet, and air, which was wet and hot. This early theory of the constituents of the world largely met the goals of a physical theory, in that it agreed with the experimental observations of the time and it was a very simple world view for the underlying elements of nature. It was also highly successful in its longevity, as the theory of earth, fire, air and water was the predominant theory for thousands of years.

The Four Classical elements

Pre-Chemistry

Over time, mankind continued to acquire experimental knowledge of our world, and this experimentation led to augmentation of the original fire, earth, air and water model. The augmentation led to an increasingly complex model, but a model that still stood the test of time for many centuries. A fifth element was defined as an aether that occupied space. In the eighth century, sulfur and mercury were added by the alchemist Geber to bring the number of perceived elements to seven, and later salt was added as an eighth.

Chemistry

The beginnings of modern chemistry took root in the 1600's with the work of Robert Boyle with his work The Sceptical Chymist and that of sir Francis Bacon who began what became known as the scientific method. In the 1700's Antoine Lavoisier discovered the law of mass conservation, and he is now known as the father of modern chemistry. Around 1810, John Dalton and Amedeo Avogadro worked toward the development of an atomic theory wherein the chemical elements were believed to be embodied in single, small units, called atoms.

The Periodic Table of the Elements

By the 1800's a great many elemental substances had been identified, and many chemical reactions were known. A major advance in chemistry was the periodic table, developed by Mendeleev and Meyer. Mendeleev used the table to predict the existence of a few new elements, and those elements were discovered in time. But as can be seen from the table, the number of elements had gotten to be quite large. Therefore, the underlying model was no longer simple.

Particles Underlying Chemistry

At about the same time that Mendeleev organized the complexity of elements into a powerfully descriptive periodic table, work by Johann Hittorf and Eugen Goldstein began to investigate the existence of cathode rays. Just prior to the beginning of the 20th century, J. J. Thompson and his colleagues identified the cathode rays as being composed as individual particles, and estimated their charge and mass. The mass of that particle (the electron) was observed to be over a thousand times less than that of the atom, and this led Thompson to propose that matter was built from atoms that were essentially balls of positive charge with small, negatively charged electrons embedded inside. This atomic model became known as the plum pudding model of the atom. But less than 15 years later, an experiment was performed by Geiger and Marsden under the direction of Ernest Rutherford that showed evidence that a small positively charged nucleus was at the center of atoms. This planetary model for the atom quickly replaced the older plum pudding model.

Proton Neutron and Electron Comprise Matter

Shortly after the discovery of the nucleus, further experiments done by Rutherford showed that hydrogen nuclei could be forced out of heaver atoms in scattering experiments. Hence, a positively charged particle, called the proton, was identified as a constituent of matter. A series of experiments in the early 1930's discovered yet another type of penetrating substance that was originally thought to be a type of gamma ray, but in 1932 James Chadwick demonstrated that this new radiation was actually a neutral particle with a mass similar to that of the proton, and the new particle was named the neutron. At this point things were again reduced to a very simple model, as the entire world was thought to be made up of atoms, each of which contained electrons, protons and neutrons. The model was even simpler than the older fire, earth, air and water model of the ancients. The electron, proton, neutron model had much more experimental rigor than the classical theories, and the new model led to a diverse array of elements. For the most part, the science of what makes up matter was in a simple, well organized state.

A portion of "the particle zoo".

Yet even at this time, it had already become known that there were a few particles in addition to the electron, proton and neutron. Gamma rays had been discovered in 1900 by Paul Villard, and in 1932 Carl David Anderson discovered the positron, which is an antimatter equivalent of the electron. But things quickly got far more complicated. In 1936 Carl Anderson discovered a particle that was identical in every way to the electron except for mass, as it was about 200 times heavier. But even more surprises were in store. In 1955 the antiproton was discovered by Emilio Segre and Owen Chamberlain, and in 1956 the neutrino was discovered. And throughout the 1950's a rather enormous number of different massive particles were discovered with the technology of particle accelerators and detectors. By the end of the 1950's mankind's knowledge of what the world is made of had again grown to be very complex indeed. Over time, the number of such particles became so large that it was termed a particle zoo. It was clear by the early 1960's that the number of particles discovered was getting so large that there was likely some underlying pattern that could simplify our view of elementary particle physics.

