| Implications | Immense impact on fundamental constants • Significant changes to cosmology |
| Characteristics | Strong force with greater range • Weaker weak force with new 'current' • Additional lepton subtypes • Heavy electro-strong boson |
| Related concepts | Particle physics • Quantum chromodynamics • Electroweak theory • Higgs boson • Grand Unified Theory |
The Alternate Standard Model is a set of theories in particle physics similar to the Standard Model of our reality, but describing different fundamental forces and particle types with unique characteristics. Some of the key differences include:
The strong nuclear force has an even greater range in this universe, due to a novel quark "charge" being exchanged. This causes nucleons to remain tightly bound at much larger distances, with significant implications for the structure and behavior of atoms.
The weak nuclear force is even weaker in this alternate universe, but includes another type of current, which has been dubbed the "axial-vector current." This has been observed to generate new particles with unusual chirality and magnetic properties.
The alternate Standard Model has revealed the existence of more types of lepton subtypes in addition to the familiar electron, muon, and tau particles. The new leptons include:
The majorana fermion, a particle that is its own antiparticle, with half-integer spin. This has unusual implications for neutrinos, which become their own antiparticles in this alternate reality.
The fractionally charged lepton, particles with charges that are a fraction of the electron's charge, yet still exist in our universe as a part of the Standard Model.
In this alternate universe, the Higgs boson does not exist. Instead, researchers have postulated the presence of a new particle called the "heavy electro-strong boson." This massive boson is responsible for imparting mass to particles, but unlike the Higgs boson, its distribution is vastly different and influences interactions between other particles in unpredictable ways.
The differences in the Alternate Standard Model have far-reaching consequences on the nature of the universe itself. The altered values of fundamental constants, such as the fine-structure constant and gravitational constant, will vary from those in the Standard Model. This, in turn, affects a wide range of phenomena. For example, the characteristics of 'black holes', dark matter, and dark energy are likely to differ significantly, requiring a re-evaluation of existing cosmological models.
The Alternate Standard Model is an area of active research, as physicists and cosmologists grapple with its complexities and implications. Its study provides a fascinating glimpse into the potential intricacies of alternate universes, and how the laws of physics as we know them could vary dramatically from one universe to another.
