Summary of the Standard Model

Setup

The Standard Model of particle physics comprises 12 vector fields, 45 Weyl fermion fields
describing 6 quarks and 6 leptons, and a complex doublet H of scalar fields. The vector fields
Aa (x) are gauge fields of the local symmetry

G = SU (3)C SU (2)W U (1)Y ; (1)

the SU (3)C mixes 3 colors of quarks and antiquarks, the SU (2)W is the weak isospin, and
the U (1)Y couples to the weak hypercharge Y . The electroweak symmetry SU (2)W U (1)Y
6 0 down to U (1)EM ; consequently, the W and Z 0 vector
is spontaneously broken by hHi =
particles become massive (MW 80.4 GeV, MZ 91.2 GeV) while the photon remains
massless. The photon couples to the electric charge

q = T3 + Y (2)

and gives rise to the electromagnetic interactions; the W and Z 0 are responsible for the
weak interactions. Because photon is massless while the W and Z 0 are massive, the EM
forces have long range while the weak forces are rather short-ranged.

The SU (3)C vector particles are called gluons because they are responsible for strong
interactions which glue the quarks and antiquarks together into baryons and mesons. At
> 1 GeV1 , the strong forces become so strong that individual quarks,
long distances d
antiquarks, or gluons cannot be isolated as particles; this phenomenon is called confinement.
Only the SU (3)C singlet combinations of quarks, antiquarks, and gluons can be separated
from each other.

The quarks come in 3 colors c = 1, 2, 3 and 6 flavors f = u, d, s, c, b, t called up,

down, strange, charm, beauty (or bottom), and truth (or top); altogether, there
are 18 Dirac spinor fields. The left-handed Weyl components of these Dirac spinors form 9
doublets of the SU (2)W gauge symmetry, 3 flavor doublets (u, d)L , (c, s)L , (t, b)L for each
color. The right-handed Weyl components of the Dirac spinors are all SU (2)W singlets.
This difference between the left-handed and right-handed quarks explains why the weak

1
interactions disrespect the parity symmetry; instead, W couple to the left currents JL =
V A and ignore the right currents JR = V + A .

The leptons e , , , and 3 neutrino species have a similar left-right asymmetry.

The left-handed leptons form 3 SU (2)W doublets (e , ee )L , ( , )L , ( , )L , the right-
handed charged leptons e
R , R , R are singlets, and the right-handed neutrinos do not even
exist.

A Dirac spinor field and its conjugate are equivalent to two left-handed Weyl spinors
and and their right-handed conjugates and ; and describe the left-handed
fermion and the right-handed antifermion (e.g. e +
and describe the left-
L and eR ), while

handed antifermion and the right-handed fermion (e.g. e+
L and eR ). The Standard Model
has 21 Dirac spinors (3 6 for quarks and 3 for charged leptons) plus 3 Weyl spinors for the
neutrinos; in the Weyl language, this amounts to 45 LH Weyl spinors and their hermitian
conjugates .

Lets organize these spinors by their SU (3)C SU (2)W U (1)Y quantum numbers.

Left-handed quarks form 3 (3, 2, + 61 ) multiplets Qn (n = 1, 2, 3); their hermitian con-

jugates Qn contain the right-handed antiquarks. When the SU (2)W U (1)Y symmetry
is broken to U (1)EM , each Qn splits into a Q = + 32 quark (u, c, or t) and a q = 13
quark (d, s, or b), both color-triplets. Covariant derivative of a Qn (x) field with a color
index i, an SU (2) index , and a suppressed Weyl spinor index is
8
ig3 X C
D Qi i
n (x) = Qn (x) + G (x) C ij Qj,
n (x)
2
C=1
3
ig2 X ig1
+ Wa (x) a Qi
n (x) + B (x) Qi
n (x).
2 6
a=1
(3)

Left-handed antiquarks u, c, t of charge q = 32 form 3 (

3, 1, 32 ) multiplets Un ; the
hermitian conjugates Un contain the right-handed quarks u, c, t of charge q = + 32 .
Covariant derivative of a Un (x) field with a color index i is
8
ig3 X C 2ig1
D Uni (x) = Uni (x) G (x) Unj (x) C ji B (x) Uni (x). (4)
2 3
C=1

