# A Vector mass

1. Jan 19, 2017

### spaghetti3451

I hear the phrase vector mass being used a lot in discussions of various models in particle physics.

But I am not exactly sure what it means.

There is no Wikipedia article on this term. Is vector mass somehow different from scalar mass?

The only possible mass terms in the Lagrangian arise due to quadratic self-interactions and interactions between different fields. In this respect, we have a scalar mass and a mass matrix respectively.

But what exactly is a vector mass?

2. Jan 19, 2017

### Staff: Mentor

Can you provide a technical reference that uses the term?

3. Jan 19, 2017

### spaghetti3451

The paragraph before Lagrangian 1.1 mentions that $M_0$ and $M_1$ are vector masses.

4. Jan 19, 2017

### Staff: Mentor

Okay this paper describes a 5D particle theory and it has yet to be peer reviewed. The use of vector mass is the authors description of things in their theory.

Do you have a peer reviewed reference?

Hopefully a PF science advisor will comment here. (@Nugatory or @PeterDonis or @Dale or @Doc Al )

5. Jan 19, 2017

### spaghetti3451

I don't have a peer reviewed reference, but the authors are very famous in the pheno and string community, so I guess this paper carries weight anyway.

6. Jan 19, 2017

### spaghetti3451

7. Jan 19, 2017

### Staff: Mentor

I found references to vector bosons and vector mesons but not vector mass.