The Standard Model

Elementary Particles of the Original Standard Model

A major step forward in simplifying mankind's view of nature occurred in 1964 when Murray Gell-Mann and George Zweig proposed the quark model. Gell-Mann had used the term quark for the elementary particles, while Zweig had use the term ace. Eventually, the term quark was accepted by the community. In the quark model, hadronic matter is proposed to be built from underlying quarks. Baryons are states that have three bound quarks, while mesons are a bound quark-antiquark pair. Leptons were identified as a separate type of matter. As a result, in 1964, simplicity was reestablished. Nature consisted of three quarks, named up, down, and strange, and four leptons, which were the electron, the muon, and their two associated neutrinos.

The Standard Model of elementary particles (partial depiction), with the three generations of matter, gauge bosons in the fourth column, and the Higgs boson in the fifth.

The initial simplicity of the quark model began to fade into complexity almost immediately. In 1965 Sheldon Lee Glashow and James Bjorken proposed a fourth quark, the charm quark, which was discovered by Burton Richter and Samuel C. C. Ting in 1974. In 1970 Makoto Kobayashi and Toshihide Maskawa theorized that CP violation experimental results could be explained by adding two more quarks, and indeed these quarks were discovered by Fermilab researchers. The bottom quark was discovered in 1977 and the top quark in 1995. Also, over the period between 1974 and 1977, a new lepton, the tau lepton, was discovered at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory by a team of collaborators.

In addition to the quarks and leptons, force carriers are a central part of today's standard model. In 1979, Glashow, Steven Weinberg and Abdus Salam proposed the electro-weak theory of particle interactions to unify the weak and electromagnetic forces in a single theoretical framework. This work predicted the existence of three more particles, which were called the intermediate vector bosons. These weak bosons, called the W and Z, were discovered by a team at CERN led by Carlo Rubbia in 1983. Simon van der Meer enabled the discovery by leading the development of stochastic cooling of particle beams. Note that the W boson comes in two types, one with a positive electric charge and the other negatively charged, while the Z particle has zero electric charge.

The present Standard Model now has many fundamental particles. Above we see all of the elementary particles of the Standard Model, treating particles of different color-charge and antimatter status as the different particles they are.

Despite the simplicity of the standard model, it has several problems that leave it rather unsatisfactory from a philosophical point of view. The first additional complication is that the rules used to form particles involve a color charge. It is of course perfectly acceptable that nature may employ otherwise identical particles that have one of three color charges, but the downside is that this means that there are actually three quarks for each of the six that have been found. The standard model also specifies that there are eight different force carrying particles called gluons. Secondly, each quark and lepton has an antimatter counterpart. Lastly, the Standard model has now found evidence of a Higgs particle. And that leaves a situation where there are 61 elementary particles, since there are 18 quarks, 18 anti-quarks, 6 leptons and 13 force carriers. So once again, our understanding of nature has gotten quite complex.

Origins of The ABC Preon Model

Lepton Modeling

The ABC Preon Model begins with an observation that the decay of the muon is extremely similar to the decay of a hydrogen atom from an excited state into its ground state. The muon decays into an electron, and two neutrinos. Neutrinos are either massless or nearly so. Hydrogen excited into its 2s state decays into its ground state and two photons. The photons are massless. Hydrogen is composed of a positive nucleus and an orbiting electron, and it is bound together by a force mediated by the photon. The starting point for the ABC Preon Model is that the muon and electron are composite particles composed of two sub-particles, one called A and the other B, which are bound by a force mediated by the neutrino.

Hydrogen decaying from 2s state to 1s state, emitting two photons.

Muon decaying to an electron, emitting two neutrinos.

The ABC Preon Model identifies the electron as the ground state of a composite system, the muon as the first excited state, and the tauon as the second excited state of the same composite system. The decay of the muon into the electron is first order forbidden, just as is the case of decay of the hydrogen 2s state into the 1s state. This means that the muon, like hydrogen in its 2s state, is metastable, with a relatively long lifetime before it decays. It is postulated that the tauon is also metastable. And while the force binding the preon particles together is quite strong, neutrinos will still flow freely through matter as long as the cross section for the interaction is low. This is similar to the fact that photons flow freely through glass.