Note that SU (2) gauge fields Wa (x) do not enter into this covariant derivative because

2
 the Uni fields are SU (2) singlets. Also, the color index i is a lower rather than an upper
index because Un 3 rather than 3 for the SU (3)C , and the gluon fields GC couple
differently to the Uni fields than to the Li
n .

s, b of charge q = + 1 form 3 (
Left-handed antiquarks d, 3, 1, + 31 ) multiplets Dn ; the
3
hermitian conjugates Dn contain the right-handed quarks d, s, b of charge q = 31 .
Covariant derivative of a Dn (x) field with a color index i is
8
ig3 X C ig1
D Dni (x) = Dni (x) G (x) Dnj (x) C ji + B (x) Dni (x). (5)
2 3
C=1

Left-handed leptons form 3 (1, 2, 21 ) multiplets Ln ; the hermitian conjugates Ln

contain right-handed antileptons. When the SU (2)W U (1)Y symmetry is broken to
U (1)EM , each Ln splits into a charged lepton e , , or and a neutrino e , , or
, all color-singlets. Covariant derivative of a Ln (x) field with an SU (2) index is
3
ig2 X a ig1
D Ln (x) = Ln (x) + W (x) a Ln (x) B (x) Ln (x). (6)
2 2
a=1

The left handed anti-leptons e+ + +

L , L , and L are singlets of hypercharge Y = +1;
collectively, they are En (1, 1, +1) (n = 1, 2, 3), while the hermitian conjugates En
are the right-handed leptons e
R , R , and R . Covariant derivative of a En (x) field is

D En (x) = En (x) + ig1 B (x) En (x). (7)

Having described all the fields of the Standard Model, we may now write down the
Lagrangian:
8
X 3
X
L = 1
4 GC
G
C
1
4
a
W W a 1
4 B B
C=1 a=1

+ D H D H V (H H)
X X X
+ D Qi
iQni n + iUni
D Uni + iDni
D Dni (8)
n,i, n,i n,i
X X
+ iLn
D Ln + D En
iEn
n, n
+ LYukawa + LLLHH .

3
Here GC a
, W , and B are canonically normalized tension fields for the SU (3), SU (2),
and U (1) gauge symmetries,

GC C C
= G G g3 f
CDE D E
G G ,
a
W = Wa Wa g2 F abc Wb Wc , (9)
B = B B ,

the Weyl indices of the fermionic fields Q, U , D, L, and E are implicit, the covariant
derivatives D of those fields are as in eqs. (3) through (7), D of the scalar fields are

3
ig2 X a ig1
D H (x) = H (x) + W (x) a H (x) + B (x) H (x),
2 2
a=1
(10)
3
ig2 ig1
Wa (x) H (x) a
X
D H (x) = H (x) B (x) H (x),
2 2
a=1

because H (1, 2, + 12 ) of the SU (3) SU (2) U (1), and the scalar potential is

V (H H) = (H H)2 + m2 H H. (11)
2

The m2 coefficient is negative, so the Higgs fields develop non-zero vacuum expectation
values
! r
v 0 2m2
hH i = modulo symmetry, v = . (12)
2 1

Experimentally, we know v 247 GeV, but we do not know the values of or m2 . The
VEV (12) breaks the SU (2)W U (1)Y symmetry down to U (1)EM and gives the W and
q
0 1 1
Z gauge fields masses MW = 2 g2 v and MZ = 2 g22 + g12 v. In the process, 3 out of
4 real scalar fields comprising H are eaten up by the Higgs mechanism, leaving just one

real scalar h the physical Higgs field. Theoretically, its mass is mh = 2m2 = v,
but we dont know , and the experimentalists are still looking for the Higgs particle; all we
know at the moment is mh > 114 GeV.

4
Yukawa Couplings and Fermion Masses

The Standard Models Lagrangian (8) does not contain any mass terms form the quark
and lepton fields. Indeed, the SU (3) SU (2) U (1) quantum numbers of the 45 Weyl fields
= (Qi
n , Uni , Dni , Ln , En ) do not allow for any gauge-invariant mass terms

M0 , 0 2 .
X X
Lmass = 21 M,0 >
2 0
1
2 (13)
,0 ,0

Therefore, before the spontaneous breakdown of the electroweak symmetry, all quarks and
leptons were massless.

