Three Generations in E7

Abstract

Starting from the Standard Model Lie algebra $\mathfrak{g}_{\mathrm{SM}} = \mathfrak{sl}_3 \oplus \mathfrak{sl}_2 \oplus \mathbb{C}$ sitting inside the complex Lie algebra $\mathfrak{e}_7$, we show how to decompose $\mathfrak{e}_7$ into the direct sum of a Lie subalgebra containing $\mathfrak{g}_{\mathrm{SM}}$ and three 32-dimensional subspaces, each of which forms the same representation of $\mathfrak{g}_{\mathrm{SM}}$ as one generation of fermions and their antiparticles. The setting is due to Nasmith, and much of the mathematics is that underlying the $\mathrm{E}_7$ generation unification of Kugo and Yanagida. New features include the derivation, in which as many results as possible rely only on the embedding $\mathfrak{g}_{\mathrm{SM}} \subset \mathfrak{e}_7$, and also the description of each 32-dimensional subspace as a copy of the exterior algebra $Λ\mathbb{C}^5$.