Hydrogen atom consisting of proton and electron bound by electromagnetism.

Leptons modeled as consisting of an anti-A and a B preon bound by a neutrino.

The ABC Preon Model goes on to assign some quantum numbers to the preons. The A preon is assigned to have zero electric charge and the B preon to have an electric charge of minus one. Since the neutrino has zero electric charge, this leaves leptons as having an electric charge of minus one. The neutrino has a half integer spin, and the A and B particles either both bosons or both fermions (which is true has not yet been experimentally determined) so that the composite leptons are fermions. (Bosons have integer spin, fermions have an odd multiple of half integer spin.)

A New Quantum Number for the ABC Preon Model - Neutrinic Charge

In the ABC Preon Model, the force carrier binding the preons together is the neutrino; the new charge associated with this force is called the neutrinic charge. The B particle is assigned a neutrinic charge of -1 and the anti-A particle is assigned a neutrinic charge of +1. The nomenclature introduced in the ABC Preon Model is to have a trailing superscript indicating the electric charge on the preon and a preceding subscript indicating the neutrinic charge on the preon. It is stipulated that composite bound particles must have zero total neutrinic charge.

Hadron Modeling in the ABC Preon Model

First it is good to review hadron modeling from the standard model point of view. Aside from force mediators, any elementary particle found to date can be classified as either a lepton or a hadron, and hadrons come in two types. There are baryons, which by the standard model are proposed to be made of three quarks, and there are mesons, which are proposed to be made of a quark and its antiquark. The delta particle family is a representative baryon family. As can be seen, there are four possible ways to make a delta particle out of up and down quarks, and it is observed in nature that only these four particles are found. The pion meson family is a representative meson family. There are four ways to make pions out of up and down quark-antiquark pairs, and three pions have been found in nature. There is some evidence that the neutral pion is actually a superposition of two different types of quark substructure.

The Delta Baryon and Pion Meson families of particles as described by their quark constituents.

Note that the over-arching rule for making hadronic matter in the standard model is that the total color of all particles must be white, and that one can obtain white particles in one of two ways. One can combine three primary colors, as in the case of the deltas, or one can combine a color with its anti-color, as in the case of the pions. Here we see why baryons are formed of three quarks, since that is how the three color combination can be achieved. And we can see why mesons must consist of quark-antiquark pairs, since that is how a color/anti-color combination can be obtained. In addition to the delta and pion families shown here, there are many, many more similar families of particles found in nature. The quark model allows for the replacement of a down quark by a heavier strange quark, or by an even heavier bottom quark, and it also allows for the up quark to be replaced by a heavier charm quark or an even heavier top quark. It is easy to see that making all permutations of such replacements would lead to an enormous number of particles. Of all particles found to date, there are none that fit outside of the quark, lepton and force carrier model, and hence there is quite good agreement between experiment and the present quark and lepton theory.

The Delta Baryon and Pion Meson families of particles as described by the ABC Preon Model.

In the ABC Preon Model a new particle, called C, is proposed. It is further proposed that the C particle can be bound to three A or B particles. This again leads to the situation where there are only four possible ways to make a delta particle. By assigning the electric charge of the C particle as plus two, the delta particle will have possible charge states of plus two, plus one, zero, and minus one as agreed to by experiment. The mesons can be made by a C particle binding with its antiparticle, with the C particle binding to one additional A or B, and the C antiparticle binding to an anti-A or anti-B. The construction of baryons and mesons in the ABC Preon Model easily follows by assigning a neutrinic charge of plus three to the C particle. (And minus three to the C antiparticle) As with the quark model, additional particles beyond the delta family and pion family can be obtained by having the bindings obtain higher energy states and for the overall particle to be in a state of angular momentum.