Instead of mass terms, the SM Lagrangian contains Yukawa interactions of the fermions
and scalar fields. Back in 1935, Hideki Yukawa conjectured that the strong nuclear forces be-
tween protons and neutrons are due to exchanges of virtual scalar particles with O(100 MeV)
masses he called mesons. In QFT language, the coupling between the scalar meson field (x)
and the Dirac spinor field (x) of a proton or neutron has form

L g. (14)

When the earliest discovered mesons the pions turned up to be pseudo-scalar rather
that true scalars, their coupling to nucleons have to be modified as

L g(i 5 ) (15)

(isospin indices suppressed). In terms of the L and R Weyl components of Dirac spinors,
both the scalar and the pseudo-scalar Yukawa couplings take form

L gR L g L R , (16)

with a real g for a scalar and imaginary g for pseudoscalar .

In a generic theory without parity or charge-conjugation symmetries, its often convenient

to re-cast all fermionic degrees of freedom in terms of left-handed Weyl fields (x) and their

5
conjugates (x). The Yukawa couplings of such fermionic fields to scalar fields s (real or
complex) have form

X X
LYukawa = 12 Ys,,0 (s or s ) >
2 0
1
2

Ys,,
0 (s or s ) 0 2
(17)
s,,0 s,,0

where the Yukawa couplings Ys,,0 = Ys,0 , must be invariant under gauge symmetries and
other exact symmetries of the theory.

For the Standard Model, s is H or H , and the gauge-invariant scalar-fermion-fermion

combinations are H LE, H QD, HQU , and their hermitian conjugates. Thus, the Yukawa
interactions of the Standard Model comprise
X
E >
LYukawa = Yn,n 0 H (Ln ) 2 En0

n,n0
X
D i >
Yn,n0 H (Qn ) 2 Dn0 i

n,n0 (18)
X
U i >
Yn,n0 H  (Qn ) 2 Un0 i

n,n0
+ Hermitian Conjugates.

Note: implicit summation over color, SU (2), and Weyl spinor indices. The Weyl indices
themselves are implicit (not written); the (Ln )> , etc., are transposed with respect to Weyl
indices only.

Once the scalar fields develop VEVs (12), the Yukawa couplings give rise to the fermion
mass terms
X X
E 2 > E 2
Lmass = Mn,n0 (Ln ) 2 En0 (Mn,n0 ) (Ln ) 2 En0

n,n0 =e,, n,n0 =e,,

X X
D i2 > D i2
Mn,n0 (Qn ) 2 Dn0 i (Mn,n0 ) (Qn ) 2 Dn0 i
(19)
n,n0 =d,s,b n,n0 =d,s,b
X X
U i1 > U i1
Mn,n0 (Qn ) 2 Un0 i (Mn,n0 ) (Qn ) 2 Un0 i

n,n0 =u,c,t n,n0 =u,c,t

where

E v E D v D U v U
Mn,n0 = Yn,n0 , Mn,n0 = Yn,n0 , Mn,n0 = Yn,n0 (20)
2 2 2
E is the mass matrix for charged
are 3 3 mass matrices for fermions of similar charges: Mn,n0

6
 D is the mass matrix for quarks d, s, b of charge q = 1 , and M U
leptons e, , , Mn,n0
3 n,n0 is
the mass matrix for quarks u, c, t of charge q = + 23 . Indeed, L2n are LH charged leptons
1
and En are LH charged antileptons; Qi2
n are LH quarks of charge q = 3 and Dni are
2
the corresponding LH antiquarks; Qi1
n are LH quarks of charge q = + 3 and Uni are the
corresponding LH antiquarks.

