Why is the top quark much heavier than other fermions?

TL;DR

This paper explores why the top quark is significantly heavier than other fermions, proposing a mechanism where it gains mass through spontaneous symmetry breaking, unlike others which gain mass explicitly.

Contribution

It introduces a theoretical explanation for the top quark's large mass based on dynamical symmetry breaking and quantum gravity effects.

Findings

Top quark mass arises from spontaneous symmetry breaking.

Other fermions acquire mass via explicit symmetry breaking.

Theoretical consistency with high-energy cutoff and quantum gravity.

Abstract

The recent ATLAS and CMS experiments show the first observations of a new particle in the search for the Standard Model Higgs boson at the LHC. We revisit the theoretical inconsistency of the fundamental high-energy cutoff with the parity-violating gauge symmetry of local quantum field theory for the standard model. This inconsistency suggests high-dimensional operators of fermion interactions, which are attributed to the quantum gravity. In this letter, recalling the minimal dynamical symmetry-breaking mechanism, we show that it is energetically favorable for the top quark to acquire its mass via spontaneous symmetry breaking, whereas other fermions acquire their masses via explicit symmetry breaking.