It is possible to make an identification between the ABC preons and quarks. A down quark is essentially the combination of a B particle, the binding neutrino, and a portion of the C particle. An up quark is essentially the combination of an A particle, the binding neutrino, and a portion of the C particle. In the ABC Preon Model, quarks don't actually exist as particles. Instead, quarks are identified as a quantum state involving the orbiting A and B preons and the central C preon. As with leptons, this realization allows us to understand how generations of quarks come about in nature. The u and d quarks are the ground state of the system, while the strange quark is the first excited state of the orbiting B particle, and the bottom quark is the second excited state. Similarly, the charm quark is the first excited state of the orbiting A particle, and the top quark (if it were to exist, see below) is the second excited state. Since the ABC Preon Model provides identifications of how leptons and quarks are constructed, all particles of the standard model can then be identified in terms of preons as well.

The standard notation for antiparticles is used in diagrams, where a bar appearing above the letter indicates an antiparticle. The double bond between the C particle and the C antiparticle is analogous to chemistry, where atoms share electrons in chemical bonding. Here, the binding neutrinos play the role that electrons play in chemistry. Each C particle and antiparticle have three neutrino sites available for bonding, while the A and B particles and antiparticles have a single site for a binding neutrino. Note that in the ABC Preon Model, quarks are identified as simply being a notation for a binding between C particles and either an A or B particle. While massive leptons can be isolated as an A antiparticle bound to a B particle, a quark can never be isolated by itself since it is in reality the manifestation of a portion of a C particle bound to an A or a B. This is why free quarks have never been observed.

Elementary Particles of the ABC Preon Model

The Elementary Particles of the ABC Preon Model.

At this point we can formalize the constituents of the ABC Preon Model. The model consists of three particles. The A particle has zero electric charge and a neutrinic charge of minus one. The B particle has an electric charge of minus one and a neutrinic charge of minus one. And the C particle has an electric charge of plus two and a neutrinic charge of plus three. The antiparticles have the opposite charges of the particles. Two force carriers have been proposed. The photon, which carries the electromagnetic force, and the neutrino, which carries the neutrinic force.

Weak Interactions in the ABC Preon Model

Beta Decay in the Standard Model

A very important class of interactions are the weak interactions. In terms of the standard model, the weak interactions cause quarks to change from one kind to another, and also allow for lepton creation. The best known of the weak interactions takes place when a neutron decays into a proton via beta decay, emitting an electron and a neutrino in the process. (Note that while an antineutrino is typically specified, the generic expression neutrino is used for both neutrinos and antineutrinos in the ABC Preon Model.) In the standard model, one of the down quarks emits a virtual weak vector boson with negative charge, and since the W has a negative electric charge this changes the charge state of one of the down quarks from minus one third to plus two thirds converting that down quark to an up quark. The virtual W particle then decays into an electron and a neutrino. By converting a down quark to an up quark, the neutron is transformed into a proton during this process.

Beta Decay in the ABC Preon Model

Beta Decay of a Neutron in the ABC Preon Model.

In the ABC Preon Model the neutron consists of a C particle, two B particles, an A particle and the associated binding neutrinos. The decay process is for one of the B particles to tunnel out of its binding relationship. Once the B particle has separated away from the C particle, a particle antiparticle pair of A particles, as well as a pair of neutrinos, is formed out of the vacuum. (Vacuum formation of particle antiparticle pairs is very common in physics.) From this intermediate state, the anti-A particle and one of the neutrinos combine with the liberated B particle to form an electron. The remaining A particle takes the place that the original B particle had, and this leaves a proton. Lastly we have one neutrino left over to describe the usual beta decay.

Generic Weak Decays in the ABC Preon Model

In the ABC Preon Model beta decay is modeled to be analogous to alpha decay from a Uranium nucleus. In alpha decay, it is known that the process occurs via quantum tunneling. Alpha particles from within the Uranium nucleus are trapped by the nuclear binding forces within the nucleus. However, there is a small portion of the alpha particle's quantum mechanical wave function that extends far enough away from the nucleus so that once the alpha particle materializes at that distant point the alpha particle can be freed. Since the wave function density is so small at that distant point, the probability for decay is small, and therefore decay of the Uranium nucleus takes a long time. In the ABC Preon Model beta decay is a similar process, although it also involves pair creation from vacuum. The wave function for the B preon will have a small value at a point far enough away from the C preon that allows formation of a free electron and a free neutrino and conversion of the neutron to a proton. Within the ABC Preon Model all weak decays can be handled similarly, since a B preon can tunnel out of any of the down, strange or bottom quarks, and an A can tunnel out of either the up or charm quarks.

