A mechanism to generate mass: the case of fermions

TL;DR

This paper proposes a gravitational mechanism for generating fermion mass based on Mach's principle, extending previous work on scalar fields to include fermions, and emphasizing the role of the universe's background in inertia.

Contribution

It introduces a novel gravitational mass generation mechanism specifically for fermions, expanding the application of Mach's principle beyond scalar fields.

Findings

Mechanism successfully applies to fermions.

Provides theoretical foundation linking gravity and mass.

Extends previous scalar field results to fermionic particles.

Abstract

In a recent paper \cite{novello} we have presented a mechanism to generate mass from gravitational interaction, based on the Mach principle, according to which the inertia of a body is a property of matter as well as of the background provided by the rest-of-the-universe. In \cite{novello} we realized such an idea for a scalar field treating the rest-of-the-universe in its vacuum state. In the present paper we describe a similar mechanism for fermions.