To go from mass matrices to particle masses, we need to diagonalize the matrices via
unitary field redefinitions
X X
Ln L
Un,n
0 Ln0 , En E
Un,n0 En0 , (21)
n0 n0

and likewise for the quarks Qn and antiquarks Un and Dn . In matrix notations, the re-
definition (21) turns the lepton mass matrix ME into
   
E L E E
M U M U . (22)

The only invariants of such redefinitions are eigenvalues of the hermitian matrix ME ME ,
and one can always find some unitary matrices UL and UE that would make the ME matrix
?
diagonal, with real non-negative eigenvalues,

me 0 0

ME 0 m 0 . (23)

0 0 m

Consequently, we may combine the re-defined fields (21) into Dirac spinor fields
! ! !
L21 L22 L23
e = , = , = , (24)
2 E1 2 E2 2 E3

? A theorem of matrix algebra says that for any complex N N matrix M , there exist two unitary
matrices U and V such that U M V is diagonal, and the diagonal elements are real and non-negative.
A similar theorem applies to operators in a Hilbert space.
To prove the theorem, note that M M is a hermitian matrix with non-negative eigenvalues. Let
H = (M M )1/2 . If H is invertible, then W = M H 1 is unitary, (Indeed, W W = (H 1 M )(M H 1 ) =
H 1 H 2 H 1 = 1.) But even if H is not invertible, there is a unitary matrix W such that M = W H
(but I am not going to prove this here).
H is hermitian matrix, so it can be diagonalized as H = V DV 1 where V is unitary and D is
diagonal (and the eigenvalues are non-negative because H is a positive square root of M M ). For M ,
this means M = W V DV 1 and hence (W V )1 M V = D.

7
so that kinetic and mass terms for the charged leptons become

X   
L i(L2n )
D L2n + iEn
D En MnE (L2n )> 2 En + En 2 (L2n )
n=e,, (25)

= e (i D me )e + (i D m ) + (i D m ) .

Similar unitary redefinitions of the Qn , Un , and Dn Weyl spinor fields make the MU and
MD quark mass matrices diagonal and real,

Q
X X
Qi
n Un,n i
0 Qn0 , Un,i U
Un,n0 Un0 ,i ,

n0 n0
mu 0 0

   
MU UQ MU UD = 0 mc 0 , (26)

0 0 mt
Q
X X
Qi
n Uen,n i
0 Qn0 , Dn,i D
Un,n0 Dn0 ,i ,

n0 n0
md 0 0

   
MD UeQ MD UD = 0 ms 0 , (27)

0 0 mb

which allows us to package all quarks into Dirac spinor fields

Qi,1 Qi,1 Qi,1

! ! !
1 2 3
iu = , ic = , it = ,
2 (U1,i ) 2 (U2,i ) 2 (U3,i )
(28)
Qi,2 Qi,2 Qi,2
! ! !
1 2 3
id = , is = , ib = ,
2 (D1,i ) 2 (D2,i ) 2 (D3,i )

with kinetic and mass terms

X X
Lquarks = f,i (i D mf )if + f,i (i D mf )if . (29)
f =u,c,t f =d,s,b

Note that eqs. (26) and (27) transform the left-handed quarks according to different
3 3 matrices U Q 6= UeQ . Consequently, in the mass eigenstate basis, the down, strange, and

8
bottom quarks are no longer the SU (2) partners of respectively up, charm, and top quarks.
Instead, the SU (2) doublets are

(u, d0 ), (c, s0 ), (t, b0 ) (30)

where d0 , s0 , and b0 are linear combinations of the d, s, b quarks,

0
d d

 
0 Q eQ
s = V s, V = U U 6= 1. (31)

b0 b

The unitary matrix V here called the CabibboKobayashiMaskawa matrix (or CKM
matrix) affects the couplings of quarks to the charged W vectors mediating weak inter-
actions.

Weak Currents

In eq. (29) couplings of quarks to gauge bosons hide inside the covariant derivatives D .
that are covariant with respect to the unbroken SU (3)C
Lets split those derivatives into D
U (1)EM symmetries only and the explicit coupling to the massive gauge fields W and Z0
of the broken symmetries, thus
X X
m i
f,i i D


Lquarks = f f
f =u,c,t,d,s,b i
(32)
g2
W+ T + W T + gZ0 TZ


2
where
8 X
1 C i
X
j
i (x) = (x) + ig3
D GC 2
ieA (x)if
f (x) 2
j f
+ 3 for f = u, c, t,
C=1 j
8 X
1 C i
X
j
i (x) = (x) + ig3
D GC 1
ieA (x)if
f (x) 2
j f 3 for f = d, s, b.
C=1 j
(33)
Note that the unitary redefinitions (26) and (27) of the Weyl fields commute with color and
electric charges, so the do not affect the action of D on the Weyl fermions. Moreover,
we may extend their action to the complete Dirac spinors (28) since their left-handed and
right-handed components have exactly the same charges, thus eqs. (33).