No Weak Force in the ABC Preon Model

The ABC Preon Model identifies the weak decays as radioactive tunneling decays, and hence there is no weak force in the model. Hence, in addition to drastically reducing the number of elementary particles, the ABC Preon Model also reduces the number of forces employed by nature. Instead of the electromagnetic, gravitational, strong and weak forces of the standard model, the ABC Preon Model has electromagnetic, gravitational and neutrinic forces. An oddity of the standard model - that the weak force has no direction - is removed with the observation that the weak forces are viewed as quantum tunneling events.

Determination of the Preon Masses

Proton-Antiproton Collider Results: Determination of the A and B Preon Masses

Beyond beta decays there are many high energy physics experiments relevant to the ABC Preon Model. Especially important are proton antiproton collision experiments experiments done in CERN in 1983 that led to the discovery of the W and Z particles of the standard model. Carlo Rubbia and Simon van der Meer received Nobel prizes for their important contributions to these discoveries. In a proton antiproton collider, a beam of protons is accelerated to nearly the speed of light, and a beam of antiprotons is also accelerated to nearly the speed of light. The beams are sent in opposing directions and made to collide. Particles formed by the collision are then studied in large detectors. After colliding, these particles can create many different combinations of particles.

A Proton - Antiproton Collision as envisioned in the ABC Preon Model.

As understood by the ABC Preon Model, one possible result of a proton antiproton collision is for a B to be separated from a proton and an anti-A from an antiproton. Next, a pair of neutrinos can form out of the vacuum, with one going to bind the B and anti-A into a massive lepton, and the other neutrino being free. (Note that vacuum creation of particle antiparticle pairs is a very frequent and well known occurrence in high energy physics experiments.) Hence it is readily seen how proton antiproton collisions can result in a situation where we have a massive lepton and a neutrino formed. There is of course also a shower of particles caused by the other proton and antiproton fragments. This is exactly what has been seen to occur in experiments in what the standard model interprets as W events. The center of mass of such events has been measured to be about 80.4 GeV/c². Since in the ABC Preon Model this phenomena is seen to be the result of A and B preons, this allows a determination that the mass of the A preon plus the mass of the B preon is 80.4 GeV/c².

W Events in Proton Antiproton colliders as envisioned in the ABC Preon Model. A B particle is separated from a proton, and an anti-A from an antiproton. A neutrino anti-neutrino pair forms out of vacuum. The neutrino binds with the B and anti-A to form a massive lepton. The massive lepton and anti-neutrino have a combined energy of the mass of the freed Anti-A plus B particles multiplied by c², or 80.4 GeV - which is the W Signature observed in proton antiproton experiments.

A second possible outcome of proton antiproton collisions is for an A particle to be separated from a proton and an anti-A from an antiproton. In this case, a B anti-B pair and a pair of neutrinos can be formed from the vacuum. The B and one neutrino will bind with the anti-A to form a massive lepton, while the anti-B and the other neutrino will bind with the A particle to form a massive anti-lepton. This is exactly the signature found for what is called by the standard model as Z events in high energy physics experiments. The center of mass of these events have been measured to be 91.2 GeV/c². Since in the ABC Preon Model this phenomena is caused by the freeing of an A and an anti-A preon, this allows us to arrive at the relation that twice the mass of the A preon is 91.2 GeV/c². Hence, the mass of the A preon is determined to be 45.6 GeV/c², and from the expression in the preceding paragraph the mass of the B preon is 34.8 GeV/c². Another possibility is for a C anti-C pair to form in the vacuum instead of the B and anti-B. In this case, the signature will be a quark-antiquark signature as the C-neutrino-A forms one quark, and the anti-C-anti-neutrino-anti-A forms the antiquark.

