The muon model of the hadrons

Abstract

A brief account is given of some motivations, principles, and results of a new model of the hadrons. The main distinction between this model and previously studied models is that the new model is constructed according to an extremely simple procedure without making use of the formalism of isotopic spin or the associated complicated scheme of unitary symmetry. A basic assumption of this model is that the muons are the fundamental particles that account for the masses of all the hadrons and for the entire set of observed properties of these particles, including their ability to undergo electromagnetic and weak interactions and their instability with respect to weak decays. Thus, these decays can be regarded as a “genetic” indication of the pressence of muons in the structures of all the hadrons. The muon model provides a convenient basis for a quantitative description of the mass spectrum of the hadrons, their lifetimes, decay probabilities, and interaction strengths, starting from the assumption that the interactions are electromagnetic in character. The model predicts that most of the hadronic multiplets contain large classes of isotopes in the form of particles with somewhat different structures and decays but with identical charge properties; this accounts for the great diversity of kaon and hyperon decays, and in particular for the existence of the two-pion and three-pion decays of the kaons.