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Nov 16
2009
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Is that it? Are quarks and leptons the fundamental building blocks? Answer = maybe. We are still looking to fill some holes in what is know as the Standard Model.
The Standard Model is a way of making sense of the multiplicity of elementary particles and forces within a single scheme. The Standard Model is the combination of two schemes; the electroweak For example, the problem of quantum gravity is unresolved in the Standard Model. Also undefined are the values of the various constants of Nature (the speed of light, charge on the electron, etc). In fact, why the Universe is built the way it is (3D+1D macroscopic world) is unclear, although various other dimensional shapes can be ruled out as shown by the diagram below.
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Another problem is that the Standard Model contains a large number of arbitrary constants. Good choice of the constants leads to exact matches with experimental results. However, a good fundamental theory should be one where the constants are self-evident. For example, the choice of 4 spacetime dimensions is understood under the Standard model since other choices are ruled out by  mathematics.
The Standard Model does not include the unification of all forces and, therefore, is incomplete. There is a strong expectation that there exists a Grand Unified Field Theory (GUTS) that will provide a deeper meaning to the Standard Model and explain the missing elements. |
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