Lattice Gauge Theory and the Origin of Mass
Abstract
Most of the mass of everyday objects resides in atomic nuclei; the total of the electrons' mass adds up to less than one part in a thousand. The nuclei are composed of nucleons---protons and neutrons---whose nuclear binding energy, though tremendous on a human scale, is small compared to their rest energy. The nucleons are, in turn, composites of massless gluons and nearly massless quarks. It is the energy of these confined objects, via , that is responsible for everyday mass. This article discusses the physics of this mechanism and the role of lattice gauge theory in establishing its connection to quantum chromodynamics.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.1209.3468,
title = {Lattice Gauge Theory and the Origin of Mass},
author = {Andreas S. Kronfeld},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1209.3468},
year = {2017}
}
Comments
prepared for "100 Years of Subatomic Physics," edited by Ernest Henley and Stephen Ellis. Submitted version with typos corrected and refs added. 26 pp., 6 figures