Gomes, Henrique (2025) Particles before symmetry. [Preprint]
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Abstract
The Standard Model of particle physics is usually cast in symmetry-first terms. On this approach, one begins with a symmetry group and postulates matter fields as objects transforming under its representations, without requiring that the group be grounded in, or derived from, independent geometric structures. Recently, a geometry-first formulation has been proposed, in which the relevant symmetries are not fundamental. In this paper I extend this approach to two central mechanisms of the Standard Model: spontaneous symmetry breaking and the Yukawa coupling, both essential for particles to acquire mass. These reformulations offer alternative explanations cast in purely geometric terms. In particular, the quantisation of charge arises here as a purely geometric consequence of the tensorial construction of matter fields from the fundamental bundles—a mechanism that is both more general and more transparent than the usual topological account based on the compactness of symmetry groups. More generally, I argue that a symmetry-first account in terms of principal and associated bundles admits a genuine geometry-first counterpart only under certain strict conditions.
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| Item Type: | Preprint | ||||||
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| Keywords: | Symmetry, fiber bundles, standard model, particle theory. | ||||||
| Subjects: | Specific Sciences > Physics > Classical Physics Specific Sciences > Physics > Fields and Particles Specific Sciences > Physics > Symmetries/Invariances |
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| Depositing User: | Dr Henrique Gomes | ||||||
| Date Deposited: | 06 Mar 2026 13:28 | ||||||
| Last Modified: | 06 Mar 2026 13:28 | ||||||
| Item ID: | 28465 | ||||||
| Subjects: | Specific Sciences > Physics > Classical Physics Specific Sciences > Physics > Fields and Particles Specific Sciences > Physics > Symmetries/Invariances |
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| Date: | 2025 | ||||||
| URI: | https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/28465 |
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