In this thesis we examine the Elko field dark matter candidate, its interactions, and possible
theoretical origins. We discuss important areas in which Elko Field Theory is incomplete and
propose what we consider to be the most natural ways of plugging the holes in the theory.
The way we propose to plug these holes enables Elko fields to interact with Standard Model
gauge quanta. Any possible Elko darkness may be then due to Elko non-locality. The possible
existence of Elko gauge interactions constitutes a significant result in this thesis. We also
explore how Elko quantum fields might arise on the state space. We show that the Elko
field is not a quantum field in the sense of Weinberg and that the Elko field violates the
symmetries of the Lorentz group; another significant result altering how we think about Elko
Field Theory. We also show that subgroups of the Lorentz group do not give rise to Elko fields (or their VSR counterparts) on the state space.
We also examine the non-standard Wigner classes and show that in the context of our most
natural ways of plugging the holes present in Elko Field Theory, Elko fields do not arise there
either. We also show that in one of the non-standard Wigner classes, under certain conditions,
there can exist a local massive spin-1/2 quantum field Majorana type dark matter candidate
that is a well-defined quantum field in the sense of Weinberg. We give the dynamics of this
new quantum field and also specify under what conditions this quantum field can exist. We finish the thesis by exploring Elko fields and their left and right-handed components in the
context of the Electroweak Theory, in a more speculative way. We take the general concept of
mass dimension transmutation introduced for Classical Spinor Theory by J.M. Hoff da Silva
and R. da Rocha and apply it to the state space in the most natural way. We use this to
derive a formula linking Dirac fields to the left-handed components of Elko fields and suggest
the possibility of mass dimension transmutation being involved in electroweak interactions.
Finally, we point out that although Elko fields cannot enter the Standard Model doublets,
they can form their own doublets, the resulting symmetry currents of which can couple to
the symmetry currents of the Standard Model.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:canterbury.ac.nz/oai:ir.canterbury.ac.nz:10092/6930 |
| Date | January 2012 |
| Creators | Gillard, Adam Blake |
| Publisher | University of Canterbury. Physics and Astronomy |
| Source Sets | University of Canterbury |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic thesis or dissertation, Text |
| Rights | Copyright Adam Blake Gillard, http://library.canterbury.ac.nz/thesis/etheses_copyright.shtml |
| Relation | NZCU |
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