Majorana Condition Research Articles

Unification of conformal gravity and internal interactions

Based on the observation that the dimension of the tangent space is not necessarily equal to the dimension of the corresponding curved manifold and on the known fact that gravitational theories can be formulated in a gauge theoretic way, we discuss how to describe all known interactions in a unified manner. This is achieved by enlarging the tangent group of the four-dimensional manifold to SO(2, 16), which permits the inclusion of both gauge groups, the one that describes gravity as a gauge theory as well as the SO(10) describing the internal interactions. Moreover it permits the use of both Weyl and Majorana conditions imposed on the fermions, as to avoid the duplication of fermion multiplets of SO(10) appearing in previous attempts. The gravity theory discussed in the present work is the Conformal Gravity which, after a spontaneous symmetry breaking, can lead either to Weyl Gravity or to the usual Einstein Gravity.

Meson spectrum of SU(2) QCD1+1 with quarks in Large representations

We consider SU(2) quantum chromodynamics in 1 + 1 dimensions with a single quark in the spin J representation of the gauge group and study the theory in the large J limit where the gauge coupling g2 → 0 and J → ∞ with λ = g2J2 fixed. We work with a Dirac spinor field for arbitrary J, and with a Majorana spinor for integer J since the integer spin representations of SU(2) are real, and analyze the two cases separately.The theory is reformulated in terms of global colour non-singlet fermion bilocal operators which satisfy a W∞ × U(2J + 1) algebra. In the large J limit, the dynamics of the bilocal fields is captured by fluctuations along a particular coadjoint orbit of the W∞ algebra. We show that the global colour-singlet sector of the bilocal field fluctuations satisfy the same integral equation for meson wavefunctions that appears in the ’t Hooft model. For Majorana spinors in the integer spin J representation, the Majorana condition projects out half of the meson spectrum, as a result of which the linear spacing of the asymptotic meson spectrum for Majorana fermions is double that of Dirac fermions. The Majorana condition also projects out the zero mass bound state that is present for the Dirac quark at zero quark mass.We also consider the formulation of the model in terms of local charge densities and compute the quark spectral function in the large J limit: we see evidence for the absence of a pole in the quark propagator.

Bulk–Boundary Correspondence and Boundary Zero Modes in a Non-Hermitian Kitaev Chain Model

We study a non-Hermitian Kitaev chain model that contains three sources of non-Hermiticity: a constant imaginary potential, asymmetry between hopping amplitudes $t_{\rm R}$ and $t_{\rm L}$ in the right and left directions, and imbalance in pair potentials $\Delta_{\rm c}$ and $\Delta_{\rm a}$ for pair creation and annihilation, respectively. We show that bulk--boundary correspondence holds in this system; two topological invariants defined in bulk geometry under a modified periodic boundary condition correctly describe the presence or absence of a pair of boundary zero modes in boundary geometry under an open boundary condition. One topological invariant characterizes a topologically nontrivial phase with a line gap and the other characterizes that with a point gap. The latter appears only in the asymmetric hopping case of $t_{\rm R} \neq t_{\rm L}$. These two nontrivial phases are essentially equivalent except for their gap structures. Indeed, the boundary zero modes do not disappear across the boundary between them. We also show that the boundary zero modes do not satisfy the Majorana condition if $\Delta_{\rm c} \neq \Delta_{\rm a}$ and/or $t_{\rm R} \neq t_{\rm L}$.

Majorana propagator on de Sitter space

We study the dynamics of Majorana fermions in an expanding de Sitter space and to that aim, by making use of the method of mode sums, we construct the vacuum Feynman propagator for Majorana fermions in de Sitter space. The Majorana condition implies nontrivial identities for the mode functions, which we carefully implement. We note that, under charge conjugation, the propagator transforms to minus itself, but do not discuss in detail the topological implications of this observation. We construct the propagator for a general complex mass and find that it is identical to the corresponding Dirac propagator, meaning that the coupling of fermions to the classical de Sitter gravitational background does not violate charge symmetry, i.e. it respects the Majorana condition. The complex mass propagator differs from its real mass counterpart in that the usual positive and negative energy projectors acquire a chiral rotation which depends on the phase of the mass term. We use our propagator to calculate the one-loop effective action for Majorana fermions, and find that it differs from that of Dirac fermions by a factor of 1/2, which accounts for the reduced number of degrees of freedom of the Majorana particle. Finally, we derive the Majorana and Dirac propagators for mixing n fermionic flavors and show that the number of CP-violating phases for Dirac fermions exceeds that of the Majorana fermions by {nleft( n-1right) }/{2}. This is vital for understanding how the dynamics of Dirac and Majorana fermions generate different CP-violating effects in the multi-flavor case.