9
 But the couplings of the weak fields are more complicated. In the Weyl fermion language

Qn,i,
X
T a, = ( 21 a ) Qi,
n (34)
n

but only in the original basis where Qi,1 i,2

n are SU (2) partners of Qn . Indeed, consider the

charged weak currents relating = 1 to = 2 or vice verse. Using

! !
1 1
0 1 0 0
2 ( + i 2 ) = , 1 1
2 ( i 2 ) = , (35)
0 0 1 0

we may write the charged currents as

Qn,i,2
X
T + = T 1, + iT 2, = Qi,1
n ,
n
(36)
Qn,i,1
X
1, 2,
T = T iT = Qi,2
n .
n

But when we perform different unitary redefinitions U Q and UeQ for the Qi,1 i1
n and Qn fields

as in eqs. (26) and (27), we end up with

Vn0 ,n Qn0 ,i,2

X
T + = Qi,1
n ,
n,n0

(37)
Qi,2
X

T + = Vn,n0Q
n,i,1 n0 ,
n,n0

where V = (UeQ ) U Q is the CabibboKobayashiMaskawa matrix. In terms of Dirac fermions,

the currents (37) become

X X 1 5 i
T + = Vf 0 ,f f 0 ,i f ,
2
f =u,c,t f 0 =d,s,b
5
(38)

X X 1
T = Vf0 ,f f,i if 0 ,
2
f =u,c,t f 0 =d,s,b

where the (1 5 )/2 factor projects on the left-handed Weyl components only. Thanks to the
CKM matrix elements here, weak decays involving charged currents may change the quark
flavors not only within families t b, c s, d u but also across families t s,
t d, b c, b u, c d, or s u.

10
 But the neutral weak current

TZ = T 3, sin2 Jel (39)

does not change quark flavors as long as all 3 families have exactly similar SU (2) U (1)
quantum numbers. Indeed, the TZ = T 3 sin2 Qel charge matrix is diagonal in the original
basis Qi,
n , Un,i , Dn,i of Weyl fermions, hence

TZ = TZ ()
X



X
X
= + 21 2
3 sin2 Qi,1
Qn,i,1 n + 21 + 1
3 sin2 Qi,2
Qn,i,2 n (40)
n n

X i i
X i i
+ 0+ 2
3 sin2 Un
Un + 0 1
3 sin2 Dn
Dn ,
n n

and since all the TZ charges are n-independent, the neutral weak current is unaffected by
the unitary field redefinitions (26) and (27). In terms of the Dirac fermions, the neutral
current (40) becomes

1 5 1 5
   
2 2 1 2
TZ
X X
0
= f,i + sin f + f,i + sin if .
4 3 4 3
f =u,c,t f =d,s,b
(41)
As promised, this current does not mix flavors, so weak transitions due to the neutral currents
never change the flavor.

Note that the absence of flavor-changing neutral currents depends on all quarks of the
same electric charge and chirality having the same T 3 and hence TZ . In a non-standard
model, we could have had an un-paired quark whose left-handed and right-handed compo-
nents are both SU (2) singlets while Q = Y = 13 . Such a quark would have a different TZ
from the down-type quarks of the same charge, so of the mass matrix had somehow mixed an
un-paired quarks with down-type quarks, then in the mass eigenbasis the TZ charge would
have off-diagonal elements. Thus, in a non-standard model like that we would have had
flavor-changing neutral current.

