Space--Time Symmetry, CPT and Mirror Fermions

The Hamiltonian H specifies the energy levels and the time evolution of a quantum theory. It is an axiom of quantum mechanics that H be Hermitian because Hermiticity guarantees that the energy spectrum is real and that the time evolution is unitary (probability preserving). This paper investigates an alternative way to construct quantum theories in which the conventional requirement of Hermiticity (combined transpose and complex conjugate) is replaced by the more physically t...

The two discrete generators of the full Lorentz group $O(1,3)$ in $4D$ spacetime are typically chosen to be parity inversion symmetry $P$ and time reversal symmetry $T$, which are responsible for the four topologically separate components of $O(1,3)$. Under general considerations of quantum field theory (QFT) with internal degrees of freedom, mirror symmetry is a natural extension of $P$, while $CP$ symmetry resembles $T$ in spacetime. In particular, mirror symmetry is critic...

This paper explores quantum field theories with pseudo-Hermitian Hamiltonians, where PT-symmetric Hamiltonians serve as a special case. In specific regimes, these pseudo-Hermitian Hamiltonians have real eigenspectra, orthogonal eigenstates, and unitary time evolution. So far, most pseudo-Hermitian quantum field theories have been constructed using analytic continuation or by adding non-Hermitian terms to otherwise Hermitian Hamiltonians. However, in this paper, we take a diff...

Time directions are not invariant in conventional thermodynamics. We broadly follow ideas of Ludwig Boltzmann and investigate implications of postulating time-directional invariance in thermodynamics. In this investigation, we require that thermodynamic descriptions are not changed under time reversal accompanied by replacement of matter by antimatter (i.e. CPT-invariant thermodynamics). The matter and antimatter are defined as thermodynamic concepts without detailing their p...

We provide a rigorous proof of the CPT theorem within the framework of 'Lagrangian' quantum field theory. This is in contrast to the usual rigorous proofs in purely axiomatic frameworks, and non-rigorous proof-sketches within the Lagrangian framework.

Based upon the unique and simple starting point of the continuous flow of time a physical theory is derived through an analysis of the elementary arithmetic composition and symmetries of this one-dimensional progression. We describe how the explicit development of the theory leads to a prediction of the unique and largest exceptional Lie group E8 as the full `symmetry of time', and hence as the unification group for the physical theory. This proposal results from the identifi...

We show that the CPT groups of QED emerge naturally from the PT and P (or T) subgroups of the Lorentz group. We also find relationships between these discrete groups and continuous groups, like the connected Lorentz and Poincar\'e groups and their universal coverings.

Minuscule violations of CPT and Lorentz invariance might arise in an extension of the standard model as suppressed effects from a more fundamental theory. In this contribution to the CarruthersFest, I present and answer some questions about CPT and the possibility of its violation.

After reviewing charge conjugation and the CPT theorem, we define Majorana fermions and clarify the relationship of Majorana, Weyl, and Dirac fields. Appearance of Majorana fermions in various scenarios of physics beyond the Standard Model is discussed, including neutrino masses, baryon asymmetry of the universe, grand unified theories, and supersymmetry.

The CPT theorem states that a unitary and Lorentz-invariant theory must also be invariant under a discrete symmetry $\mathbf{CRT}$ which reverses charge, time, and one spatial direction. In this article, we study a $\mathbb{Z}_2 \times \mathbb{Z}_2$ symmetry group, in which two of the nontrivial symmetries (``Reflection Reality'' and a 180 degree rotation) are implied by Unitarity and Lorentz Invariance respectively, while the third is $\mathbf{CRT}$. (In cosmology, Scale Inv...