The ABC Preon Model. Weak Decays.

This is the eighth thread in the series on the ABC Preon Model. Links to earlier threads will appear in the comment below.

With a preon model for all known particles now established, the next things to investigate are the many interactions that particles have with one another. A very important class of interactions are the weak interactions. The weak interactions cause quarks to change from one kind to another, and also allow for lepton creation during beta decay. The best known of the weak interactions takes place when a neutron decays into a proton, emitting an electron and a neutrino in the process. Note that while an antineutrino is typically specified, as said in my previous thread neutrinos are their own anti-particle in the ABC Preon Model.



The decay of a neutron is shown in the top portion of the picture above as described by the standard model. The top portion of the picture shows the neutron decaying to a proton, electron and neutrino. The bottom portion of the picture shows the process schematically. In the standard model, one of the down quarks emits a virtual weak vector boson, called a W minus. Since the W minus has a negative electric charge, this changes the charge state of one of the quarks from minus one third to plus two thirds, converting a down quark to an up quark. The virtual W particle then decays into an electron and a neutrino. And when the down quark is converted to an up quark, the neutron is transformed into a proton during this process.

Now, let's look at beta decay from the point of view of the ABC Preon Model:



In the picture above we see the process of neutron decay, also known as beta decay, as modeled by the ABC preon model. We start with our model of the neutron, which consists of a C particle, two orbiting B particles, an orbiting A particle and the associated binding neutrinos. The decay process is most easily visualized by taking one of the B particles and having it undergo quantum tunneling out of its binding relationship. Once the B particle has separated away from the C particle, creation of an A/anti-A preon pair, as well as creation of a pair of neutrinos, can be formed out of the vacuum. Please note that vacuum formation of particle/anti-particle pairs is very common in physics, so this portion of the decay is not at all unusual. From this intermediate state, the anti-A preon and one of the neutrinos combine with the liberated B preon to form an electron. The remaining A preon takes the place that the original B preon had, and this leaves what we recognize to be a proton. Lastly we have one neutrino left over. Hence, the ABC preon model exactly models what happens in beta decay. (The neutron, proton and electron pictured above were introduced in earlier threads of this series.)

There are some important points to make regarding the process of beta decay that was just discussed. First, it is important to note that in the ABC preon model beta decay is modelled to be analogous to alpha decay from a Uranium nucleus. In alpha decay, it is known that the process occurs via quantum tunneling. Alpha particles from within the Uranium nucleus are trapped by the nuclear binding forces within the nucleus. However, there is a small portion of the alpha particle's quantum mechanical wave function that extends far enough away from the nucleus so that once the alpha particle momentarily materializes at that distant point the alpha particle can be freed. Since the wave function density is so small at that distant point, the probability for decay is small, and therefore decay of the Uranium nucleus takes a long time.

In the ABC Preon Model we see that beta decay is a similar process to Uranium alpha decay, although it also involves pair creation from vacuum. The wave function for the B preon will have a small value at a point far enough away from the C preon that allows formation of a free electron and a free neutrino and conversion of the neutron to a proton. It will be seen later that the mass of the intermediate state involved in beta decay will sum to about the mass of what is now called the W boson, and hence this process is related to something that has a mass approximately equal to that of what is now called the W boson. Finally, note that all weak decays can be handled similarly, since a B preon can tunnel out of any of the down, strange or bottom quarks, and an A can tunnel out of any of the up, charm or top quarks.



Above we see our earlier picture of the delta-plus particle as being made up of quarks. Recall that a down, strange or bottom quark has been identified as a binding between a C particle and a B particle. Charged weak decays involve the B particle tunneling through the potential barrier, with A/anti-A and neutrino pairs forming between the B and the C. The anti-A combines with the B to form a massive lepton, and the A combines with the C to change the quark from one type to another. For the up, charm or top quarks, charged weak decays involve an A particle tunneling through the potential barrier and formation of B/anti-B and neutrino pairs, again leading to the emission of a massive lepton and a change in the type of quark. Each process will involve the formation of a free neutrino as well.

Hence, in the ABC Preon model the weak decays are identified as radioactive tunneling decays, and there is no weak force.

When I was first introduced to the weak force one of the oddest things was that I was told that the weak force had no direction! But all of nature's other forces have a direction, since gravity is attractive, electric forces are either attractive or repulsive, and the strong force is attractive. We can now see why the weak force was different, and that is because it isn't really a force at all. So an additional benefit of the ABC preon model is that in our efforts to simplify the number of elementary particles we have also simplified the number of forces that exist in nature.

The Exposition of the ABC Preon Model will involve many threads. Here are links to previous threads in this series, in the order that they appeared:

The ABC Preon Model, Background: the Standard Model of Elementary Particle Physics

The ABC Preon Model. Modeling the Massive Leptons.

The ABC Preon Model. Assigning Some Quantum Numbers.

The ABC Preon Model. Modeling the Hadrons.

The ABC Preon Model. Quarks.

The ABC Preon Model. Relationship to the Standard Model.

The ABC Preon Model. Neutrinos.

I have no idea what you are talking about but I hope whatever it is you are saying it gives us anti-gravity cars and cold fusion energy.

originally posted by: dfnj2015
I have no idea what you are talking about but I hope whatever it is you are saying it gives us anti-gravity cars and cold fusion energy.

Well thanks for checking in. I hoped that the earlier posts were clear, but it is true we are getting deeper and deeper into the subject of elementary particle physics now. What we are getting into now is what we see when we collide particle beams together in atom smashers. The results tell us what the most basic building blocks of nature are, as well as what the basic forces are between those basic building blocks. I have a model that is different than the prevailing model, and this series of posts is going over that model, one topic at a time.

I too hope it leads to anti-gravity, fusion power, forward time-travel (reverse time-travel would violate causality, so I doubt it is possible), and faster-than-light travel. But for the moment more mundane issues must be addressed - such as is the model actually viable in light of all known evidence?