11
 Historically, back when only 3 quark flavors u, d, s were known, people assumed the s
quark was un-paired. Or rather, (u, d0 ) was an SU (2)W doublet while s0 was a singlet for

d0 = d cos c + s sin c , s0 = s cos c d sin c , c 13 . (42)

In such a model, there should be s d flavor changing neutral currents, which should have
lead to weak decays such as K 0 + . But experimentally, there are no such decays, nor
any other signatures of flavor-changing neutral currents. This made Glashow, Illiopoulos,
and Maiani conjecture in 1970 that the s quark (or rather the s0 ) should be a member of
a doublet just like the d quark, which means that there must be a fourth quark flavor c to
form the (c, s0 ) doublet. And in 1974 this fourth flavor (called charm) was experimentally
discovered at SLAC and BNL.

Later, when the fifth flavor b was discovered in 1977, most physicists expected it to also
be a part of the doublet, so everybody was looking for the sixth flavor t. This expectation
turned out to be correct, and the t quark was duly discovered in 1995. The delay was due
to very large mass of the top quark, mt 173 GeV, much heavier that the other 5 flavors.

What about the leptonic weak currents? In terms of Weyl fermions Ln and EN ,

Ln,2
X
T + = L1n ,
n

Ln,1
X

T = L2n ,
n

X 1
TZ Ln,2

X
X
= 1
2 0 Ln,1
Ln + 21 + sin2 L2n + 0 sin2 En
En .
n n n
(43)
In this formula, we are free to use the mass eigenbasis for the charged leptons e, , as
long as we are using the matching basis for the neutrinos. Thus, if L21 = e 2
L , L2 = L ,
and L23 = L then L11 = e (the electrons neutrino), L12 = (the muons neutrino), and
L13 = (the taus neutrino). For massless neutrinos, the (e , , ) basis is as good as
any other and better then most. When the neutrino become massive, there is an alternative
basis (1 , 2 , 3 ) of mass eigenstates, and one has to consider a CKM-like matrix converting
between the two basis. This matrix is important for neutrino oscillations, but in most other
experiments involving neutrinos, the weak interactions are more important than the very
small neutrino masses, so people stick to the (e , , ) basis.

12
 For the charged leptons, we may combine the Weyl spinors L2n and En into Dirac spinors
! ! !
L21 L22 L23
e = , = , = . (24)
2 E1 2 E2 2 E3

For the neutrinos, there are only left-handed Weyl spinors L1n (x) and no left-handed an-
tineutrinos whose conjugates can serve as independent RH neutrinos. Thus, we do not have
Dirac spinor fields for the neutrinos, but we can make turn the Weyl spinors into Majorana
spinors as
! ! !
L11 L12 L13
e = , = , = . (44)
2 (L11 ) 2 (L12 ) 2 (L13 )

In terms of Dirac spinors for charged leptons and Majorana spinors for neutrinos,
X X
` i + e A m` ` + 1


Lleptons = 2 (i )
`=e,, =e , ,
(45)
g2
W+ T + W T + gZ0 TZ


2
where
1 5 1 5 1 5
T + = e e + + ,
2 2 2
1 5 1 5 1 5
T = e e + + , (46)
2  2 2
1 5 1 5
  
TZ
X X
2
= ` + sin ` + + .
4 = , ,
4
`=e,, e

Effective Fermi Theory

Consider the massive vector fields W and Z0 mediating the weak interactions. The
Lagrangian terms for these fields include
g2
2
W+ W + Z Z W+ T + W T + gZ0 TZ
1 2


LW,Z = MW 2 MZ
2
+ kinetic terms + non-abelian interactions
+ interactions with the physical Higgs field,
(47)
where the currents T and TZ include both the quark and the leptonic terms. In low-energy

13
experiments (E  MW ) there are no physical W or Z 0 particles, but the response of the
W and Z fields to the fermionic currents leads to interactions between the fermions.

