arivero said:
Well, the problem here is that we have a bit of circularity if we assume that the CKM matrix (and then the "most likely" paths) is fixed after or at the same time that the masses. Could it be possible to postulate another "W" with another (dual, orthogonal, reciprocal?) CKM matrix so that the same criteria should select the italic triples and reject the ones in bold?
The italic triples are impossible because they have the same charge and the only mechanism for flavor changing in the Standard Model requires that you alternate quark electric charges at each step. by one full unit of electric charge. This isn't circular reasoning, it just a fundamental feature of how the W boson works in the Standard Model. And, it is, in general, possible to order any combination of masses from heaviest to lightest without loss of generality.
The structure of the CKM matrix also does seem more fundamental than the quark masses. Indeed, in the exercise that follows in the rest of this post, one can sketch out a toy model of how one could cut the number of non-neutrino parameters of the Standard Model from 19 to 6 with a slight hypothetically possible tweak to the extended Koide rule model arivero has suggested to make it more accurate, a discovery of a relationship of the aggregate fundamental fermion masses and fundamental boson masses to the Higgs vev suggested by C & LP, a possible special relationship of the two electroweak constants to each other at the Higg vev energy scale, and a tweak to the definition of the Cabibbo angle to reflect the discovery of a third generation of fundamental fermions after it was initially defined.
To be clear, I'm not actually arguing that this toy model is the key to the relationship between the fundamental constants of the Standard Model that could greatly reduce their number. Instead, I'm illustrating what new "within the Standard Model" physics that could do that ought to look like, as a motivational exercise to suggest that we aren't as far from making really major progress in greatly reducing the universe of Standard Model physical constants than it might seem. We aren't that far from the promised land, and we are approaching the point where an Einstein-like genius could, in just a few years, reveal a lot of the connections that had been opaque or purely conjectural until we had accurate enough measurements of the fundamental constants to make provable statements about their relationships.
Conjectures Re Fundamental SM Masses
The fermion masses could quite conceivably emerge dynamically with just a single parameter to set the overall fundamental particle mass scale for both fundamental fermions and fundamental bosons.
On the fundamental boson side, the Weinberg angle is the inverse tangent of the bare electromagnetic force gauge coupling constant g' divided by the bare weak force gauge coupling constant g. The magnitude of the fundamental electric charge "e", in turn, is the bare weak force gauge coupling constant g times the sine of the weak force mixing angle (and thus can be determined solely from g and g'). The mass of the W and Z bosons can be computed from g, g' and the Higgs vacuum expectation value v (246.22 GeV). The measured value of the Higgs boson mass is strongly consistent with the square of the Higgs boson mass is equal to v
2/2-(M
W)
2-(M
Z)
2. So, all of the fundamental boson masses can be determined from g, g' and the Higgs vev, removing three parameters from the Standard Model.
The sum of the square of the fermion masses, likewise, is very nearly equal to v
2/2. As you, arivero, have demonstrated, a couple of extensions of Koide's rule can get you very close to all of the nine fundamental charged fermion masses from the electron mass and the muon mass, if only a quirks in the extension of Koide's rule for quarks can be ironed out properly (most likely by making the appropriate adjustment for the down type quark missing from the triple with a middle mass up type quark, or visa versa). Indeed, with the Higgs vev to set an overall mass scale, the only other parameter you need use that approach to get all nine fundamental fermion masses is the ratio of electron mass to the muon mass.
So, it seems attainable to get all nine of the charged fundamental fermion masses, and all three of the fundamental massive boson masses, from two of the three SM coupling constants, the Higgs vev, the ratio of the electron mass to the muon mass, and the CKM matrix. This would reduce the number of experimentally measured parameters in the Standard Model by 10 out of 26.
Conjectures Re CKM Matrix
The CKM matrix can be expressed quite accurately in a parameterization of just one real parameter (the Cabibbo angle) and one complex parameter associated with CP violation, because in the Wolfenstein parameterization Aλ
2 is equal to (2λ)
4 at the 0.1 sigma level of precision, and there is no place in the Wolfenstein parameterization of the CKM matrix where this substitution cannot be made. This reduces the number of CKM matrix parameters from 4 to 3.
Combined with the mass conjectures above, that would reduce the number of Standard Model parameters from 26 to 15 (of which 7 are for neutrinos).
The key point about the structure of the CKM matrix as expressed in the Wolfenstein parameterization that makes it seem more fundamental is that, up to adjustments for CP violation, this parameterization suggests that the probability of a first to second generation transition (or second to first generation transition) is λ, that the probability of a second to third generation (or third to second generation) transition is (2λ)
4 , and that the probability of a first to third generation (or third to first generation) transition is (2λ)
5 (i.e.
the product of the probability of making first one of the single generation step transitions and then the second).
