The problem of mass
The problem of mass
复制标题
DOI：
10.1111/j.2164-0947.1977.tb02958.x
复制
发表时间：
1977-11
影响因子：
5.2
通讯作者：
S. Weinberg
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
S. Weinberg
I recently heard Rabi describe the early calculations of atomic spectra, which were carried out before the development of a systematic quantum mechanics in 1925-6, as being a blend of “artistry and effrontery.” Since those days, we have of course learned a great deal, and many things that were previously obscure now seem perfectly simple, while new obscurities have descended upon us. Over the last decade, we have seen a satisfying synthesis of the theories of weak, electromagnetic, and strong interactions, which has provided explanations for many of the ad hoc hypotheses that had been previously introduced into particle physics on chiefly empirical grounds. However, one essential element of this systematic theory has remained obscure: we must take the masses of the leptons and quarks as input parameters, without any real idea of where they came from. In this article I would like to offer some observations on the determination of the quark masses, and the problem of their origin. The discussion of the determination of quark masses in the first three sections goes over familiar ground, though I believe that some of this material is new. As to the discussion in the last section on the origin of the masses, I can only hope in the spirit of Rabi’s remark, that whatever these speculations lack in artistry, they will make up in effrontery.