Z Events as envisioned in the ABC Preon Model. An A particle is separated from a proton, and an anti-A from an antiproton. A neutrino anti-neutrino pair and a B anti-B pair form out of vacuum. The neutrino binds with the B and anti-A to form a massive lepton, and the anti-neutrino binds with the anti-B and A to form a massive anti-lepton. The massive lepton and anti-lepton have a combined energy of the mass of the freed Anti-A plus A particles multiplied by c², or 91.2 GeV - which is the Z Signature observed in proton antiproton experiments. Quark anti-quark production is analogously possible by replacing the B anti-B pair by a C anti-C pair in the diagram.

Deep Inelastic Collision Results: Determination of the C Preon Mass

The mass of the C preon can be determined by deep inelastic collision experiments, which are done by having a high energy electron beam collide with hadronic matter. For the case of the proton, these experiments observe that 35% of the proton momentum is contained by particles with positive charge, 17% by particles with negative charge, and 47% by particles of neutral charge. (Note that it is simple rounding error that leads the sum of these values to be 99%.) The parameters of the standard model were adjusted and various processes proposed so that the standard model agrees with these values by assigning 35% of the proton momentum to be carried by positively charged up quarks, 17% of the proton momentum to be carried by negatively charged down quarks, and the remaining 47% to be carried by charge neutral gluons.

In the ABC Preon Model, it is readily observed that if we set the mass of the C particle to be 67.9 GeV/c², then 35% of the mass of the proton consists of the positively charged C particle, 18% by the mass of the negatively charged B particle, and 47% by the mass of the two uncharged A particles. Hence, by fitting a single parameter - the C mass - to the data, the ABC Preon Model fits all three data points. The ABC Preon Model does not need an additional proposal to explain the result.

Large Binding Energy in the ABC Preon Model

With the masses for the A, B, and C preons determined to be 45.6 GeV/c², 34.8 GeV/c².and 67.9 GeV/c², respectively, it is seen that the preons have much greater masses than the leptons they make up. The mass of the lightest massive lepton, the electron, is only 511 keV/c². Therefore the ABC Preon Model proposes that the constituents of the electron weigh about 100,000 times more than the electron itself. Of course such a situation is indeed entirely possible through the equation E = mc². The effect of binding energy reducing the mass is well known in nuclear physics: the atomic nuclei that bind protons with neutrons have lower masses than the sum of the masses of the protons and neutrons making them up. Similarly, in the ABC Preon Model, the light mass of the electron shows that there is a considerable amount of binding energy between the A and the B. In fact, the binding energy is so large that the mass of the electron is only a small fraction of the mass of its constituents. This condition also holds for the hadrons and mesons, as they are much lighter than their constituents as well. In fact, it is this relation that allows the deep inelastic scattering events to have such a clean result. Since the masses of the A, B, and C particles are so large, the deep inelastic scattering results are not dominated by recoil, and the simple result mentioned above is obtained.

Proton - Proton Collider Experimental Results and the ABC Preon Model

The Top Quark Signature as Explained in the ABC Preon Model

It may at first seem that the ABC Preon Model cannot be reconciled with the experimental evidence for the top quark. Recall our earlier depiction of the up family of quarks as the binding of an A particle to a C particle. This implies that there should be no binding at all if the A can be freed from its binding to the C. As an approximate upper limit, it should not be possible to have a quark form at a mass above twice the mass of the A, since putting that much energy into the bond should be enough to free the A from the C particle. Twice the mass of the A is of course 91.2 GeV/c², and yet the top quark has been reported to exist with a mass of 172.4 GeV/c² which appears at first to present a difficulty for the ABC Preon Model.

Top Quark Events as envisioned in the ABC Preon Model. A C particle and three B particles are separated from the two protons. A neutrino anti-neutrino pair and an A anti-A pair form out of vacuum. The neutrino binds with the B and anti-A along with the neutrinos form the W event as described above, one remaining B and the C combine to form a bottom quark, and the remaining A and B, along with the bottom quark, will combine either together or with additional particle-antiparticle pairs formed from vacuum. The combined mass of the freed C plus the three B particles multiplied by c², is 172.3 GeV - consistent with the top quark signature observed in proton proton experiments.

