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Monopole-Fermion Scattering and the Solution to the Semiton-Unitarity Puzzle
Vazha Loladze1, Takemichi Okui2,3
1University of Oxford, Rudolf Peierls Centre for Theoretical Physics, Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PU, United Kingdom.
Physical Review Letters
|February 21, 2025
Summary
We show that charged Weyl fermion scattering on magnetic monopoles does not create fractional particles (semitons). Direct calculations reveal these processes are free propagation, with composite operators recovering all states.
Area of Science:
- Theoretical physics
- Condensed matter physics
- High-energy physics
Background:
- Charged Weyl fermions are fundamental particles with unique properties.
- Magnetic monopoles are hypothetical particles with magnetic charge.
- Polchinski's fermion-rotor system models fermion behavior near a monopole core.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the nature of charged Weyl fermion scattering on a magnetic monopole core.
- To re-examine the possibility of semiton formation, or fractional particle numbers.
- To clarify the behavior of scattering processes in the zero gauge coupling limit.
Main Methods:
- Utilizing Polchinski's fermion-rotor system as a theoretical framework.
- Performing direct mathematical calculations of scattering processes.
- Analyzing the role of composite fermion-rotor operators in interpolating quantum states.
Main Results:
- Demonstrated that processes previously thought to produce semitons are actually free propagation.
- Showed that composite fermion-rotor operators facilitate the recovery of ingoing and outgoing states in all lowest partial waves.
- Confirmed that nonsemitonic Callan-Rubakov processes remain unaffected.
Conclusions:
- The formation of fractional particles (semitons) in this system is an artifact of previous theoretical assumptions.
- Scattering processes are fully described by free propagation and the recovery of quantum states.
- The fermion-rotor system accurately models this scattering, resolving long-standing questions about semiton production.
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