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Both the left-handed Electron and the electron neutrino participate in weak charged currents through $W^{\pm }$, and both have weak neutral currents mediated by the Z boson. Their electromagnetic interactions differ: the Electron has electric charge $-e$ and couples to the photon, while the neutrino is electrically neutral and has no tree-level electromagnetic coupling.

In the minimal massless-neutrino Standard Model, the active neutrino has only a left-handed particle state and a right-handed antiparticle state. The Electron has both chiralities: its right-handed component has electromagnetic interactions and a weak neutral current, but no weak charged current. Its nonzero mass comes from a Yukawa coupling to the Higgs field; the minimal massless-neutrino model contains no right-handed neutrino for an analogous Dirac mass term.

Observed neutrino oscillations establish nonzero neutrino mass-squared differences. Atmospheric muon-neutrino disappearance depends on travel distance and energy, and solar electron neutrinos convert into other active flavors; reactor and accelerator oscillations provide complementary evidence. In propagation, the relative phase of two mass eigenstates is $\Delta m_{ij}^{2}L/(2E)$. If all masses were zero there would be no such relative phase. Thus at least two neutrino mass eigenstates are nonzero in the three-neutrino description with two independent measured splittings. A flavor state is a superposition of mass eigenstates, so the evidence does not assign a single definite mass to a flavor label.

Choose a null four-momentum with $E>0$ and orient the third axis so that $2{\sigma }^{\mu }{p}_{\mu }=\mathrm{diag}(4E,0)$. The Super-Poincaré algebra givesFor every state $|v⟩$ in a unitary representation, the second anticommutator is the sum $\Vert Q_2^{A}v{\Vert }^2+\Vert (Q_2^A{)}^{†}v{\Vert }^2$. Thus both operators act trivially. A central charge in supersymmetry also vanishes in this massless supermultiplet: its mixed-spinor anticommutator contains the now-trivial $Q_2$. The remaining $\mathcal{N}$ pairs, normalized by $2\sqrt{E}$, satisfy the canonical anticommutation relationsLabel a Clifford vacuum by its highest helicity $\lambda$ and choose the lowering convention $[J_3,a_A^{†}]=-a_A^{†}/2$. Acting with distinct fermionic creation operators produces the fermionic Fock spaceThis proves the helicity spectrum of a massless supermultiplet and the $2^{\mathcal{N}}$ state count. If the internal charges or helicities do not already make the spectrum invariant under the CPT theorem, add its conjugate using the CPT completion of a supermultiplet.

The spin bound for massless supermultiplets follows directly from the width $\mathcal{N}/2$ of this helicity interval. Requiring $|h|\le 1$ gives $\mathcal{N}\le 4$, achieved by the four-dimensional N=4 super Yang-Mills theory vector multiplet with multiplicities $1,4,6,4,1$ at helicities $1,1/2,0,-1/2,-1$. These helicity bounds are necessary spin restrictions for the usual interacting renormalizable quantum field theory; they do not by themselves establish renormalizability for an arbitrary action. Requiring $|h|\le 2$ gives $\mathcal{N}\le 8$. The four-dimensional N=8 supergravity supergravity multiplet attains this bound with highest helicity $2$ and multiplicities $1,8,28,56,70,56,28,8,1$. There is one $+2$ state and one $-2$ state, the two polarizations of a single graviton.

The stronger restriction relevant to matter is the chirality constraint on extended supersymmetry. An $\mathcal{N}=1$ chiral superfield can contain a left-handed Weyl spinor in a complex gauge group representation $R$. By contrast, a full $\mathcal{N}=2$ hypermultiplet consists of $\mathcal{N}=1$ matter in $R\oplus \overline{R}$, and the gauginos of a vector multiplet are in the real adjoint group representation. Higher unbroken extended supersymmetry retains this pairing. A pseudoreal representation may allow a half-hypermultiplet, but it does not yield net chirality in a genuinely complex gauge group representation. Consequently the chiral gauge spectrum of the Standard Model permits at most unbroken $\mathcal{N}=1$ supersymmetry in its four-dimensional low-energy matter sector.