But the important thing to note is that the top quark is theorized to decay very quickly. The experimental evidence consists of a bottom quark and a W boson. And it is clearly possible to create a bottom quark in conjunction with a W boson in the ABC Preon Model. This can be done when a C particle and three B particles are produced in a proton-proton collision. This combination of particles has a total mass of 172.3 GeV, and of course there is some range of uncertainty in both the top quark measurement, and in the A, B and C preon masses presented here. So this combination has a mass that is a candidate for what is presently identified as the top quark. An A anti-A pair can form out of vacuum, with the anti-A B combination recognized as leading to the various W signatures, and one of the C B bindings forms a bottom quark to complete the top quark signature.

The Higgs Boson Signature as Explained in the ABC Preon Model

The discovery of the Higgs Boson in 2012 is again a situation where the particle itself has not been discovered, but rather, it has been discovered through the decay products observed. In the case of the Higgs Boson signature the decay products as understood via the standard model involve a pair of fermions, a pair of intermediate vector bosons, a pair of gluons or a pair of photons. Enough of these decay events have been found at a mass of about 126 GeV/c² for the discovery to be considered confirmed.

Higgs Events as envisioned in the ABC Preon Model. An A particle, B particle and anti-A particle are formed from the collision of two protons. A B anti-B pair form out of vacuum, with one B combining with a portion of the proton fragments. The remaining A and B can react with the anti-A and anti-B, respectively to result in what is understood as Z pair events, or they can react with the anti-B and anti-A, respectively to result in what is understood as W pair events. Production of lepton pairs is possible by having the anti-A combine with the B, and the anti-B combine with the A directly, along with a neutrino anti-neutrino pair. The combined mass of the freed A, B and anti-A multiplied by c², is 126.0 GeV - consistent with the Higgs signature observed in proton proton experiments.

When viewed from the ABC Preon Model, the decay products are seen to result from the production of free A, anti-A and B particles. The cumulative mass of these three preons is twice the mass of the A (91.2 GeV/c²) plus the mass of the B (34.8 GeV/c²) for a total mass of 126 GeV/c². The various decay products are understood by different instances of particle-antiparticle pairs forming and combining.

Electron Positron Collider Experimental Results and the ABC Preon Model

High energy physics experimentation is also done with electron positron colliders. In the ABC Preon Model, an electron, composed of an anti-A preon and a B preon, collides with a positron, which is an A preon and an anti-B preon. It is mentioned above how the production of a free A anti-A pair leads to what is known as the Z Signature in proton antiproton colliders, and the same production can easily take place in electron positron colliders.

Z Event Signature in Lepton Colliders via the ABC Preon Model

Recall from above that the Z signature will result when the mass of the collision is such that the B and Bbar can annihilate, leaving a free A Abar pair. Once that happens, a B Bbar pair and a neutrino pair can be produced from vacuum, leading to two leptons which is the signature for the Z particle. But in addition to forming lepton pair, it is also possible that C Cbar pairs can form from vacuum as well, and that will lead to various quark antiquark combinations. Hence, the ABC Preon Model nicely dovetails with the Standard Model predictions for these events. All of the various lepton and quark production channels known to exist in the standard model can also occur through the ABC Preon Model. Of course this is the idea behind all preon models.

Presently Unverified Predictions of the ABC Preon Model

The preceding sections have discussed how the ABC Preon Model correctly predicts the results of experiments done in proton-antiproton colliders, proton-proton colliders and lepton colliders. However, the ABC Preon Model also makes many additional predictions that have not yet been verified by experiment. This section will discuss those additional predictions.

An Event Signature in Lepton Colliders at 69.6 GeV/c²

In addition to the Z event signature that results from an A Abar pair being produced in a lepton collider, it is also possible to produce B Bbar pairs in lepton colliders as well. In this case, massive leptons will be produced through A Abar and neutrino pair creation, and quark antiquark pairs will also be produced through C Cbar production. This leads to a predicted event signature at 69.6 GeV/c² in electron positron colliders that is similar in many ways to the Z event signature observed at 91.2 GeV/c². The 69.6 GeV/c² event signature has not yet been experimentally verified.

Events Predicted in Proton-Antiproton Colliders.

In addition to the Z event signature that results from an A Abar pair being produced in a proton-antiproton collider, it is also possible to produce B Bbar pairs in proton-antiproton colliders as well. This leads to a predicted event signature at 69.6 GeV/c² in proton-antiproton colliders that is similar in many ways to the Z event signature observed at 91.2 GeV/c². The 69.6 GeV/c² event signature has not yet been experimentally verified.

