The concept of mass explained by the Higgs mechanism is able to include all concepts of mass, inertial mass, gravitational mass, mechanical mass, electromagnetic mass [1], kinematic mass, static mass, longitudinal mass, transverse mass [2], bare mass ...... ? Is it the Higgs field that leads to the mass-energy equation? How are coupling relationships established? Do the Couplings Transfer Energy-Momentum?
Although there are many different sub-concepts of mass, a distinguishing feature is that the mass of an object is not reflected, recognisable, or measurable when it is not interacting. We can think of all mass as a property of resistance that only presents itself when an object's state of motion changes§. The so-called "rest mass" can only be regarded as a representation of the amount of static energy, and not vice versa.
Thus, it is clear that masses are essentially the same, differing only in size and form*. This also implies that no matter how many differences there are in the occasions of interaction, as long as the required dimension is the same, they are the same mass. In this way, the Equivalence Principle in GR need not be regarded as a specific condition.
However, mass is not constant, and the magnitude of an object's mass in SR changes according to the Lorentz transformation. This predicts that the mass of an object is related to the increase or decrease in the energy of the object and is bounded by the speed of light.
Higgs physics suggests [3] that the mass of bosons is given by the Higgs mechanism [4]; that the mass of fermions is also given by the Higgs field [10], although this is still an open question [5]; and that Higgs particles themselves give their own mass [3], although this is not a clear-cut conclusion either [6].The Higgs field is a scalar field that pervades space, and is the same as the other elementary particle fields, electron fields, quark fields, etc., co-existing in the vacuum**. They all appear to have the same status, except for the Higgs mechanism.
However, the current Higgs mechanism has some obvious explanation missing.
1) Why does the Higgs field selectively couple to bosons? I.e., how does the Higgs field recognise the bosons W±, Z and γ, g, all of which have energy and perform the same function, and to which the Higgs field selectively assigns mass, or not.
2) The magnitude of the coupling coefficient of the Higgs field determines the mass size of the fermions [10]. Then, the mass hierarchy of the three generations of fermions is determined by the Higgs field¶.Why should the particles all have different couplings coefficients gj to the Higgs field? and where do these values come from[7][8]? Before there is mass, fermions have exactly the same quantum number and they are indistinguishable [9]†. How does the Higgs field recognise these particles? The obvious requirement is that they must have additional parameters, or other physical quantities that do not present . At the same time, The action of the Higgs field on the positive and negative particles (e+,e-; q+,q-; ) is identical. And how does it ignore this difference?
3) If the Higgs field is not coupled to fermions, can fermions really travel at the speed of light like photons without stopping? According to the mass-energy equation E=mc2, are all particles energy before there is mass(or none)? So the coupling of the Higgs field is to energy, do they have to exchange energy between them? What is the energy transfer relation here, E=mc2? If m=0 now, is E fully converted to the raw energy of the particle?
4) If the significance of the existence of inertial mass for fermions, W± can be explained, what is the significance of the Higgs Boson possessing inertial mass itself?Does it really implies the existence of a 'fifth force', mediated by the exchange of Higgs bosons [8]?
5) The shape of the Higgs potential V(Ø) expresses the relationship between the potential and the field strength , V(Ø) ~ Ø [10] ‡ . Ø is hidden in the vacuum ††. How do different Ø present themselves at a given spatial location? Do they interact with other particles in one way?
6) How does the mathematical explanation of the Higgs mechanism map reasonably to physical reality? Must the Higgs potential be an external field? ‡‡ Wouldn't it be better if it were the field of the particle itself? [12] Is the Higgs mechanism for mass completely excludes the relation between mass and spin ?[15]
7) Not all mass is caused by Higgs [10], and potential energy (binding energy) gives mass as well. In this case, is mass still consistent? Doesn't mass become a variable?
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Supplement: Can mass have multiple origins? (2024.9.26)
“The Higgs does seem to be the source of the mass of elementary particles, e.g., the electron; but it is responsible for < 2% of the mass of more complex things, like the proton. The mass of the vast bulk of visible material in the Universe has a different source.”[1] “the Higgs boson is almost irrelevant to the origin of the proton mass. ”[2]
Mass is an important particle property. If mass has surprisingly multiple origins, how do we explain their relationship? Do they produce the same results by similar mechanisms, or completely different ones? Do they all rely on external fields? Is the mass-energy equation, m=E/c^2, a clue to determining the uniform origin of mass? Can a mechanism that does not provide energy provide mass?