To see how this works, lets neglect the interactions between the vector fields or their
couplings to the physical Higgs field and focus on their couplings to the currents. In this
approximation, the vector fields equations of motion become

g2
2
(MW + 2 )W = T , (MZ2 + 2 )Z = gTZ . (48)
2

Moreover, at low energies and momenta of all particles, me may ignore the 2 terms on the
left hand sides of these formulae compared to the M 2 terms. In this limit,

g2 g Z
W = T , Z = T (49)
2MW 2 MZ2

which follow from the effective Lagrangian

g2
Leff 2 +
+ 21 MZ2 Z Z W+ T + W T + gZ0 TZ . (50)


W,Z MW W W
2

Furthermore, eqs. (49) are algebraic rather than differential, so we may plug their solutions
back into the Lagrangian (50), thus

g22 g2
Leff = 2 T
+
T 2 TZ, TZ . (51)
2MW 2MZ

At this point, we have an effective Lagrangian for the interactions between fermionic fields
that no longer refers to the massive vector fields we have started from! Instead we have an
effective theory of low-energy weak interactions. Its called the Fermi theory since Enrico
Fermi have written the current current effective Lagrangian back in 1930s.

To be precise, Fermi had only the charged currents for the proton, neutron, electron,
and the neutrino fields, and the currents were vector currents V = rather than the
left-handed currents V A . Over the years, people has added more particles species to
the currents, figured out the parity violation in 1950s, conjectured that there might also be
a neutral current in 1960s, and eventually discovered its existence in 1970s.

14
 Note: the effective Lagrangian (51) is usually written as

GF
Leff = 2T+ 2T + (2TZ ) (2TZ ) )


(52)
2

where GF = 1.16637 105 GeV2 is the Fermis constant known from decays and is the
model dependent relative strength of the neutral-current weak interactions. In the Standard
Model

2g22 2/2
GF = 2 = = v = 247 GeV, (53)
8MW v2

and
2
g2 g22 g2

MW 1
= = = cos2 = 1. (54)
MZ2 MW2 2
MZ g22 cos2

Experimentally, is very close to 1, which agrees with the Standard Model and disagrees
with many alternative models.

Neutrino Masses

Originally, the Standard Model had exactly massless neutrinos. When the neutrino
were experimentally found to oscillate between species e which calls for
small but non-zero neutrino masses the SM was extended by adding extra couplings to
the Lagrangian. The additional couplings were similar to Yukawa couplings but involved
two scalar fields instead of one. Specifically, the new couplings denoted LLLHH in the
Lagrangian (8) connect two lepton fields to two Higgs fields; in the Weyl fermion language

>
Nn,n0 H  Ln 2 H  Ln0 + Hermitian Conjugates.
X
1


LLLHH = 2 (55)
n,n0

Note that the combination H  Ln is invariant under all gauge symmetries, but its a LH
Weyl spinor of the Lorentz symmetry, so it needs to be squared to make a good Lagrangian
term.

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 When the Higgs doublet develops VEVs (12), the interactions (55) give rise to the mass
terms for the neutrinos L1n = e , , . Indeed,

v
H  Ln = L1n + (h) interactions,


(56)
2

hence

X X
1 1 > 1 1 1 1
LLLHH L mass = 2 Mn,n0 (Ln ) 2 (Ln0 ) +
2 (Mn,n0 ) (Ln ) 2 (Ln0 ) (57)
n,n0 n,n0

where
v2
Mn,n0 = Nn,n0 . (58)
2

Unlike the dimensionless gauge and Yukawa couplings, the Nn,n0 couplings have dimensional-
ity (energy)1 . We shall see later in class that such couplings make trouble for perturbation
theory at high energies, so they are not allowed in UV-complete quantum field theories.
However, if the Standard Model is only an effective theory thats valid up to some maximal
energy Emax but at higher energies must be superseded by a more complete theory, then its
OK for the SM to have small negative-dimensionality couplings Nn,n0 (1/Emax ). The key
word here is small it explains why the neutrinos are much lighter than the other fermions,

v2
M <  v. (59)
Emax

Indeed, for Emax = O(1015 GeV), this gives us a limit M

< 0.1 eV, while the other fermions
have masses between 0.51 MeV (the electron) and 170 GeV (the top quark).

In general, the neutrino mass matrix (58) is non-diagonal and complex, although Mn,n0 =

Mn0 ,n . The physical neutrino masses2 are eigenvalues of the (M ) M , and the mass eigen-
states 1 , 2 , 3 could be quite different from the charge-current basis e , , . Indeed, the
experimentally measure neutrino mixing angles are rather large up to 55 , much larger
than the CKM mixing angles for the quarks.

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