The self-interacting Dirac fields in FLRW spacetime

We prove the existence of global in time solution with the small initial data for the semilinear equation of the spin-\(\frac{1}{2}\) particles in the Friedmann–Lemaître–Robertson–Walker spacetime. Moreover, we also prove that if the initial function satisfies the Lochak–Majorana condition, then the global solution exists for arbitrary large initial value. The solution scatters to free solution for large time. The mass term is assumed to be complex-valued. The conditions on the imaginary part of mass are discussed by proving nonexistence of the global solutions if certain relation between scale function and the mass are fulfilled.

Global in time self-interacting Dirac fields in the de Sitter space

In this paper the semilinear equation of the spin-\(\frac{1}{2}\) fields in the de Sitter space is investigated. We prove the existence of the global in time small data solution in the expanding de Sitter universe. Then, under the Lochak–Majorana condition, we prove the existence of the global in time solution with large data. The sufficient conditions for the solutions to blow up in finite time are given for large data in the expanding and contracting de Sitter spacetimes. The influence of the Hubble constant on the lifespan is estimated.

Nondiagonal pair of Majorana particles at e+e− colliders

We perform a comprehensive and model-independent analysis for characterizing the spin and dynamical structure of the production of a non-diagonal pair of Majorana particles with different masses and arbitrary spins, $e^-e^+\to X_2 X_1$, followed by a sequential two-body decay, $X_2\to Z X_1$, of the heavier particle $X_2$ into a $Z$ gauge boson and the lighter particle $X_1$ escaping undetected at high-energy $e^+e^-$ colliders. Standard leptonic $Z$-boson decays, $Z\to \ell^-\ell^+$ with $\ell=e$ or $\mu$, are employed for precisely diagnosing the $Z$ polarization influenced by the production and decay processes. Based on helicity formalism and Wick helicity rotation for describing the correlated production-decay amplitudes and distributions, we work out the implications on the amplitudes and distributions of discrete CP symmetry and the Majorana condition that two particles are their own anti-particles. For the sake of a concrete illustration, an example of this type in the minimal supersymmetric Standard Model is investigated in detail.

Parity of the neutron consistent with neutron-antineutron oscillations

In the analysis of neutron-antineutron oscillations, it has been recently argued in the literature that the use of the $i\gamma^{0}$ parity $n^{p}(t,-\vec{x})=i\gamma^{0}n(t,-\vec{x})$ which is consistent with the Majorana condition is mandatory and that the ordinary parity transformation of the neutron field $n^{p}(t,-\vec{x}) = \gamma^{0}n(t,-\vec{x})$ has a difficulty. We show that a careful treatment of the ordinary parity transformation of the neutron works in the analysis of neutron-antineutron oscillations. Technically, the CP symmetry in the mass diagonalization procedure is important and the two parity transformations, $i\gamma^{0}$ parity and $\gamma^{0}$ parity, are compensated for by the Pauli-G\"ursey transformation. Our analysis shows that either choice of the parity gives the correct results of neutron-antineutron oscillations if carefully treated.

On the Boundary Conditions for the 1D Weyl–Majorana Particle in a Box

In (1+1) space-time dimensions, we can have two particles that are Weyl and Majorana particles at the same time---1D Weyl-Majorana particles. That is, the right-chiral and left-chiral parts of the two-component Dirac wave function that satisfies the Majorana condition, in the Weyl representation, describe these particles, and each satisfies their own Majorana condition. Naturally, the nonzero component of each of these two two-component wave functions satisfies a Weyl equation. We investigate and discuss this issue and demonstrate that for a 1D Weyl-Majorana particle in a box, the nonzero components, and therefore the chiral wave functions, only admit the periodic and antiperiodic boundary conditions. From the latter two boundary conditions, we can only construct four boundary conditions for the entire Dirac wave function. Then, we demonstrate that these four boundary conditions are also included within the most general set of self-adjoint boundary conditions for a 1D Majorana particle in a box.