Does mass obey the superposition principle? Is it a scalar superposition or a vector superposition? Is it a linear or nonlinear superposition? Let us consider a process in which u, d quarks combine to form a proton p. In the early stages of the evolution of the universe, nothing else in particular existed. u and d automatically combine to form p in such a scenario, like a pair of lovers meeting to form a family. The family is a more stable structure, and the ‘quality’ of life of the family (In Chinese, quality and mass are one word, 质量) has increased. The increased ‘quality’ does not come from outside, but from the union itself.
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Notes
§ Mass is usually thought of as resisting a change in the "state" of matter, but what is the "state"? Why does it resist change? Why can it resist change? My personal reference answer is here [12]: Mass originates from damping the superluminal intent of a spinning light ring and as a result is the fundamental property that distinguishes fermions from bosons.
* Mass is somewhat similar to energy in that it exists in various forms, but the two are fundamentally different.
** Physics doesn't know what parameters to use to describe these fields and doesn't seem to be interested.
‡ “One of the most important open questions in Higgs physics is whether the potential written in that equation is the one chosen by nature. ”[8]
‡‡ "Central to all of Higgs physics is the Higgs potential."[8] C. N. Yang[13]: "Symmetry breaking with the introduction of a field will not be the last theory, although for the time being it is a good theory, like Fermi's theory of beta decay." Expresses his scepticism about the Higgs mechanism.
† With no Higgs field, the electron and electron neutrino would be identical particles, and the W and Z particles, and in fact all standard model fermions, would be massless. [9]
†† The vacuum seems to be the all-powerful vacuum, and physics assigns many functions to the vacuum [14].
¶ The hierarchies among fermion masses and mixing angles, however, remain unexplained.[11]
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References
[1] Thomson, J. J. (1881). XXXIII. On the electric and magnetic effects produced by the motion of electrified bodies. The London, Edinburgh, and Dublin Philosophical Magazine and Journal of Science, 11(68), 229-249.
[2] Abraham, M. (1902). Principles of the Dynamics of the Electron (Translated by D. H. Delphenich). Physikalische Zeitschrift 4(1b), 57-62.
[3] Ellis, J. (2013). Higgs physics. arXiv preprint arXiv:1312.5672.
[4] Higgs, P. W. (1964). Broken Symmetries and the Masses of Gauge Bosons. Physical Review Letters, 13(16), 508-509. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.13.508
[5] Ghosh, D., Gupta, R. S., & Perez, G. (2016). Is the Higgs mechanism of fermion mass generation a fact? A Yukawa-less first-two-generation model. Physics Letters B, 755, 504-508.
[6] Consoli, M., & Cosmai, L. (2020). The mass scales of the Higgs field. International Journal of Modern Physics A, 35(20), 2050103.
[7] Melia, F. (2021). The origin of rest-mass energy. The European Physical Journal C, 81(8), 707. https://doi.org/10.1140/epjc/s10052-021-09506-w
[8] Salam, G. P., Wang, L.-T., & Zanderighi, G. (2022). The Higgs boson turns ten. Nature, 607(7917), 41-47. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-04899-4
[9] Lancaster, T., & Blundell, S. J. (2014). Quantum field theory for the gifted amateur. OUP Oxford.
[10] Schmitz, W. (2019). Particles, Fields and Forces. Springer.
[11] Bauer, M., Carena, M., & Gemmler, K. (2016). Creating the fermion mass hierarchies with multiple Higgs bosons. Physical Review D, 94(11), 115030.
[12] Preprint Supersymmetric Standard Model (SSM)
[13] C.N.Yang. (2014). 六十八年心路(1945-2012). 三联书店.
[14] https://www.researchgate.net/post/NO34How_the_View_of_Space-Time_is_Unified_6-Are_Vacuum_and_Space_Two_Separate_Things?_tp=eyJjb250ZXh0Ijp7ImZpcnN0UGFnZSI6InByb2ZpbGUiLCJwYWdlIjoicHJvZmlsZSIsInBvc2l0aW9uIjoicGFnZUNvbnRlbnQifX0
[15] C. N. Yang emphasised: in the context of gauge theory, the conjecture of why we need a theory of gravity with spin electrons. Today I remain believing that this is a key to the future conquest of quantum general relativity.
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