tor) and the neutrino (alternative charge carrier) of the weak force. This mass is the basis of similarity allowing their interaction, and it is of course the weak force that brings mass-matter into existence. The three oscillating mass states associated with a neutrino flavor bring to mind the three oscillating (but massless) color charges which are likewise necessary to differentiate the quarks of a baryon. Just as any quark can have any color, so any neutrino can have any mass state. We cannot push this analogy too far, however; we are trying to use it to understand why neutrinos are distinguished by mass rather than by some massless attribute (such as color).
The mass of a neutrino provides a basis of similarity allowing interaction with other massive particles, beginning with the massive IVBs. Because neutrinos lack electric charge, there must be some other (non-gravitational) principle which allows interactions with other massive particles. An alternative charge carrier must not only be able to accept and bear a symmetry debt, it must also be able to pay and discharge the debt through a final interaction.
The role of deBroglie mass waves is fundamental to the phenomenon of neutrino oscillation. The oscillating neutrino spectrum is a consequence of the 3-member family structure of the elementary leptonic mass series – electron, muon, tau. If the leptonic spectrum had only a single member, then we would have only a single neutrino and no oscillations. Since this hypothetical single neutrino would still have to interact occasionally – to receive and discharge its symmetry debt – we may assume it would still have to be massive to provide a functional basis for interaction with the IVBs.
The IVBs recreate an invariant, primordial state of force unification symmetry (the electroweak era) by virtue of their huge and quantized mass. In this state the three members of the leptonic elementary particle spectrum are all equivalent (a generic level of identity rather than a specific level of identity), and transformations of one leptonic species into another are accomplished as a matter of course. Now it is most curious to note that the observed oscillations of the neutrinos apparently preserve a “memory” of this same primordial symmetry state, and in this reflection we catch a glimpse of why both the IVBs and the neutrinos must share a massive parameter. The neutrino cannot interact unless the “memory” of the electroweak symmetric energy state it carries within itself can be recreated, matched, or decoded by the IVB field – a “lock and key” mechanism. There is something special about the mass of a neutrino which allows it to interact with (and only with) the mass of an IVB. Hence we arrive at the curious phenomenon of a particle which carries its charge in the form of mass, and yet can travel through light years of lead without interacting.
It has been suggested that the three-family structure of the particle spectrum (including the quarks) is necessary to produce the weak force asymmetry which allows the primordial creation of matter during the “Big Bang”. If this is true, the “harmonic” 3-part family structure of the elementary particles may have its ultimate explanation as “anthropic” necessity. Because “cosmological” neutrinos can carry, without interaction, significant amounts of energy (due to the phenomenon of relativistic mass?), they may have been instrumental in the dispersal of energy during the initial expansion of the Big Bang, preventing the collapse of the entire system into a cosmic-scale black hole.
The hypothetical leptoquark neutrino is a candidate for “dark matter”. This neutrino could be quite massive (and possibly relatively slow moving?), and because it is sufficiently different from the other leptonic neutrinos, it may not participate in their “harmonic” spectrum and oscillations. It is “sterile” to the extent that it can only be seen during proton decay or proton creation – via the “X” IVB.
Hiding the Neutrino’s Identity Charge
We can think of neutrinos as traveling (existing) from one IVB “event” to a