The ABC Preon Model also predicts several new classes of physical results at proton-antiproton colliders. Collisions can knock off both A particles from the proton, and both anti-A particles from the antiproton, and this would lead to formation of what would be described in the standard model as Z pair production. Similarly, if one of the A's is replaced by a B in the previous example, the collision would result in a W and Z signature. Or, if an anti-B and B are produced along with an A and an anti-A, the signal would be reported as a W pair.

But there are also some additional possibilities at proton antiproton colliders beyond those predicted by the standard model. It is possible to produce an A and a B and two anti-B's with a total rest mass energy of 150 GeV, or two B anti-B pairs at a rest mass energy of 139.2 GeV. It is also possible to produce free C particles, although that would likely result in many A and B particles freed as well, since the C particle is bound to two A's and a B in the proton. If the C and anti-C annihilate, the energy liberated could form additional particle pairs, along with the freed A and B particles. Hence, the ABC Preon Model predicts a large amount of event signatures still possible to discover at proton antiproton colliders.

Events Predicted in Proton-proton Colliders.

As discussed above, the ABC Preon Model interprets the Top Quark Signature as the formation of a C particle and three B particles with a rest mass energy of 172.3 GeV. But it is also clearly possible to produce the following: a C particle, an A, and two B's with a rest mass energy of 183.2 GeV; a C particle, two A's, and a B with a rest mass energy of 194 GeV; and a C particle and three A's with a rest mass energy of 204.8 GeV. The latter three predictions have not been experimentally verified.

Also discussed above is the ABC Preon Model interpretation of the Higgs Signature as the formation an A particle, an anti-A particle and a B particle. The cumulative rest mass energy for those particles is 126 GeV. But it is also clearly possible to produce the following: a B particle and two anti-B particles with a cumulative rest mass energy of 104.4 GeV, a B particle an anti-B particle and an A particle with a cumulative rest mass energy of 115.2 GeV, and two A particles and an anti-A particle with a cumulative rest mass energy of 136.8 GeV. The latter three predictions have not been experimentally verified.

There are also numerous other possibilities for production of A, B and C particles as energies of the collisions are increased.

Challenges for the ABC Preon Model

The ABC Preon Model presently faces some challenges. Firstly, it has very limited calculational abilities. Ideally, there should be some underlying theory that can be used to derive the masses of the various composite particles that are known to exist. Note that the standard model also has difficulties in this regard. Secondly, the ABC Preon Model makes numerous predictions for experimental results that have not yet been verified.

Advantages of the ABC Preon Model

Since it is a preon model, the ABC Preon Model can be used to construct all the particles that the Standard Model can. But beyond that, the ABC Preon Model has some advantages as compared to the Standard Model:

Attributes of the Standard Model include:

• The Standard Model employs 61 elementary particles
• The Standard Model identifies 4 forces in nature
• In the Standard Model, the weak force has magnitude, but not direction
• The Standard Model provides no explanation for the three generations of particles
• The quarks of the Standard Model can never be isolated by themselves

Attributes of the ABC Preon Model include:

• The ABC Preon Model employs 8 elementary particles
• The ABC Preon Model identifies 3 forces in nature
• In the ABC Preon Model, all forces have both magnitude and direction
• The ABC Preon Model provides an explanation for the three generations of particles
• All elementary particles defined by the ABC Preon Model can be isolated

There is also some important experimental support for the ABC Preon Model. Once the masses of the A, B and C preons are set by initial experimental evidence, further experiments do not require additional parameters to be postulated in order to describe the results. Results of deep inelastic scattering offer an additional data point, while the mass of the top quark events and the mass of the Higgs boson events offer two more data points, and no additional free parameter is required to arrive at these results. While it could indeed be coincidental, it can also be considered to be strong evidence in favor of the ABC Preon Model. As discussed above in more detail, the ABC Preon Model makes several additional predictions. These predictions continue to be ongoing tests for the veracity of the the model.

See also

• Standard Model
• Rishon model

External links

• The A-B-C Preon Model