# vectorlike fermion

by wphysics
Tags: fermion, vectorlike
 P: 20 In many papers about hep theory, I can find the concept, vectorlike fermion. But, I cannot get the exact meaning of vectorlike fermion. I would like you guys to explain vectorlike fermion. Thank you.
 Sci Advisor P: 869 It would help if you give some references where they talk about this. Without context it is hard to answer your question. If I do the googling for you, I come across this paper, http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstr.../1/0000431.pdf where they seem to explain the term in the introduction very clearly. If you still don't grasp the idea, you should be a bit more specific :)
 Sci Advisor P: 3,696 The definition is clear enough. In the Standard Model, the left-handed fermions form isospin doublets, while the right-handed ones form isospin singlets. So the usual mass term, being a product of the two, requires the help of the Higgs field to be gauge invariant. But for these vectorlike fermions, the left- and right-handed components are supposed to transform the same way, making the mass term invariant independently of the Higgs. The question I have is, why do they refer to them as vector-like.
The notion of vector-like originates in the property of the current that couples to the gauge field in question. With a Dirac fermion $\Psi$, the current $\bar{\Psi}\gamma^\mu\Psi$ is a vector, while $\bar{\Psi}\gamma^\mu\gamma^5\Psi$ is an axial vector. The left-chiral current of the weak interaction is $\bar{\Psi}\gamma^\mu(1-\gamma^5)\Psi$, hence the name of the "V-A theory."
 Sci Advisor HW Helper PF Gold P: 2,606 If by "they," you mean del Aguila et al, the vector-like couplings are listed in Table 1. A vector-like coupling to the Z does not include the $\gamma^5$ term. There's no connection between $c_A$ and $T^3$, as the former is identically zero for the new particles. They also allow for the possibility of weak isospin doublet, in which case the W couples to a charged vector current like $\bar{N}\gamma^\mu E$.