strings as preons: does string theory allow muons to decay directly into e- + y

[bananan]

strings as preons: does string theory allow muons to decay directly into e- + photon, given that the only difference between an electron and a muon, in string theory, is the string's tension? Of course, that's not how muons decay, (they decay into a W- boson, which decays into an electron and electron neutrino) but in string theory, all particles of the standard model are just different frequencies of one fundamental string. Graphically, it's not all that much different than Bilson's ribbon model, where all particles are made of braiding of a ribbon. In strings, all particles of the standard model are made of one string, whose frequency (tension) differs.

If string theory is unable to prevent muons from decaying directly into electrons and photons, in contradiction to observation, doesn't this provide evidence that string theory is false?

String theory has always struck me as a kind of preon theory.

would string theory suffer from many of the problems preons theory have, including mass paradox and t'Hooft anomy matching?

However string theory explains the decay of a fundamental string of a muon into a W- boson, rather than directly into an electron and photon, could that explanation be used for preon theory? However string theory gets around mass paradox or t'Hooft anomly matching, could those explanations be applied to proposed preon models?

[arivero]

I do not know how do the particles appear in the string model, but I am almost sure it is not about frequencies. Anyone willing to explain?

[selfAdjoint]

I do not know how do the particles appear in the string model, but I am almost sure it is not about frequencies. Anyone willing to explain?


Ah, but it is. The particle spectrum of the string is constructed from the normal modes of its vibration. And normal modes are a set of "pure frequencies" of a quantum oscillator, which can be used to generate the given vibration.

[bananan]

Ah, but it is. The particle spectrum of the string is constructed from the normal modes of its vibration. And normal modes are a set of "pure frequencies" of a quantum oscillator, which can be used to generate the given vibration.

If string theory is unable to prevent muons from decaying directly into electrons and photons, in contradiction to observation, doesn't this provide evidence that string theory is false?

[selfAdjoint]

the only difference between an electron and a muon, in string theory, is the string's tension

Certainly not all string models of low energy physics obey this. Some of them have the strings wrapped n times around some arm of a C-Y manifold for the different generations, which would preclude the decay you mention, and others would regard different low energy particles as different strings spanning two (possibly different) branes. I don't know the details of any of this; Zuebach's book hs an example of one such model. But the simple model you quote is probably only some oversimplification from a popularized book.

[arivero]

Certainly not all string models of low energy physics obey this. Some of them have the strings wrapped...
So it is not about frequencies in a fundamental way.