Cheng, Bryan (2026) On the prediction of the Omega minus baryon. [Preprint]

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Abstract

This paper analyses the prediction of the Omega minus baryon. Confirmation of the particle’s existence was a turning point for the acceptance of Gell-Mann and Ne’eman’s Eightfold Way model, affirming its empirical success. As a result, it laid the groundwork for the quark model, ensuring confidence in the viability of Eightfold Way and turning physicists towards a deeper investigation of the scheme’s SU(3) structure.

The prediction of the Omega minus particle has been analysed by philosophers as a non-standard form of inference, primarily due to the involvement of group theory in making an existence claim. Prominent accounts include Bangu (2008), Ginammi (2016), Bueno and French (2018), and Tricard (2023). These authors present a variety of interpretations, but tend to treat the inference either as a heuristic in the context of discovery, or as relying on premises that lack justification.

I will argue that the features of the Eightfold Way mean that the inference featured heuristic arguments, but that they were justified precisely because of the group theory involved, alongside the explicitly tentative nature of Eightfold Way. In particular, I will propose a form of inference that I call possibility counting from symmetries (PCS), where the possibility space of certain theories are constructed based on group-theoretic tools, thereby justifying the prediction of new entities. Further cases of PCS in particle physics suggest the need for a strong empirical basis justifying the introduction of new grouptheoretic structure into models and theories.

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Item Type:	Preprint
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID Cheng, Bryan mrbryancheng@gmail.com 0000-0003-1787-0240
Keywords:	Particle physics, prediction, symmetries, history of physics
Subjects:	General Issues > Experimentation Specific Sciences > Physics > Fields and Particles General Issues > History of Science Case Studies
Depositing User:	Bryan Cheng
Date Deposited:	17 Apr 2026 13:16
Last Modified:	17 Apr 2026 13:16
Item ID:	29168
Subjects:	General Issues > Experimentation Specific Sciences > Physics > Fields and Particles General Issues > History of Science Case Studies
Date:	2026
URI:	https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/29168

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