Seesaw mechanism and pseudo C-symmetry

It is shown that the specific “charge conjugation” transformation used to define the Majorana fermions in the conventional seesaw mechanism, namely (nu _{R})^{C}=Coverline{nu _{R}}^{T} for a chiral fermion nu _{R} (and similarly for nu _{L}), is a hidden symmetry associated with CP symmetry, and thus it formally holds independently of the P- and C-violating terms in the CP invariant Lagrangian and it is in principle applicable to charged leptons and quarks as well. This hidden symmetry, however, is not supported by a consistent unitary operator and thus it leads to mathematical (operatorial) ambiguities. When carefully examined, it also fails as a classical transformation law in a Lorentz invariant field theory. To distinguish it from the standard charge conjugation symmetry, we suggest for it the name of pseudo C-symmetry. The pseudo C-symmetry is effective to identify Majorana neutrinos analogously to the classical Majorana condition. The analysis of CP breaking in weak interactions is performed using the conventional CP transformation, which is defined independently of the pseudo C-transformation, in the seesaw model after mass diagonalization. A way to ensure an operatorially consistent formulation of C-conjugation is to formulate the seesaw scheme by invoking a relativistic analogue of the Bogoliubov transformation.

On real solutions of the Dirac equation for a one-dimensional Majorana particle

We construct general solutions of the time-dependent Dirac equation in (1+1) dimensions with a Lorentz scalar potential, subject to the so-called Majorana condition, in the Majorana representation. In this situation, these solutions are real-valued and describe a one-dimensional Majorana single particle. We specifically obtain solutions for the following cases: a Majorana particle at rest inside a box, a free (i.e., in a penetrable box with the periodic boundary condition), in an impenetrable box with no potential (here we only have four boundary conditions), and in a linear potential. All these problems are treated in a very detailed and systematic way. In addition, we obtain and discuss various results related to real wave functions. Finally, we also wish to point out that, in choosing the Majorana representation, the solutions of the Dirac equation with a Lorentz scalar potential can be chosen to be real but do not need to be real. In fact, complex solutions for this equation can also be obtained. Thus, a Majorana particle cannot be described only with the Dirac equation in the Majorana representation without explicitly imposing the Majorana condition.

Exotic quantum statistics and thermodynamics from a number-conserving theory of Majorana fermions

We propose a closed form for the statistical distribution of non-interacting Majorana fermions at low temperature. Majorana particles often appear in the contemporary many-body literature in the Kitaev, Fu–Kane, or Sachdev–Ye–Kitaev models, where the Majorana condition of self-conjugacy immediately results in non-conserved particle number, non-trivial braiding statistics, and the absence of a non-interacting limit. We deviate from this description and instead consider a gas of non-interacting, spin-1/2 Majorana fermions that obey the spin-statistics theorem via imposing a condensed matter analog of momentum conservation. This allows us to build a quantum statistical theory of the Majorana system in the low temperature, low density limit without the need to account for strong fluctuations in the particle number. A combinatorial analysis leads to a configurational entropy which deviates from the fermionic result with an increasing number of available microstates. A number-conserving Majorana distribution function is derived which shows signatures of a sharply-defined Fermi surface at finite temperatures. Such a distribution is then re-derived from a microscopic model in the form of a modified Kitaev chain with a bosonic pair interaction. The thermodynamics of this free Majorana system is found to be nearly identical to that of a free Fermi gas, except now distinguished by a two-fold ground state degeneracy and, subsequently, a residual entropy at zero temperature. Despite clear differences with the anyonic or Sachdev–Ye–Kitaev models, we nevertheless find surprising agreement between our theory and experimental signatures of Majorana excitations in several materials. Experimental realization of our exactly solvable model is also discussed in the realm of astrophysical and high-energy phenomena.

Synthesis of Majorana mass terms in low-energy quantum systems

We discuss the problem of how Majorana mass terms can be generated in low-energy systems. We show that, while these terms imply the Majorana condition, the opposite is not always true when more than one flavour is involved. This is an important aspect for the low-energy realizations of the Majorana mass terms exploiting superfluid pairings, because in this case the Majorana condition is not implemented in the spinor space, but in an internal (flavour) space. Moreover, these mass terms generally involve opposite effective chiralities, similarly to a Dirac mass term. The net effect of these features is that the Majorana condition does not imply a Majorana mass term. Accordingly the obtained Majorana spinors, as well as the resulting symmetry breaking pattern and low-energy spectrum, are qualitatively different from the ones known in particle physics. This result has important phenomenological consequences, e.g. implies that these mass terms are unsuitable to induce an effective see-saw mechanism, proposed to give mass to neutrinos. Finally, we introduce and discuss schemes based on space-dependent pairings with nonzero total momentum to illustrate how genuine Majorana mass terms may emerge in low-energy quantum systems.