Use $t_{\mu }=(1,-1,-1,-1{)}_{\mu }$ without summing in individual component transformations. The Dirac current transforms asSince the coupling is real, invariance of its contraction fixes the time reversal of an electromagnetic gauge field:These equations use a compatible gauge; an additional pure gauge transformation would not change the gauge field strength.

Coordinate differentiation at $x_T$ introduces $r_{\mu }=-t_{\mu }$, because the time coordinate is reversed and the spatial coordinates are unchanged. HenceThus the electric field is even and the magnetic field is odd. The chirality matrix is even by part (a). The two tensor signs cancel in the dipole contraction, but antiunitarity conjugates its explicit $i$. Therefore the time-reversal parity of a fermion electric dipole operator isIt is a time-reversal symmetry violating interaction, and, under the usual local relativistic quantum field theory hypotheses of the CPT theorem, it violates CP symmetry. A nonzero coefficient is absent from the renormalizable tree-level Standard Model Lagrangian: the broken-phase fermion electric dipole moment operator has mass dimension five, and its electroweak-invariant completion requires a Higgs field and has dimension six. However, it can arise as a radiatively induced effective interaction in the Standard Model, whose CKM matrix contains a CP-violating phase. It is not forbidden to all orders. An explicit primary calculation of quark dipoles is Czarnecki and Krause's Standard Model calculation.

Forbidden by electric-charge conservation. The initial bottom quark has electric charge $-1/3$, while the displayed final electric charges sum to $2/3+1+0=5/3$. Therefore no Standard Model Feynman diagram, at tree level or any loop order, can realize this channel.

This is an intentionally disallowed process, not a transcription correction. The charge-conserving semileptonic bottom decay instead has an Electron and an antineutrino of Electron flavour, while a Positron accompanies the conjugate antiquark decay. Replacing the displayed particles silently would change the requested classification.

Allowed through a t-channel W boson. Along one fermion line the up quark becomes a down quark by emitting a virtual $W^{+}$; along the other the charm antiquark absorbs it and becomes a strange antiquark. The middle panel shows this weak charged current exchange. Both electric charge and baryon number are conserved at each vertex, and the relevant CKM matrix entries are nonzero.

This is the unique physical-particle tree-level Feynman diagram. A neutral exchange would require a flavor-changing neutral current on each line, absent at tree level in the Standard Model. An annihilation into a neutral boson would likewise require an off-diagonal up-type neutral current. The different generations do not forbid the charged-current graph.

Allowed through an s-channel W boson. The initial up quark and down antiquark annihilate into a virtual $W^{+}$, which produces the final charm quark and strange antiquark. The two weak charged current vertices contain the nonzero CKM matrix elements $V_{ud}$ and $V_{cs}$, with complex conjugations determined by fermion-flow conventions.

The left panel shows the unique physical-particle tree-level Feynman diagram. A neutral exchanged gauge boson cannot connect these charged annihilation currents, and flavour-diagonal neutral vertices cannot turn an up quark into a charm quark. There is no additional elementary charged scalar in the minimal Standard Model.

For fixed $(P,Q)\ne (0,0)$ the effective Fermi interaction predicts $d\sigma /d\Omega \propto G_F^{2}s$. The angular odd term integrates to zero, while $\int d\Omega (1+{\cos }^2\theta )=16\pi /3$, soThe corresponding fixed-spin scattering amplitudes grow as $G_{F}s$, eventually conflicting with partial-wave unitarity. This is a failure of extrapolating the effective field theory, whose contact approximation requires $s\ll M_W^2$, not a failure of the Standard Model.

Restoring the virtual W boson Feynman propagator replaces its constant low-energy denominator by $M_W^2/(M_W^2-s)$, away from the resonance. The massless external Dirac equations give zero contraction of each current with the exchanged momentum, so the longitudinal numerator does not contribute. Its squared modulus multiplies the effective cross-section. For $s\gg M_W^2$ the resulting tree-level rate decreases as $1/s$ rather than growing as $s$. Near the pole one must include the W boson decay width. These statements assume the same massless conserved external currents; the contact expression alone is not valid there.

