Questions On the Smallest Scale

Questions On the Smallest Scale

1. Are quarks and leptons fundamental, or do they have a substructure? The higher energy accelerators that are just completed or being constructed may supply some answers, but there will also be input from cosmology and other systematics.
2. Why do leptons have integral charge while quarks have fractional charge? If both are fundamental and analogous as thought, this question deserves an answer. It is obviously related to the previous question.
3. Why are there three families of quarks and leptons? First, does this imply some relationship? Second, why three and only three families?
4. Are all forces truly equal (unified) under certain circumstances? They don’t have to be equal just because we want them to be. The answer may have to be indirectly obtained because of the extreme energy at which we think they are unified.
5. Are there other fundamental forces? There was a flurry of activity with claims of a fifth and even a sixth force a few years ago. Interest has subsided, since those forces have not been detected consistently. Moreover, the proposed forces have strengths similar to gravity, making them extraordinarily difficult to detect in the presence of stronger forces. But the question remains; and if there are no other forces, we need to ask why only four and why these four.
6. Is the proton stable? We have discussed this in some detail, but the question is related to fundamental aspects of the unification of forces. We may never know from experiment that the proton is stable, only that it is very long lived.
7. Are there magnetic monopoles? Many particle theories call for very massive individual north- and south-pole particles—magnetic monopoles. If they exist, why are they so different in mass and elusiveness from electric charges, and if they do not exist, why not?
8. Do neutrinos have mass? Definitive evidence has emerged for neutrinos having mass. The implications are significant, as discussed in this tutorial. There are effects on the closure of the universe and on the patterns in particle physics.
9. What are the systematic characteristics of high- \(Z\) nuclei? All elements with \(Z=\text{118}\) or less (with the exception of 115 and 117) have now been discovered. It has long been conjectured that there may be an island of relative stability near \(Z=\text{114}\), and the study of the most recently discovered nuclei will contribute to our understanding of nuclear forces.

These lists of questions are not meant to be complete or consistently important—you can no doubt add to it yourself. There are also important questions in topics not broached in this text, such as certain particle symmetries, that are of current interest to physicists. Hopefully, the point is clear that no matter how much we learn, there always seems to be more to know. Although we are fortunate to have the hard-won wisdom of those who preceded us, we can look forward to new enlightenment, undoubtedly sprinkled with surprise.

Summary

• On the largest scale, the questions which can be asked may be about dark matter, dark energy, black holes, quasars, and other aspects of the universe.
• On the intermediate scale, we can query about gravity, phase transitions, nonlinear phenomena, high- \({T}_{c}\) superconductors, and magnetic effects on materials.
• On the smallest scale, questions may be about quarks and leptons, fundamental forces, stability of protons, and existence of monopoles.