An octonion model for physics

Prespacetime Journal, 2011

Various authors have observed that the unit of the imaginary numbers, i, has a special significance as a quantity whose existence predates our discovery of it. It gives us the ability to treat degrees of freedom in the same way mathematically that we treat degrees of fixity. Thus; we can go beyond the Real number system to create or describe Complex numbers, which have a real part and an imaginary part. This allows us to simultaneously represent quantities like tension and stiffness with real numbers and aspects of vibration or variation with imaginary numbers, and thus to model something like a vibrating guitar string or other oscillatory systems. But if we take away the constraint of commutativity, this allows us to add more degrees of freedom, and to construct Quaternions, and if we remove the constraint of associativity, what results are called Octonions. We might have called them super-Complex and hyper-Complex numbers. But we can go no further, to envision a yet more complicated numbering system without losing essential algebraic properties. A recent Scientific American article by John Baez and John Huerta suggests that Octonions provide a basis for the extra dimensions required by String Theory and are generally useful for Physics, but others disagree. We examine this matter.

2018

It is shown that physical signals and space-time intervals modeled on split-octonion geometry naturally exhibit properties from conventional (3+1)-theory (e.g. number of dimensions, existence of maximal velocities, Heisenberg uncertainty, particle generations, etc.). This paper demonstrates these properties using an explicit representation of the automorphisms on split-octonions, the noncompact form of the exceptional Lie group G2. This group generates specific rotations of (3+4)-vector parts of split octonions with three extra time-like coordinates and in infinitesimal limit imitate standard Poincare transformations. In this picture translations are represented by non-compact Lorentz-type rotations towards the extra time-like coordinates. It is shown how the G2 algebra’s chirality yields an intrinsic left-right asymmetry of a certain 3-vector (spin), as well as a parity violating effect on light emitted by a moving quantum system. Elementary particles are connected with the special...

Advances in Applied Clifford Algebras, 2000

As is well-known, the real quaternion division algebra ℍ is algebraically isomorphic to a 4-by-4 real matrix algebra. But the real division octonion algebra can not be algebraically isomorphic to any matrix algebras over the real number field ℝ, because is a non-associative algebra over ℝ. However since is an extension of ℍ by the Cayley-Dickson process and is also finite-dimensional, some pseudo real matrix representations of octonions can still be introduced through real matrix representations of quaternions. In this paper we give a complete investigation to real matrix representations of octonions, and consider their various applications to octonions as well as matrices of octonions.

arXiv: General Physics, 2015

We model physical signals using elements of the algebra of split octonions over the field of real numbers. Elementary particles are corresponded to the special elements of the algebra that nullify octonionic norms (zero divisors). It is shown that the standard model particle spectrum naturally follows from the classification of the independent primitive zero divisors of split octonions.

Journal of High Energy Physics, 2014

We give an octonionic formulation of the N = 1 supersymmetry algebra in D = 11, including all brane charges. We write this in terms of a novel outer product, which takes a pair of elements of the division algebra A and returns a real linear operator on A. More generally, with this product comes the power to rewrite any linear operation on R n (n = 1, 2, 4, 8) in terms of multiplication in the n-dimensional division algebra A. Finally, we consider the reinterpretation of the D = 11 supersymmetry algebra as an octonionic algebra in D = 4 and the truncation to division subalgebras.

2015

This thesis makes manifest the roles of the normed division algebras R,C,H and O in various supergravity theories. Of particular importance are the octonions O, which frequently occur in connection with maximal supersymmetry, and hence also in the context of string and M-theory. Studying the symmetries of M-theory is perhaps the most straightforward route towards understanding its nature, and the division algebras provide useful tools for such study via their deep relationship with Lie groups. After reviews of supergravity and the definitions and properties of R,C,H and O, a division-algebraic formulation of pure super Yang-Mills theories is developed. In any spacetime dimension a Yang-Mills theory with Q real supercharge components is written over the division algebra with dimension Q/2. In particular then, maximal Q = 16 super Yang-Mills theories are written over the octonions, since O is eight-dimensional. In such maximally supersymmetric theories, the failure of the supersymmetr...

Advances in Mathematical Physics, 2015

It is shown that physical signals and space-time intervals modeled on split-octonion geometry naturally exhibit properties from conventional (3 + 1)-theory (e.g., number of dimensions, existence of maximal velocities, Heisenberg uncertainty, and particle generations). This paper demonstrates these properties using an explicit representation of the automorphisms on split-octonions, the noncompact form of the exceptional Lie groupG2. This group generates specific rotations of (3 + 4)-vector parts of split octonions with three extra time-like coordinates and in infinitesimal limit imitates standard Poincare transformations. In this picture translations are represented by noncompact Lorentz-type rotations towards the extra time-like coordinates. It is shown how theG2algebra’s chirality yields an intrinsic left-right asymmetry of a certain 3-vector (spin), as well as a parity violating effect on light emitted by a moving quantum system. Elementary particles are connected with the special...

Physics of Particles and Nuclei Letters, 2017

⎯Octonions and their split versions are shown to be applicable to the solutions of a large number of problems in hadronic physics, from the foundations of exceptional groups that are used in grand unified theories, to heterotic strings, to the non-Desarguesian geometric property of space-time symmetries, twistors, harmonic superspace, conformal field theories, etc. Upon a brief review of these investigations we proceed to show how they are used in the unification of ancient and modern geometries, which in turn open new avenues for, and goes far beyond in providing, geometric foundations for the existence of internal symmetries such as color and flavor.

In this paper, we have made an attempt to discuss the role of division algebras (octonions) in gravity and dark matter where, we have described the octonion space as the combination of two quaternionic spaces namely gravitational G-space and electromagnetic EM-space. We have discussed the standard model and GUTs in terms of split octonion formulation. At last, we have formulated the theory of dark matter in terms of octonion variables i.e. hot dark matter and cold dark matter.

2009

It is known that any polynomial of degree n with coefficients in a field K has at most n roots in K. If the coefficients are in H (the quaternion algebra), the situation is different. For H over the real field, there is a kind of a fundamental theorem of algebra: If a polynomial has only one term of the greatest degree then it has at least one root in H. A similar theorem is also true for the octonions. In this paper we try to solve, in general or in particular cases, some quadratic and linear equations with two different terms of greatest degree and the coefficients in the generalized division quaternion and octonion algebras H (α, β) and O(α, β) over an arbitrary field K, charK = 2.