When the number-changing reaction is in chemical equilibrium, its chemical balance condition is $2{\mu }_{\varphi }=3{\mu }_{\varphi }$. Therefore zero chemical potential from number-changing reactions gives $\boxed{{\mu }_{\varphi }=0}$. Elastic scattering maintains kinetic equilibrium but imposes no independent condition on ${\mu }_{\varphi }$. The conclusion requires the number-changing rate to remain large compared with the Hubble parameter; merely listing an allowed reaction does not guarantee this after freeze-out.

Before thermal decoupling in cosmology, the sectors have a common temperature $T$. For relativistic species at that temperature their entropy densities aresoThese are the effective number of relativistic degrees of freedom for entropy. The paper's $g_{\ast }$ agrees with $g_{\ast s}$ for relativistic components at a common temperature. For one real scalar field, $g_{\ast s}^{\varphi }=1$. At temperatures where all Standard Model species are relativistic, both counts are constant, and so is $\xi$ before decoupling; thresholds can change this equilibrium ratio if they occur while the sectors remain coupled.

After decoupling, adiabatic isolation gives separately conserved visible and dark entropy: $s_{\mathrm{SM}}{a}^3$ and $s_{\varphi }{a}^3$ are individually constant. Thus $\boxed{\xi (T<T_d)=\xi (T_d)}$ even when either sector's entropy degrees of freedom change. Changes in particle content then alter their temperature ratio rather than the ratio of their comoving entropies. This assumes no late inter-sector transfer or entropy injection.

The flavour-diagonal weak neutral current coupled to the real Z boson has real vector and axial current couplings. With ${\eta }_C(Z)=-1$, part (e) shows that this tree-level interaction is invariant under CP symmetry, although the simultaneous presence of the Dirac current and axial current generally violates charge conjugation and parity symmetry in quantum field theory separately. This conclusion concerns the tree-level weak neutral current, rather than every interaction or radiative effect in the Standard Model.

The weak charged current couples distinct quark flavours and involves the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix:Here $u_{Li}$ and $d_{Lj}$ are left-handed quark fields. A CP symmetry transformation exchanges the two conjugate-field operators; because it acts through a unitary operator, it does not complex-conjugate their numerical coefficients. Equality with the original interaction therefore requires a Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix that can be made real by quantum field rephasings. With three generations, a physical CP-violating phase remains in general, measured by the Jarlskog invariant. Therefore the W boson interactions can violate CP symmetry. Merely seeing a complex coefficient is insufficient: the phase must survive quantum field rephasing, unlike the real two-generation Cabibbo angle rotation.

The scalar potential can be written asIts vacuum manifold is the sphere ${\varphi }_a{\varphi }_a=v^2$. The Adjoint double cover from SU(2) to SO(3) rotates any nonzero vacuum expectation value to $(0,0,v)$, with $v>0$. A local unitary gauge removes the two angular fluctuations, leaving $\varphi =(0,0,v+\eta )$. This choice holds in a neighbourhood of the nonzero vacuum; a single global rotation cannot align arbitrary position-dependent fields, and topologically nontrivial configurations can obstruct a global unitary gauge.

The generator $t^3$ fixes the vacuum expectation value, while $t^1,t^2$ do not. Thus the Higgs mechanism in this SU(2) gauge theory with an adjoint Higgs field givesThe two angular Goldstone bosons become the longitudinal polarizations of two massive gauge bosons. Define physical fieldsThese labels describe the fields of this model; they do not identify it with the Standard Model. With the stated adjoint covariant derivative,To express all Yang-Mills theory terms in physical fields, introduce the gauge field strengthsThen $F_{\mu \nu }^3=f_{\mu \nu }+ig{Q}_{\mu \nu }$ and $(F_{\mu \nu }^1\mp i{F}_{\mu \nu }^2)/\sqrt{2}={\mathcal{W}}_{\mu \nu }^{\pm }$. Dropping the constant vacuum energy, the Lagrangian density isTaking the positive gauge coupling convention $g>0$, the canonically normalized mass terms giveThe residual U(1) gauge symmetry makes $W^{\pm }$ oppositely charged. The Yang-Mills theory terms supply interactions of $A$ with $W^{\pm }$ and four-vector interactions. The Higgs mode has cubic and quartic self-interactions, together with $2g^{2}v\eta W^{+}\cdot W^{-}$ and $g^2{\eta }^2{W}^{+}\cdot W^{-}$ couplings; it is neutral under the surviving U(1) gauge symmetry.

