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Spacetime as a Topological Insulator: Mechanism for the Origin of the Fermion Generations

David B. Kaplan and Sichun Sun
Phys. Rev. Lett. 108, 181807 – Published 3 May 2012; Erratum Phys. Rev. Lett. 108, 209901 (2012)
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Abstract

We suggest a mechanism whereby the three generations of quarks and leptons correspond to surface modes in a five-dimensional theory. These modes arise from a nonlinear fermion dispersion relation in the extra dimension, much in the same manner as fermion surface modes in a topological insulator or lattice implementation of domain wall fermions. We also show that the topological properties can persist in a deconstructed version of the model in four dimensions.

  • Figure
  • Received 8 December 2011
  • Corrected 10 May 2012

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.108.181807

© 2012 American Physical Society

Corrections

10 May 2012

Erratum

Synopsis

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Particle Families Come in Three

Published 3 May 2012

The existence of three families of fundamental particles may result from our universe behaving like a topological insulator, according to a theoretical proposal.

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Authors & Affiliations

David B. Kaplan* and Sichun Sun

  • Institute for Nuclear Theory, University of Washington, Box 351550, Seattle, Washington 98195-1550, USA

  • *dbkaplan@uw.edu
  • sichun@uw.edu

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Issue

Vol. 108, Iss. 18 — 4 May 2012

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