Graduate Thesis Or Dissertation
 

The structure of E6

Public Deposited

Downloadable Content

Download PDF
https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/concern/graduate_thesis_or_dissertations/9s1618760

Descriptions

Attribute NameValues
Creator
Abstract
  • A fundamental question related to any Lie algebra is to know its subalgebras. This is particularly true in the case of E6, an algebra which seems just large enough to contain the algebras which describe the fundamental forces in the Standard Model of particle physics. In this situation, the question is not just to know which subalgebras exist in E6 but to know how the subalgebras fit inside the larger algebra and how they are related to each other. In this thesis, we present the subalgebra structure of sl(3,O), a particular real form of E6 chosen for its relevance to particle physics through the connection between its associated Lie group SL(3,O) and generalized Lorentz groups. Given the complications related to the non-associativity of the octonions O and the restriction to working with a real form of E6, we find that the traditional methods used to study Lie algebras must be modified for our purposes. We use an explicit representation of the Lie group SL(3,O) to produce the multiplication table of the corresponding algebra sl(3,O). Both the multiplication table and the group are then utilized to find subalgebras of sl(3,O). In particular, we identify various subalgebras of the form sl(n, F) and su(n, F) within sl(3,O) and we also find algebras corresponding to generalized Lorentz groups. Methods based upon automorphisms of complex Lie algebras are developed to find less obvious subalgebras of sl(3,O). While we focus on the subalgebra structure of our real form of E6, these methods may also be used to study the subalgebra structure of any other real form of E6. A maximal set of simultaneously measurable observables in physics corresponds to a maximal set of Casimir operators in the Lie algebra. We not only identify six Casimir operators in E6, but produce a nested sequence of subalgebras and Casimir operators in E6 containing both su(3)⊕su(2)⊕u(1) corresponding to the Standard Model and the Lorentz group of special relativity.
License
Resource Type
Date Available
Date Issued
Degree Level
Degree Name
Degree Field
Degree Grantor
Commencement Year
Advisor
Committee Member
Academic Affiliation
Non-Academic Affiliation
Subject
Rights Statement
Publisher
Language
File Format
File Extent
  • 2072343 bytes
Replaces

Relationships

Parents:

This work has no parents.

In Collection:

Items

Thumbnail Title Date Uploaded Visibility Actions
file details AaronDWangberg2007.pdf 2017-08-07 Public Download