Coupling fermions permits a massless electromagnetic gauge boson and massive charged mediators of the weak interaction; fermion couplings with chirality can produce parity-violating weak charged currents. However, this model has no massive neutral Z boson, and its only charge generator is $t^3$. A fundamental doublet has opposite charges, so it cannot reproduce the observed doublet charge assignments through an independent hypercharge. The Standard Model instead has $SU(2{)}_L\times U(1{)}_Y\to U(1{)}_Q$, a complex Higgs doublet, three absorbed Goldstone bosons, a massive Z boson and a weak mixing angle.

A leading short-distance Standard Model contribution to neutral D-meson mixing is a box Feynman diagram with two W bosons and two internal down-type quark lines:

The incoming $c\bar{u}$ pair becomes $u\bar{c}$; the internal labels run over the down quark, strange quark and bottom quark. Each corner is a weak charged current vertex. Four such vertices make the contribution of order $g^4$. Summing the internal flavours produces Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix factors and the Glashow-Iliopoulos-Maiani mechanism: the flavour-independent term cancels by ${\sum }_i{V}_{ci}^{\ast }{V}_{ui}=0$. This box Feynman diagram is one contribution; long-distance intermediate hadron states can also contribute to neutral D-meson mixing.

Forbidden at tree level. A photon, gluon, $Z$ boson, or neutral Higgs interaction is flavor diagonal in the quark mass basis, while a $W$ boson connects an up-type quark to a down-type quark. The process $u\bar{c}\to c\bar{u}$ would therefore require a flavor-changing neutral current, which first appears through loops in the Standard Model.

Allowed. There are again two tree-level Feynman diagrams: $t$-channel Z boson exchange and the crossed charged-current diagram with a W boson exchanged between the neutrino and electron lines.

The complete tree-level list for (ii), (iv), and (v) is:

Under $SU(3{)}_c\times SU(2{)}_L\times U(1{)}_Y$, one generation consists ofThese are the fundamental fermions of the Standard Model augmented by a right-handed neutrino.

In one Standard Model generation, the left-handed up and down quark fields form a weak $SU(2)$ doublet of hypercharge $1/6$. Each weak component has three colours. The same field therefore counts as three doublets for weak gauge-loop contributions and two colour fundamentals for strong gauge-loop contributions. Right-handed up and down quarks are separate weak singlets.

A quark field is a Dirac field or a chiral Weyl spinor carrying the colour fundamental representation of $SU(3)$. Its three colour components transform as ${\psi }^i\mapsto U^i{}_j{\psi }^j$ under local gauge transformations. The colour index is independent of the Lorentz spinor index, and the weak representations of its left and right chiral components differ in the Standard Model.

A quark flavor is one of the six Standard Model quark species: up, down, strange, charm, bottom and top. Each flavor occurs in three colour states and is counted as one Dirac species when both chiralities are included. The active flavor number in a low-energy QCD description excludes quarks heavier than the relevant scale, with matching of the running coupling when a heavy threshold is crossed.

The up-type and down-type fermion mass matrices need different left-handed transformations represented by unitary matrices to diagonalize them. Their relative transformation appears in the charged weak current as the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix. The weak neutral currents remain diagonal in the minimal Standard Model, since the same-charge couplings are generation-independent. Three nondegenerate generations give three mixing angles and one physical weak CP phase after quantum field rephasings.

In the ideal-gas high-temperature limit, the Standard Model has 28 boson states: 16 gluon states, eight electroweak gauge boson states and four Higgs field states. Its 90 fermion states are 72 quark states, 12 charged lepton states and six neutrino states. Counting a relativistic fermion state with weight $7/8$ gives the displayed effective number of relativistic entropy degrees of freedom. The effective number of relativistic energy degrees of freedom has the same value when all species share a temperature. Mass thresholds and interactions change the ideal-gas count.