1992/09/20 by R. Foot, R Foot, H. Lew +3 · 5 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Charge (physics) #Electric charge #Lagrangian #Massless particle #Neutrino Physics Research #Noncommutative and Quantum Gravity Theories #Quantization (signal processing) #Quantum and Classical Electrodynamics #Standard Model (mathematical formulation) #hep-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1088/0954-3899/19/3/005
published as J.Phys.G19:361-372,1993; Erratum-ibid.G19:1067,1993 · 18 pages, LaTeX, UM-P-92/52
arxiv created 1992/09/20 · openalex publication_date 1993/03/01 · arxiv updated 2009/11/30 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
It has been established experimentally for a long time that the electric charges of the observed particles appear to be quantized. An approach to understanding electric-charge quantization that can be used for gauge theories with explicit U(1) factors-such as the standard model and its variants-is pedagogically reviewed and discussed. This approach uses the allowed invariances of the Lagrangian and their associated anomaly cancellation equations. The authors demonstrate that charge may be dequantized in the three-generation standard model with massless neutrinos, because differences in family-lepton numbers are anomaly free. They also review the relevant experimental limits. Their approach too charge quantization suggests that the minimal standard model should be extended so that family-lepton number differences are explicitly broken. They briefly discuss some candidate extensions (e.g. the minimal standard model augmented by Majorana right-handed neutrinos).