General Boundary Conditions for a Majorana Single-Particle in a Box in (1 + 1) Dimensions

We consider the problem of a Majorana single-particle in a box in (1 + 1) dimensions. We show that the most general set of boundary conditions for the equation that models this particle is composed of two families of boundary conditions, each one with a real parameter. Within this set, we only have four confining boundary conditions—but infinite not confining boundary conditions. Our results are also valid when we include a Lorentz scalar potential in this equation. No other Lorentz potential can be added. We also show that the four confining boundary conditions for the Majorana particle are precisely the four boundary conditions that mathematically can arise from the general linear boundary condition used in the MIT bag model. Certainly, the four boundary conditions for the Majorana particle are also subject to the Majorana condition.

On the Majorana condition for nonlinear Dirac systems

For arbitrarily large initial data in an open set defined by an approximate Majorana condition, global existence and scattering results for solutions to the Dirac equation with Soler-type nonlinearity and the Dirac–Klein–Gordon system in critical spaces in spatial dimension three are established.

Charge dynamics, Majorana condition and the topology of the interacting electromagnetic field

In previous works [1, 2], the 2-dimensional charge transport with parallel (in plane) magnetic field was considered from the theoretical point of view showing explicitly that the specific form of the emergent equation enforces the respective field solution to fulfil the Majorana condition. In this paper we review, explain and analyze these important results in the context of the generated physical effects, namely, the quantum ring as spin filter, the quantum Hall effect and a new one of pure topological origin (as the described by the Aharonov–Casher theorems). The link with supersymmetrical models is briefly discussed.

On the cubic Dirac equation with potential and the Lochak–Majorana condition

We study a cubic Dirac equation on R×R3i∂tu+Du+V(x)u=〈βu,u〉βu perturbed by a large potential with almost critical regularity. We prove global existence and scattering for small initial data in H1 with additional angular regularity. The main tool is an endpoint Strichartz estimate for the perturbed Dirac flow. In particular, the result covers the case of spherically symmetric data with small H1 norm. When the potential V has a suitable structure, we prove global existence and scattering for large initial data having a small chiral component, related to the Lochak–Majorana condition.

Lagrangians for massive Dirac chiral superfields

A variant for the superspin one-half massive superparticle in 4D, N=1, based on Dirac superfields, is offered. As opposed to the current known models that use spinor chiral superfields, the propagating fields of the supermultiplet are those of the lowest mass dimensions possible: scalar, Dirac and vector fields. Besides the supersymmetric chiral condition, the Dirac superfields are not further constrained, allowing a very straightforward implementation of the path-integral method. The corresponding superpropagators are presented. In addition, an interaction super Yukawa potential, formed by Dirac and scalar chiral superfields, is given in terms of their component fields. The model is first presented for the case of two superspin one-half superparticles related by the charged conjugation operator, but in order to treat the case of neutral superparticles, the Majorana condition on the Dirac superfields is also studied. We compare our proposal with the known models of spinor superfields for the one-half superparticle and show that it is equivalent to them.

Understanding the physical systems from their underlying geometrical and topological properties

As it is well known, a certain lack of theoretical understanding of the mechanisms governing the various phenomena exists in several areas of physics. In particular, it concerns those which involve transport of charged particles in low dimensions. In this work the physics of the 2-dimensional charge transport with parallel (in plane) magnetic field is analyzed from the geometrical and algebraic viewpoint making emphasis of how the physical interpretation arises from a consistent mathematical formulation of the problem. As a new result of this investigation with respect to the current literature we explicitly show that: (i) the specific form of the low dimensional Dirac equation enforces the field solution to fulfil the Majorana condition, (ii) the quantum Hall effect is successfully explained, (iii) a new topological effect (as the described by the Aharonov–Casher theorems) is presented and (iv) the link with supersymmetrical models is briefly commented.

Charge dynamics and "in plane" magnetic field I: Rashba–Dresselhauss interaction, Majorana fermions and Aharonov–Casher theorems

The two-dimensional charge transport with parallel (in plane) magnetic field is considered from the physical and mathematical point of view. To this end, we start with the magnetic field parallel to the plane of charge transport, in sharp contrast to the configuration described by the theorems of Aharonov and Casher where the magnetic field is perpendicular. We explicitly show that the specific form of the arising equation enforces the respective field solution to fulfill the Majorana condition. Consequently, as soon any physical system is represented by this equation, the rise of fields with Majorana type behavior is immediately explained and predicted. In addition, there exists a quantized particular phase that removes the action of the vector potential producing interesting effects. Such new effects are able to explain due to the geometrical framework introduced, several phenomenological results recently obtained in the area of spintronics and quantum electronic devices. The quantum ring as spin filter is worked out in this framework and also the case of the quantum Hall effect.