The probability of transitioning to a quark of the same generation is the residual probability after the probability of the other two options is subtracted out.
The CKM matrix, so parameterized, suggests an almost atomic energy shell-like sequence of transition probabilities between generations that one can imagine popping out easily from some more fundamental theory that is really more straight forward.
Crazy Talk
Making One Electroweak Coupling Constant Derived
g + g', the sum of the two dimensionless electroweak coupling constants, at the W boson mass, are just a wee bit over 1. But, both of these constants run with energy scale, and it is very tempting to imagine the possibility that at some energy scale, such as the Higgs vev, that g+g' are exactly equal to 1.
If this were the case, we would replace one of the two dimensionless electroweak coupling constants in the set of Standard Model parameters with the Higgs vev, reducing the number of experimentally measured parameters of the Standard Model apart from the neutrino sector, from 8 to 7.
Deriving Wolfenstein CKM Parameter λ From The Electroweak Coupling Constants
It is also tempting to think that the sine of the Cabibbo angle could have a functional relationship of some kind to the Weinberg angle, in some way that could reconcile their 2.48% discrepancy, perhaps by redefining the Cabibbo angle. For example, one could imagine redefining it as the inverse tangent of (the absolute value of CKM matrix element Vus plus the absolute value of CKM matrix element Vub) divided by the absolute value of CKM matrix element Vud which would increase the sine of the Cabibbo angle to about 0.22867, and then multiplying this time one plus the fine structure constant (which is roughly 1/137), which would bring it to 0.23034. This would be within one standard deviation of the square of the sine of the Weinberg angle at the Z boson energy scale given the precision of current experimental measurements (the precision of the Weinberg angle measurement is about six times greater than the precision of the Cabibbo angle measurement).
The extension of the definition of the Cabibbo angle to include the addition of CKM matrix element Vub is very natural. The Cabibbo angle was originally defined before the third generation of Standard Model fermions was discovered. In a two fermion generation Standard Model that Cabibbo angle was simultaneous the probability of a transition to a non-first generation quark and the probability of a transition from a first to a second generation quark. Including the CKM matrix element for a transition to a third generation would generalize it using the latter interpretation of its meaning, rather than the former, which were both identical in the two generation case.
The inclusion of a factor of one plus the fine structure constant is less obvious and somewhat arbitrary. But, given that we are talking about an electroweak process that always involves a W boson with has both a weak force coupling and an electromagnetic coupling, it would hardly be stunning that a formula to derive from first principles a probability of quark generation transitions from one generation to another might involve both the weak mixing angle and the electromagnetic coupling constant.
This would make the Cabibbo angle a function of the two electroweak coupling constants, and they, in turn, could conceivably be a function of either one of those constants and the Higgs vev. You could then work out the Wolfenstein parameter λ, from the redefined Cabibbo angle.
This would mean that the Standard Model experimentally measured parameters (outside the neutrino sector) could be reduced to just six if something along the lines of the kind of toy models I am discussing as conjectures could be worked out:
1. The strong force coupling constant.
2. The value of one of the electroweak coupling constant at the Higgs vev energy scale.
3. The Higgs vev.
4. The ratio of the muon mass to the electron mass.
5.-6. The complex valued CP violating parameter of the CKM matrix in the Wolfenstein parameterization.
We know 2, 3 and 4 to extreme precision. We know 1, 5 and 6 to moderate precision.
This would still leave in the neutrino sector three mass eigenvalues and four PMNS matrix parameters. Discovery of a Koide-like relationship for the neutrino masses might reduce the number of neutrino sector parameters from 7 to 6 that could be confirmed when they could actually be measured more precisely. But, we are too far away from having sufficiently accurate measurements of the PMNS matrix parameters (particularly the Dirac CP violating phase) to be able to speculate about possible relationships between them in more than an idle way at this point.
Really, Really Crazy Talk
For what it's worth, I think we are also at a similar juncture with the dark matter-dark energy problem. I think we could find a modification of gravity that solves both problems in one fell stroke while eliminating the cosmological constant as well, in just a few inspired years of articles from the right scholar (my eyes are on Alexandre Deur or someone follow up on his insights).
Between the SM's 26 constants, GR's 2 constants (Newton's constant and the cosmological constant), Plank's constant and the speed of light, we current have a total of 30 fundamental experimentally measured constants.
I think we could cut the total down to 15 while simultaneously solving the dark matter and dark energy issues. And, given that 6 of those remaining 15 would be for the neutrino sector, some of those could probably be trimmed somehow as well with one or two more breakthroughs in the neutrino sector.
Of course, all of those extra relationships and the reduced number of pieces of the puzzle, might in turn increase the likelihood that someone could find a yet deeper relationship that is even more reductionist and fundamental.